Pre-load adjust.... WOW!!

[tooshaggy]

OK,
My bike is a little over a month old and after 600 miles I decided to adjust the pre load as I am 220 pounds and there was a bit of sag at the rear when I sat on it.
I went two clicks harder, and no it did not break!
Now when I turn, I have found my comfort speed has increased by five mph on average.
Am I correct that the bike comes set at "2" on the pre load?
Should I mess with the damping? If so, which way should I adjust?
THANKS!
(I am new to riding on the street after being on 4 wheels for 20 years)

[johnm_10]

I keep my preload on 5 and dampining on 1 but I think that's the best for dirt and whoops and stuff... for street I might run 5 and 2 or 3

[jawwoody]

On a 2008 there is no # for the dampner just L-H
I was wondering the same thing.
Im a little 250 lber so I have mine on 5 what a diff.
Was on 1 from factory.

[holycaveman]

Originally Posted by johnm_10

I keep my preload on 5 and dampining on 1 but I think that's the best for dirt and whoops and stuff... for street I might run 5 and 2 or 3

+1


For off road I wouldn't advise dampening beyond 2. For on road you can go more. The stronger dampening the more stability you will have for corners and such(on road). It may ride abit less comfy though.

[SDMF_Reaps]

Whatever the number, your preload should be set by how much sag you are measuring while the bike is loaded with the average amount of weight it will be carrying on a regular basis.

Do we still have that thread describing this by The Patman, and just where the hell is The Patman anyway?

[johnm_10]

he frequents another klr site in this world haha, not sure if I can say the name...

I agree normally on setting the sag to 3.5 inches or whatever it's supposed to be and I do that on other bikes but on the klr even on 5 I bottom out bike somewhat frequently... I'm sure it would be worse on a lower number.

[Basis Change]

I realize this discussion is a month old. But someone else may walk the same path I just did, and stumble on this thread.

Here's a repost of the Patman suspension thread

http://www.klr650.net/forums/showthread.php?t=21401

[Scott Shipman]

Originally Posted by tooshaggy

OK,
My bike is a little over a month old and after 600 miles I decided to adjust the pre load as I am 220 pounds and there was a bit of sag at the rear when I sat on it.
I went two clicks harder, and no it did not break!
Now when I turn, I have found my comfort speed has increased by five mph on average.
Am I correct that the bike comes set at "2" on the pre load?
Should I mess with the damping? If so, which way should I adjust?
THANKS!
(I am new to riding on the street after being on 4 wheels for 20 years)

I put coil shock inserts,,{hard rubber} from the auto parts store in the coil spring,,,gets rid of rear end "squat" on hard acceleration,,and much more solid overall ride.

[m3conversion]

I'm 6'1" & 180lbs, and I ride with the preload and damping maxed out. I doubt most people would like this setting, but I think it demonstrates that rather than tell you where you should set it, it's a better idea to spend a day adjusting it and seeing how the bike feels to you. I would just start at the bottom and move up one level at a time. Ride it for a bit and see if you like it better or worse than the setting before.

I get the impression that people who ride mostly in the dirt prefer less damping than those who ride on the street, but I arrived at my settings after a day testing off-road, so I think it just goes to show that suspension can be very subjective.

By the way, these settings proved much too stiff for the stock fork oil. As I set the shock firmer I began to bottom out the fork harder and harder. I changed to 20W to compensate and found it made a significant improvement in ride quality too. It may actually be a bit too stiff now, but I want to put some miles on it before I swap again. So after you dial in the shock, consider tuning your fork too!

Edit: I should probably have added that I raced at the intermediate level for a number of years before getting the KLR. So I like to go fast in the dirt.

[natneichrban]

^What he said. Go find a nice washboarded dirt road, and keep running it and adjusting your suspension til you find the "sweet spot"(mine was found after ditching the worthless stock shock and getting fork springs and brace)

[WTMKLR]

I believe the stock suspension is only rated for a person at 170lbs. I upgraded my front springs to Progressive and my rear shock to Progressive.