Suspension tuning on the road

W

Wheelbilly

Scooter
I've never tuned the suspension of anything other then my rock buggy, which was done with some math to reach a known frequency. I could try that here for spring rate but I think what I'm after lies elsewhere. I've had my bike for a week and am noticing something I'm not fond of with the stock suspension. It's an 05, 2000 miles on it, so everything should be pretty fresh. I notice, more significantly while turning such as on a long sweeping freeway interchange, that as I ride over standard bumps in the road, that the rear seems to get light and unsettle the bike. I'm not sure this is what I'm feeling, as I've never tuned a suspension for road handling like this. Previous bikes haven't been an issue, they just were what they were....a 74 TX500 cafe, and an 05 KLR650 dual sport.

Am I looking for revalveable shocks in the rear? rebound/damping adjustable shocks? I'm not quite ready to call a tuner yet since I'm still trying to figure out the cause, or at least how to describe it properly. The bike doesn't seem to be digging into the turn, but rather pushing out of it, and it can be unsettling.
 
C

chopz

moped
back end

m8 i had the same problem-i got a 02 bonny-and had the same problem at around the same miles as you -i fixed it by putting more preasure in the rear tyre=36psi-that worked great up untill 25 thousand kms then it was reconned rear shocks with a thicker grade oil set up to my weight 87 kgs the bike has now done 24 thousand on the reconditioned shocks and its great -mind you it lets me know when the tyre preasure gets down tho -cheers chopz
 
W

Wheelbilly

Scooter
Interesting, I'll take a look at this. Tire pressure certainly can affect handling. I'm on the heavier side myself so I'm sure the fork oil could be changed, and I plan to ride 2 up at times, so thinking a set of adjustable rears would be good there..
 
ivar

ivar

TT Racer
The Bonnie suspension is using "damper rod" technology, using a single valving stage. They has to be setup as a compromise between bump compliance and stability. More advanced shocks/forks uses 2 stages, for low-speed and hi-speed damping, allowing these to be tuned to give much better stability while still being able to soak up the bumps.
some reading:
http://www.hotbikeweb.com/tech/0205hb_storz_performance/index.html

I replaced my rears with Ikon 7614 shocks with threaded collars for preload adjustment and rebound adjustable. Bought them b/c the stockers were way too harsh hitting sharp bumps - while still wallowy on on smooth roads. Will do the forks too, have some 'Ricor Intiminator' valves to put in.
 
S

strokerlmt

Moderator
Willy.......are U in California. Kari Prager Calmoto, Bay area has a suspension guru in his Livermoore dealership.
LMT
 
S

strokerlmt

Moderator
Google CALMOTO.......call and ask for owner Kari Prager. He just had his Scrambler tuned by his guru and claims wonders. I know Kari very well and he is a straight up gent. I'm headed up there as soon as the girls are bac in school for a couple of days of tune upsssss.
LMT
 
W

Wheelbilly

Scooter
Thanks for the link. I ordered a set of the Intiminator's this morning. I'll install those and see how they go. I feel I'll certainly need something for the rear, something adjustable as stated before for single and 2 up riding. I'll give Kari a holler after a few and see what he can do.
 
ivar

ivar

TT Racer
Most aftermarket shocks for the Bonnies has preload, some also rebound adj.

I weigh 220# and ride 2-up on my bike a lot, and the Ikons seems to handle that just fine.
(Actually, I'm too lazy to adjust the preload all the time, so I found a setting which works decent for both solo and pillion riding. Riding a lot more relaxed with g/f on the back, it only bottoms out occasionally)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top