Pre-load


Phil_B

Phil_B

Moderator
Anyone who knows about suspension planning on adjusting the preload on their rear shock when they get their bike?

I think the standard setting is 3 of 12...

I am tempted to ask yamaha for their shock vs. weight recommendations for average riding. If the factory setting is for a 10st test rider thats no good for the average bloke!
 
M

mrirvs

Member
Hi Phil did you ask Yamaha? I spoke to my dealer who had no figures but just suggested start in the middle and go up and down according to taste.

Looks like the weekend weather is going to be spangly so I'll try the method suggested in the previous article and see where it takes me.

Being a 14 stoner I expect some adjustment :)
 
Phil_B

Phil_B

Moderator
Fired them an email this lunch mrirvs, here's hoping they can help. I've also asked about retorquing the rear wheel after a chain adjustment... as I'm sure a few of you will find out (unless I'm missing something), having a single sided nut means the RHS slack plate moves slightly when you torque it... seemingly messing up the alignment of the notches!
 
R

Rouqui

New member
I'm 13st and the standard 3 seems ok so far. the bike came with the tyres inflated to front 38 and rear 42psi so I reduced them to 33 and 36 as per manual. My recent car was the same, well over-inflated, talk abut a hard ride! (Thanks for the tip, TJ63, I'll do the suspension static test)
 
loneranger

loneranger

New member
did a thread on this a few weeks back. I had it on 1 soft and 8 hard. I didn't really notice too much of a difference.
 
Phil_B

Phil_B

Moderator
Update to this... they were very polite about it but "yamaha don't give suspension settings advice"
 
R

Rouqui

New member
comment from Ohlins': The spring pre-load affects the ride height, it does not affect the spring stiffness. Therefore, on models with a linkage to the shock absorber, the suspension may actually feel harder when you reduce the pre-load and the shock absorber gets into the harder range of the link system.

on the MT, each click on the adjuster is only a couple of mm, so surely (I'm no expert) up or down one click won't make a lot of difference?

re Yamaha not giving suspension advice- this is not an expensive bike -I suspect that the oe shock absorbers are not top quality, they could vary quite a lot from one bike to another, which is why Yamaha can't give advice. Every owner has to decide what suits them.

If arithmetic applies (if !) - max load 173kg + weight of bike 182kg = 455. say that's max preload 10. standard setting is 3, perhaps with a 60kg rider 182+60=242. 455-242=213 to cover 7 clicks makes each click 30kg. I'm 84kg, 84-60=24, so set to click 4 for no luggage, no pillion. Somebody will probably tell me this is wrong but it's a start? Perhaps the spring rate isn't linear.
 
Steve

Steve

New member
Jesus that sounds complex!!!

So when I finally get mine next month what clickage should I set mine at bare in mind I'll be 15 1/2 stone by then for summer lol

You could be our resident clickage pre load pro.

I'm thinking 5 giggawatts should just about satisfy the flux capacitor pre load springy thingy.
Is it marked? ie numbers and the more you weigh the higher the number ie

The tooth fairy would be perhaps number 1
Shrek would be 10

?
 
Steve

Steve

New member
Also you added the weight of the bike into your calculation but would that not be wrong as the preload spring is not below the weight as a car for example it's not taking the weight of the bike as it's above the engine and wheels and most of the frame etc.

Car springs for example take the weight of the actual car would our spring not be calculated for rider weight alone plus say 10% for the tank and other bits above the spring height ?

I could be way off here it's pretty late ;)
 
Ellerslie

Ellerslie

New member
Steve said:
Also you added the weight of the bike into your calculation but would that not be wrong as the preload spring is not below the weight as a car for example it's not taking the weight of the bike as it's above the engine and wheels and most of the frame etc.

Car springs for example take the weight of the actual car would our spring not be calculated for rider weight alone plus say 10% for the tank and other bits above the spring height ?

I could be way off here it's pretty late ;)
Click to expand...
The bike's total weight is transferred to the road via the wheels. Therefore all of the weight goes through the shocks. It is true to say that most of the weight (of the bike, not the rider) is pulling on the shock rather than pushing on it (as with a car), due to the weight being carried lower than the top of the shock mount.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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Ralph

Ralph

New member
I dont have mine yet but off a hour and a half test ride and me being 15 st
I would say it needs to go up at least 2 notches, it def feels a little low on the rear,
not a lot but enough for me to want to adjust it a little.
 
Phil_B

Phil_B

Moderator
Well; I've had a play round with the preload this afternoon. Although not road tested anything yet.

Firstly, its worth noting the standard setting is actually 3 of 9, not 12 as I initially said (oops!).

Tweaked it up to 5 (middle) and sat on (without kit), and the bike barely moved in terms of ride height. Back it off to 4 so will take a ride and see what I think. It's definitely less droopy than 3 so should help the ride a bit.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
 
Ralph

Ralph

New member
The higher you adjust it the more you tip it on it's
nose the faster it will turn into a corner just how
much difference it will make I don't know but you
are in effect steepening the fork angle, on some
bikes you notice it more than others.
 
Will145

Will145

Moderator
Will have to look at adjusting mine being a tad on the heavier side..... Phil b, was it tough to do? I'm a bit of a novice to all this.....
 
Phil_B

Phil_B

Moderator
Will, very easy (I'm not exactly an expert). A C spanner and handle are in the on board tool kit bag. Take a look at your shock, and on the side nearest the engine it's got a circular collar running round which looks a bit like a square toothed cog. That's attached to the 9 level adjuster cam that's like a mini set of stairs.

Put the C spanner on the cog bit, and turn it in the direction that looks right to tighten it up a level. If it helps there should be 6 steps up and 2 down.

The main difficulty is doing it steady so the spanner doesn't slip off meaning you smack your fingers or scrape the frame.
 
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Phil_B

Phil_B

Moderator
For those wondering. If you're about 12-13st leave the preload alone on three!

On four the back definitely felt more jacked up and at first i thought it might ride better, but it wasn't supple or compressed enough which made it a bit shit to ride.

Stopped and put it back on three half way and the bike felt much better.
 
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