Lol lol quality reply

Biff? I've never even heard that as a term, alternative for saying you're playing 'Hide the Sausage'?

Edited 26 August, 201510 yr by matt1chelski

Lol lol quality reply

He well nailed it down a dark alley didnt he . .

Anyway ahaa.

Just been for a run to MFN. Speaking to a lad with what i think he called a Honda Tri-Z. 250cc 2 stroke in a little trike. Rebuilt it all himself and has done a properly lovely job.

I'm guessing he has a reclining chair in the garage to sit back, admire his work and dream about what it must be like to ride a bike....

He knows plenty well what it's like to ride a bike thanks.

But then he has been doing it since some on here were still lying in a cot, crapping themselves in their nappy, lol...

What's happened to striple ? Been quiet for a while ?

He's just been busy doing other things.

He's just been busy doing other things.

You do other things too? .

Youre assuming i used nappys too i take it. Hmm.

Maybe sat in the corner of his garage gazing at the triple, dreaming of the next 100% dry day

When he could be doing something far more productive, like bitching on the internet about people he's never met, nor knows anything about...

When he could be doing something far more productive, like bitching on the internet about people he's never met, nor knows anything about...

Was what i said wrong though? (:

Went for a brisk ride over a local twisty road to test the suspension now ive set it up a notch (on the top notch now)

But its not ideal. Not enough sag really and the back feels abit higher all the time.

It's not going to have enough sag when you've set preload to maximum, is it...

Edited 26 August, 201510 yr by StripleR675

Give it another 22 years mate and you'll be really fat lol

Not necessarily. I'm 42 (I think - memory's not what it was, when you get to my age, lol) and my waist is 29"

Edited 26 August, 201510 yr by StripleR675

Not necessarily. I'm 42 (I think - memory's not what it was, when you get to my age, lol) and my waist is 29"

I cant even think when i was 29" tbh. Not even when i was 10 stone i dont think lol.

It's not going to have enough sag when you've set preload to maximum, is it...

Well i dont know. This is the thing, isnt it .

Well i dont know. This is the thing, isnt it .

Preload (the stepped collar you've turned to max) is purely for setting sag. It doesn't make the shock (or forks) any harder or softer - the spring rate remains the same.

Preload (the stepped collar you've turned to max) is purely for setting sag. It doesn't make the shock (or forks) any harder or softer - the spring rate remains the same.

Ah okay. I thought it might be progressively harder.

It seems to have helped the back end wiggling though?

Ah okay. I thought it might be progressively harder.

No, it just alters the amount of preload on the spring (and hence the amount of sag). It can't make the suspension any harder or softer - that's governed by spring rate, which remains constant (unless you change the spring). If you've got the preload wound up to max, and weigh 12 stone, then the shock will be topping out, which isn't a good thing.

He's just been busy doing other things.

So have I but I still manage to get on here each day for my fix of pointless arguments.

 

So is there any point in messing about with the suspension set up as it is on the bike if all you are doing is polishing turds?  I for one certainly will not be going to the extent of changing springs at the back or fork oil as some suggest because a) I don't have the skill and I think the compromise that is the factory set up could be improved upon but I can cope with it.

 

I have little doubt an expert (I hate that term) could do wonders with it but probably not without changing said spring and fork oil but as Triumph give the same settings for the front for solo, pillion and luggage there is little point in me doing anything with the front and the adjustment at the back seems to do sod all anyway. 

 

I too have ridden bikes for years but it doesn't mean I know what to do with the suspension.  It is like I have watched telly for years but I wouldn't know how to take the valves out!  Showing my age.

 

Anyway good to ahve you back.  Hope you are well.

Biff? I've never even heard that as a term, alternative for saying you're playing 'Hide the Sausage'?

Yop hole in one fella lol

He knows plenty well what it's like to ride a bike thanks.

But then he has been doing it since some on here were still lying in a cot, crapping themselves in their nappy, lol...

He's back ! Where you been dude ? Obviously not riding as the weather has been awful !!

You're not referring to a certain young biker amongst us are you ?!!!

Not necessarily. I'm 42 (I think - memory's not what it was, when you get to my age, lol) and my waist is 29"

Mines got even worse, memory that is, between 42 and 44 lol. Who are you ?

When he could be doing something far more productive, like bitching on the internet about people he's never met, nor knows anything about...

He's definitely back !! Lol

He's definitely back !! Lol

He certainly is!

Throwing his weight around!

Uh. Oh. .

Perhaps it was all the talk of riding in the rain ? He didn't understand it ?

Who knows

So is there any point in messing about with the suspension set up as it is on the bike if all you are doing is polishing turds? I for one certainly will not be going to the extent of changing springs at the back or fork oil as some suggest because a) I don't have the skill and I think the compromise that is the factory set up could be improved upon but I can cope with it.

I have little doubt an expert (I hate that term) could do wonders with it but probably not without changing said spring and fork oil but as Triumph give the same settings for the front for solo, pillion and luggage there is little point in me doing anything with the front and the adjustment at the back seems to do sod all anyway.

You said it yourself there - OE suspension has to be a compromise. It's a one size fits all setting that has to cope with everything from a slimline whippet riding solo, to a big, fat pie loving fella and his buxom Mrs on pillion, with loaded panniers and top box, on everything from smooth motorways to bumpy rural b roads and pothole strewn urban streets, and (as is the nature of compromises) is unlikely to be right for you, unless you're the mythical "average" bloke somewhere in the middle. Yet most riders are happy to spend substantial amounts of money on fancy exhausts, inappropriate tyres, tasteless carbon tat or other cosmetic additions of varying degrees of taste, but won't spend money on their suspension, when it's usually the single most significant improvement they could make to their bike. Why "cope with" suspension that isn't right, when you could transform how your bike rides for a few hundred quid spent with a decent suspension expert.

Your starting point is always setting sag. First you set static sag. Then you measure dynamic sag. If you can't get dynamic sag right (approximately 1/3 of available travel used) with static sag in the right region, then the springs are the wrong rate for your weight, and you'll never get the suspension working right without changing them. The spring rates fitted by the manufacturer are always a compromise, and sometimes just plain wrong.

As for adjusters on OE suspension, most (as you pointed out above) do "sod all". Partly because most OE suspension units are cheap, poor quality things built to satisfy the accountants first, rather than the test riders or customers, and partly because the manufacturers want them that way, so that there isn't enough range of adjustment for any owner to bugger things up enough to make the bike dangerous. Some adjusters are even dummies - they turn, but do nothing. Good quality aftermarket units have adjusters that actually make significant adjustments.

Even when new, most OE suspension is poor quality compared to decent aftermarket stuff. It's built with maximum profit margins in mind, not maximum performance, down to the cheap, poor quality oil most shocks and forks are filled with - even brand new forks and shocks can usually be noticeably improved with good quality suspension oils, and after a few thousand miles the OE oil will be completely knackered, have bugger all resistance to cavitation and offering little in the way of, meaningful damping once warmed up. Drain fork oil that's done a few thousand miles and you can see instantly how knackered it is, yet most people seem to think it lasts forever, and wouldn't dream of including new fork oil in their service schedule, let alone a shock rebuild. The thing about suspension performance is that it degrades gradually, so you don't necessarily notice it happening on a day to day basis, but would if you rode the bike back to back with a new one. You're basically wasting your time twiddling suspension adjusters on a 20 thousand mile bike, because the OE suspension will be worn out, and you're not going to see any improvement without forking (no pun intended) out for a fork and shock rebuild, at the least. The difference in quality and performance between most OE shocks and good aftermarket units is night and day.

Edited 27 August, 201510 yr by StripleR675

Perhaps it was all the talk of riding in the rain ? He didn't understand it ?

Who knows

I've got more chance of understanding experimental quantum physics than I have of understanding why anyone would want to ride a bike in the rain, lol.

Just been for a run to MFN. Speaking to a lad with what i think he called a Honda Tri-Z. 250cc 2 stroke in a little trike. Rebuilt it all himself and has done a properly lovely job.

Tri-Z was a Yamaha. Never imported officially to the UK. They had a reputation for being supposedly dangerously unstable, apparently they were banned in some US states because of it. Some were converted to quads. Honda's ATC 250 was similar, and those were available as official imports back in the 80s.

This is a Tri-Z: