R1100RT Rear Ohlin Shock Setup

[twowheelsonly]

Hello...

I have installed my modified Ohlin Shocks ( they are modified to drop the mc height 1" and I am happy to report that I can finally get my feet planted firmly on the ground!! I had to modify the kickstand and removed 5/8" and the bike leans great on the stand when parked.

I was able to get the Ohlins setup for solo riding and everything seems to be very good with that setup, but now I have calculated I will add an additional 70 pounds of gear for my trip..

I and am getting ready for my 4 weeks on the road, I think I may need to re-adjust the rear shock again to compensate for the additional weight, I have loaded the bike with my gear and noticed that the kickstand is almost hititng/touching the ground when I pull the bike up getting ready to ride and pulling the stand up so I can start the bike..

With my stock setup I never noticed the kickstand doing this when the bike was loaded, I am tring to figure out how many turns the pre-tensioner knob can be turned before it has no more effect? I am not sure but when I set it up for solo I turned this knob about 8 clicks which seemed to get the ride dialed in for me & the kickstand did not touch the ground when I was getting ready to start the bike..

Any tips would be appreciated..

Thanks
Stewart (twowheelsonly)
_________________________
Stewart Shearer
678-725-9566
2000 R1100RT SE
2004 Yamaha Venture
1999 Kawasaki Nomad sold
1974 H2 750 Kawasaki Triple sold
1970 Triumph 500 Tiger sold

 

[genen8kua]

Don Eilenberger has a nice writeup at:

http://www.eilenberger.net/Suspension/suspension.htm

You basically want to start by adjusting your preload for the same static sag you get without the extra gear & go from there. I'm pretty sure that the knob will stop turning when you've reached maximum preload.

As you've observed, it only makes sense that, with the unchanged preload, the extra weight would comress the suspension farther and cause the symptoms you notice.

Take notes and change one thing at a time, then you can count turns/index lines to move from one setup to another.

 

[twowheelsonly]

Don Eilenberger has a nice writeup at:

http://www.eilenberger.net/Suspension/suspension.htm

You basically want to start by adjusting your preload for the same static sag you get without the extra gear & go from there. I'm pretty sure that the knob will stop turning when you've reached maximum preload.

As you've observed, it only makes sense that, with the unchanged preload, the extra weight would comress the suspension farther and cause the symptoms you notice.

Take notes and change one thing at a time, then you can count turns/index lines to move from one setup to another.

Great Info!

This should work for me, I appreciate the link

Thanks