EXTERNAL POLL: What are your A-model suspension settings?

[MCRIDER007]

For clarification, changing the preload on the front forks does make the ride firm or soft, it changes the front ride height which in turn changes the steering geometry (by changing the trail) and makes the steering faster or slower. Six lines showing will result in the lowest ride height and the fastest steering.

I appreciate the clarification; what you describe was not my assumption of the adjustment. I'm just getting started on this whole suspension trek, and still have much to learn. This survey was designed to, I hope, help folks like me that need a bit of experienced guidance, and clarifications like that add to that education.

Dont feel bad. Many self proclaimed suspension gurus dont understand preload either. MCRIDER gave it to you right, except he meant to say that changing front fork preload does *NOT* make the ride stiffer or softer, just alters the ride height. Based on your reply I think you already figured that out.

Thanks Fred, I usually catch those type of errors after posting but my proofreading really failed this time. Can I blame it on old age since I’ve gotten a lot older since I joined this forum?

 

[Mr_Canoehead]

There should definitely be a survey option for "replace it all with aftermarket", since I think the majority of us do that.

 

[Fred W]

While the majority of us here may do that, I’ll bet the majority of FJR owners do not. The mere fact that we here seek out information on the bike we ride puts us into the enthusiast category, and that alone puts us in a minority. Take pride in that as you most likely squeeze more enjoyment out of your ride than the average bear.

 

[bigjohnsd]

I chose not to answer, not because I have any distrust of Survey Monkey, I don't. But because with 10 weight fork oil in my front forks my settings are totally different than the others.

 

[RC65]

I'll let the survey go another week or so and if there is an additional contingent that votes and changes the results, I will report back one last time.

...and here is that last update. Thanks again to those who participated; the final tally is 30 respondents.


Not much change from last time, with one exception. Guess that goes to show that the ongoing results throughout the survey were relatively consistent, which suggests the recipe shown below is one that is tried and true among many. I plan to adjust my settings accordingly, though still keep it a bit on the soft side to accomodate lower back issues.

Front pre-load: 2 lines with 30% of the vote. Next was 3 lines with 27%.

Front rebound damping: 7 - 8 clicks with 27% of the vote. Next was 5 -6 clicks with 23%.

Front compression damping: Now a tie! 7 - 8 clicks with 30%. Next was 9 - 10 clicks with 30%.

Rear rebound damping: 5 -6 clicks with 27%. Next was 11 - 12 clicks with 23%.

Rear spring preload: Soft with 67%.

Here is the breakdown:

 

[RC65]

I forgot to close the survey and a few more responses have come in since my last update on 3/30/18, so while I have now closed the survey for additional responses, I wanted to give a final, final tally of the six fields. I won't provide images of the graphs this time around...for whatever reason, my postimage.org pics seem to disappear from view after a day or two.

With 38 responses now provided, here are the results:

Front pre-load: 2 lines with 31.58% of the vote. Next was 3 lines with 26.32%. The others were considerably less, with the nearest one(s) at 13.16% (1-line and 4-line, tied).

Front rebound damping: 7 - 8 clicks with 28.95% of the vote. Next was 5 -6 clicks with 18.42%.

Front compression damping: 7 - 8 clicks with 28.95%. It was close, though...next was 9 - 10 clicks with 26.32% and 11 - 12 clicks next with 23.68%.

Rear rebound damping: 5 -6 clicks with 26.32%. Next was 11 - 12 clicks with 21.05%.

Rear spring preload: Soft with 65.79%. Hard was (obviously, given there are only two choices) 34.21%.

I have saved the final graph images to my computer; if anyone would like .jpgs sent of them all so that you can see what each individual choice received for each of the five questions, feel free to PM me w/ your email address and I'll send them your way.