Author Topic: Softer - Kinder Ride  (Read 8461 times)

Offline VirginiaJim

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Re: Softer - Kinder Ride
« Reply #20 on: July 07, 2016, 05:20:24 AM »
Them's fighting words... ;)
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Offline VirginiaJim

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Re: Softer - Kinder Ride
« Reply #21 on: July 07, 2016, 07:26:54 AM »
One thing the OP might do is go to the Race Tech site racetech.com and go through the exercise of  putting their weight in to their spring calculator.  Also, their FAQ section is pretty good.  A 140lb rider should have a spring ratio or 1.234kg/mm.  Our stocker is 1.2kg/mm.

I'm not sure but is that recommending a heftier spring?  They have different spring rates coming up after you put in your weight.  My ratio is 1.35kg/mm.
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Offline Surf Concours

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Re: Softer - Kinder Ride
« Reply #22 on: July 07, 2016, 08:04:23 AM »
Unfortunately Yes the bike is for Sale, my knees are cramping more and hating some of the road bumps. I recently inquired about any Threads regarding moving the foot/peg controls forward to decrease the knee/leg bend? I’m not interested in a cruiser, and not looking forward to considering a BMW $$. HELP

Offline VirginiaJim

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Re: Softer - Kinder Ride
« Reply #23 on: July 07, 2016, 08:07:52 AM »
If you've backed out all the settings there isn't much you can do for it, unfortunately other than changing spring rates, fluid viscosity, fluid levels, but that is a lot of work for possibly little gain.  Sorry.
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Offline DaddyFlip

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Re: Softer - Kinder Ride
« Reply #24 on: July 07, 2016, 09:29:57 AM »
Truth be told, I'm 240# so I'm not qualified, according to the MOB to give an answer. BUT, the facts say that Kawi setup the bike in its standard OE configuration for a 150# rider. The spring rate, confirmed by Racetech, is correct (that 34 thousandths of a kilo is insignificant in the big picture).

There are two issues the OP is trying to address if we have all the facts: (1) knee bend/foot location and (2) impact of bike response to road imperfections on the rider.

(1) This is a sport bike. Have to come to grips with that fact before moving on to potential problem resolution. Yes, it is a sport-touring bike, meaning the controls/geometry is relaxed a little compared to its parent bike. If knee bend is an issue, then a custom seat that moves the rider up and back is a potential solution. I did this on another bike with a Baldwin GT seat, which is also wider at the front to give more support under the thighs. For a short rider, this can cause some issues with getting the feet down. Lower pegs are also a potential and there are some that have a bit of fore/aft adjustment. This means that the control levers might have to be adjusted. A combination of custom seat and peg lowering is an option. Also, moving up and back will require a shorter rider make significant adjustment to handlebar location. Horizon bars ($700) might be necessary for ultimate comfort and control. If the rider can deal with less extreme measures in the normal pegs, then a set of highway pegs, either dedicated, or mounted to tip-over protection bars, would give temporary, alternative foot placement for relieving pressure from the knees. Every rider's physical needs and mental/emotional expectations are different. I am 6-3 with a 35" inseam sitting on a 5-year old stock seat and I have no issue with seat or foot placement and knee bend. My knees are only 46 years old but they have not been pampered. Bottom line... the rider sensitive to knee bend on a sport or sport-touring bike needs to spend time and money altering the bike to fit their needs / expectations, change their expectations, or change bikes.

(2) The repairs to the roads where I live have been repaired several times over. This means there are potholes and mounds of black tar patches all over the place. The road in front of my house is two lane blacktop, 3.25 miles long and perfectly straight. Navigating my 8-foot lane is like walking through a minefield. When I hit a 'mine' I know it and feel it; I want to avoid as many as possible. Again, I'm 240# but I have never touched the suspension adjustments after 5000 miles. I have no idea where they are set. After spending a year fiddling with every possible adjustment on my last bike and never being satisfied, I will make a generalization and say that if a casual, recreational rider is not basically happy with a bike in any random configuration of suspension and tire pressure settings, then chances are he will never be happy with that bike, even if the "perfect" settings are ever found.

I had a brand new bike that I wanted and loved with all my heart - it was unexpectedly (wasn't shopping for that style bike) perfect for me. But I hated riding it because it always performed below my expectations. Maybe my expectations were wrong, but that didn't change reality for me. The longer I owned it, the less satisfied I became until it just sat in the carport. Then I hated looking at it sitting there. Poor bike. A few years ago, I changed cars from a Dodge Magnum to a Ford Taurus. I had two Magnums in a row and loved them. I hated the Taurus for a long time; it took 40,000 miles before I could break in the seat and be comfortable in it. Now I love the Taurus (except the gauges suck- poor dash and bezel design).

BUT if there is something to be done to resolve (2) it will come in the form of patience and trial and error. Experiment with lower air pressure. 42/42 has to be for rider/passenger with luggage, even though the book doesn't say this. Remembering that this is a heavy bike, don't go crazy but I might slowly/gradually try as low as 38psi on a safe road with no traffic to see how the bike behaves. Depends on the tire also. Don't run a GT or A spec tire; you don't need it for your conditions. These will have stiffer sidewalls.

On suspension. I would put all settings at book standard. Then on that mythical safe and traffic free road, experiment first with the damping adjustments to see if they settle or relax the bike faster after hitting bumps. Shock alone at full S then full H to see if you notice a difference and if one is better than the other. Then try both forks alone (put shock back to standard) full S then full H. Once you know how the bike responds to the extremes, you will have clues as to how to make adjustments in combination to potentially settle the bike. Then put all this back to standard and play with the preload. Unless you know what you're doing, it's best just to get lucky with the adjustments, OR there are a couple of good primers on the net for adjusting sag and damping, OR you can take the bike to a specialist who can help you set it up by the numbers (not the book) and go from there.

If none of this is appealing or possible, then bike shopping is guaranteed to be fun, expensive, and at least temporarily satisfying.

BTW... I see the OP has asked for peg threads on the other forum. On THIS forum, try a search for "move pegs" (three pages of posts) and "lower pegs" (seven pages of posts) for ideas that might suit.

Maybe this thread is a winner...
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=386.0
« Last Edit: July 07, 2016, 12:21:58 PM by DaddyFlip »
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Offline maxtog

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Re: Softer - Kinder Ride
« Reply #25 on: July 07, 2016, 08:51:36 PM »
 :goodpost:
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Offline kwakrider

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Re: Softer - Kinder Ride
« Reply #26 on: July 08, 2016, 12:13:39 AM »

Offline kirkcdl

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Re: Softer - Kinder Ride
« Reply #27 on: July 08, 2016, 05:18:27 PM »

On suspension. I would put all settings at book standard.


Having had some issues myself setting up my suspension,and I haven't found the sweet spot yet,could you please tell me what "book standard" is?
I have searched both owners and service manual and found nothing.Please give me somewhere to look,and thanks in advance...

Offline VirginiaJim

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Re: Softer - Kinder Ride
« Reply #28 on: July 08, 2016, 05:26:22 PM »
As always....what year bike?  The book guideline settings in the owner's manual for the gen 1s (08-09) starts at page 190.  Have no clue on the gen 2's.
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Offline DaddyFlip

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Re: Softer - Kinder Ride
« Reply #29 on: July 08, 2016, 05:46:01 PM »
If you start at page 190 for G2, you're gonna get an oil thread going, so I will try to restrain myself.

Suspension adjustment in the G2 book (Owner's Manual, that is) starts on page 224. The numbers and explanations are there, so no need to spell them out here.

Happy reading!
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Offline kirkcdl

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Re: Softer - Kinder Ride
« Reply #30 on: July 09, 2016, 06:23:25 AM »
Thanks...

Offline tomp

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Re: Softer - Kinder Ride
« Reply #31 on: July 29, 2016, 09:59:46 PM »
Just something I recently learned.  Bought a Duc Multistrada 1100S, that had Ohlins front and rear.  Didn't keep the bike, due to problems I didn't want to address, but FWIW, that suspension was the BEST I have ever owned, and that is almost 70 bikes over almost 50 years.  Corners, no problem.  Rough roads, smooth as glass, I was totally amazed at how good that suspension was, and I hadn't even set it up for me. 

My '11 C14 is set at just a bit harder than stock recommendations, but still feels good on highways and in the twisties, at 200lbs.

Hope you go things sorted out, but if you don't want to spoil yourself for whatever you have, DON'T ride anything with Ohlins.  tomp  dd50
Living in the Texas Coast...