Jim said:
Now if there was a way to easly adjust the dampining in the front as well we would have it made.
Very true. That is an extremely rare option on motorcycles though. Some come from the factory with adjustable rear damping, but almost never for the front forks (My V-Strom is an example of that). To alter springs, valving or damping in the front forks, you have to take them apart. A number of motorcycles (including the V-Strom) do provide some external adjustment for the spring preload on the front forks though - better than nothing.
Mounting soapbox... Suzuki did put a lot of high-tech stuff in the basic AN650 package. It is a very good basic package overall. I give them credit where credit is due. BUT... Both Suzuki and many of the aftermarket parts manufacturers, seem to still labor under the impression that scooter riders are a in class below motorcycle riders when it comes to wanting to upgrade key performance items on their machines. The stereotype is newbie riders, folks who've never experienced the performance of a well set up motorcycle. Folks who are happy to accept the stock package, and who are unlikely to spend money to improve performance, ride, handling etc. on their scooters. And maybe the resurgence of scooters is just a fad that will soon disappear anyway. So they are reluctant to make the investment in R&D, tooling, and marketing, to produce enhanced performance parts for scooters.
Before Lycheed, or one of our European members, tears me up, let me say that I know this is more of a problem in the USA than in countries where scooters are very mainstream. But many of the choices you get in Europe or Japan are not available here. No one has seen the value of importing & distributing them in the US yet.
In truth, we have several categories of riders in our group. Newcomers to riding - and everybody has to start somewhere - we all did. (I welcome all newbies - without them, the future of motorcycling / scootering would be bleak.) Folks who laid off from riding for many years & came back on a Burgman. And folks who have been riding motorcycles for years and have owned dozens of bikes (and sometimes several scooters too). Folks who are used to taking a machine from the factory, and spending a bit more to tune it to their own tastes in performance, comfort, and utility. And with internet groups like this one, if a experienced rider installs something that vastly improves the ride, wind protection, performance or comfort of their scooter - they report on it. And some of the newcomers read the reports, and reach for their wallets too. There IS a market.
Fortunately, some choices have surfaced during the last year, thanks to folks like Givi, Clearview, Remus, recently Corbin - and a couple of others. And we have some very innovative folks in our group who devise their own solutions where no ready made solution exits yet. I'm hoping that we will eventually have as many options as any motorcycle owner.
Thump - fell off soapbox. Can you tell it is a rainy day here???