[Arby]

I'm just curious if I'm doing this right. I weigh in at around 210lbs. When I ride alone on the 650 I set the rear shocks on the 2 setting. When riding two up with my wife I set the shocks at 4. Is this right or do I have it backwards? Seems to handle real well with two up but bounces around a bit with the one-up setting.

 

[Jim]

You have it right, I use the same settings here, I found it rides much better 2 up. I find on setting 1, the "front end" is too stiff riding solo, 3 works OK 2 up at slower speeds <65 mph. pauljo installed new shocks in the rear and he says it seems to help. The consensous here (the forum) is the rear springs are a bit too stiff. There is a balance between the front shocks and rear, and that changes from riding solo to 2 up. I contend the rears need to be a bit stiff to accmodate the front. Changing the fork oil in the front to a lighter weight (softer) seems to help some riders, some prefer heaver oil (stiffer). It would be nice if the front forks were adjustable so you could change between solo and 2 up riding. At higher speeds you need a stiffer setting in the rear to keep to front end down.

 

[Sails]

I weight in at 205 and have mine set at #3. Riding home from thedealer with them set at #2 I found the frontend to be too light. It could have just been me but when I set them to 3 the lightness went away. The small amount of 2up that i have done has been at the same #3 setting and I haven't found all that much differences. The ladies that I had on the back would have been in the 110-130 range.

 

[JohnnyDeath]

I found the front was light when preload was set for 2, so I now cruise alone with the rear set at 3, and I up it to 4 when I ride two up. Seems to work perfectly for me.

 

[pauljo]

When I was riding with the stock shocks I used setting 3 most of the time. I weigh about 220. The bike seems to handle better in cross winds with the shocks set to 3 or 4 - I think it keeps the front end planted better. The Icon shocks I run now have a much stiffer spring and only 3 preload settings (but there is a much larger difference between the settings). I can run them on 1 riding solo, and 2 with an adult passenger. The Ikons also have 4 position adjustable damping which I have set to 2 all the time. Overall I like the Ikons much better than the stock shocks.

 

[allwalk]

I weigh 190 lbs. Front fork oil changed to 15 wt and I ride with the back setting maxed out at 5 now. I like the way the scoot handles now and frost heaves are not an issue anymore.

 

[captainfish]

Allwalk,
wouldn't that be considered a bum-sore ride?

I guess I am not seeing how a very hard setting of #5 gives you a smooth ride with just a change in the front fork oil?

Teach me oh wise master. :lol: :lol:

 

[Bazza]

You suspension fiddlers out there might be interested in a mod I've done to the front end of the 650. To me the front seemed too stiff, I tried the 15 weight oil but that only made them stiffer so I went the other way and now am running 2.5 weight.
Whilst I had the caps off the forks (it is possible to syphon the oil out if you're very very patient) I removed the 200mm steel spacer and bought a piece of same diameter exhaust pipe from my local muffler shop (he GAVE it to me actually) and cut two 180mm lengths and installed them in lieu of the 200mm spacers.
Result ?? Nice and soft BUT accompanied by some bottoming so off came the fork caps and I started adding 2mm thick 35mm diameter stainless washers to the top of the 180mm spacer.
I'm now riding around with 190mm of spacer and 2.5 oil and for me at 80Kg....mmmm thats about 175 imperial pounds it's just right. Incidently when I first removed the forks to change to 15 weight oil, I reckon they have almost ZERO compression damping. If we ever get another rainy day over here I'll remove the spacer and washers and cut 10mm off the originals to give me the 190mm.
Bazza

 

[Jim]

Bazza,

Thanks for the info.
now I have something else to play with.

 

[allwalk]

See I found my 650 was too soft in the front end. I found it bottoming out on certain sections of rough roads up our way. After going to the 15 w fork oil I found there was no more bottoming out occuring. Now to be honest and only my opinion the 650 stock was good the way it was if you do alot of city riding and the speeds you are riding are slower . When riding at highway speeds you hit the bumps harder and need the extra dampening (IMHO). I sacraficed a little slow speed comfort for more high speed comfort.

I noticed the same bottom out or bucking from the back suspension and IMO the ride actually smoothed out with the spring settings increased. My next upgrade would to get the Ikon shocks like Pauljo.

 

[Analytical]

Here's my question. How do you actually select a different setting? I found the gizmo (technical term) that you turn to choose your setting. It's got a bunch of holes around it. Is there a special tool that you put in a hole to turn it? Do you just stick something like a screwdrive into a hole to use for leverage? Do you use the holes at all? Or should I just go grab my gorilla-sized pipe wrench? (Somehow, that seems like it would be suboptimal).

 

[Jim]

There is a special tool included with it, but I don't use it.

If you put the bike on the centerstand, you can grab it with your hand and turn it.

The tool however works great to snug up the steering head.

 

[Wasquid]

I weigh 165 pounds.
I have the rear shocks set on 4.
I keep the tires filled to 33 front and 41 rear.

It handles decently, even at a good clip. A couple of my buddies on a Blackbird and an SV1000S did walk away from me on a road of sweepers and straights last Sunday though.