deer strike: klr:1 deer:0

[Stan]

You should set ride height by direct observation rather than guessing at shock setting numbers. Here is a link that'll help: http://cgi.motorcycle.com/mo/mcmail/interviews/rathwell.html Stan Glen wrote:

>When I bought my A14 used this summer the guy who sold it to me was >fairly big and the rear shock was set on 5, I have ridden it the >exact way that he had it set up since day one. I am 160 pounds and >he was probably 200 and some. If I turn the rear shock down to >three would that be better off, and if I did then would I need to >mess with the all the other settings?? I haven't looked into the >suspension much at all if anyone maybe has a link to a detailed site >or something that would give me some much needed info. By the way >when I ride it is usually just me and a backpack so probably only >about 180 pounds total rider and gear! >Thanks > >Glenski(tinkering with the KiLleR all winter long) >A14 > > >List sponsored by Dual Sport News at www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html >Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: >DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . > > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > >To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DSN_klr650/ > >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > >

[Stan]

Here's a better link: http://www.fatbaq.com/mainpage.phtml?topic=sag Stan Glen wrote:

>When I bought my A14 used this summer the guy who sold it to me was >fairly big and the rear shock was set on 5, I have ridden it the >exact way that he had it set up since day one. I am 160 pounds and >he was probably 200 and some. If I turn the rear shock down to >three would that be better off, and if I did then would I need to >mess with the all the other settings?? I haven't looked into the >suspension much at all if anyone maybe has a link to a detailed site >or something that would give me some much needed info. By the way >when I ride it is usually just me and a backpack so probably only >about 180 pounds total rider and gear! >Thanks > >Glenski(tinkering with the KiLleR all winter long) >A14 > > >List sponsored by Dual Sport News at www.dualsportnews.com. List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html >Unsubscribe by sending a blank message to: >DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com . > > > >Yahoo! Groups Links > >To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DSN_klr650/ > >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com > >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > >

[Chris]

That's for setting your preload or 'sag'. It essentially sets the ride height so it's at the right point based on the load you put on the bike while seated. It will affect your handling to a degree as it changes the balance of weight front/back of the bike. As you lower it, the front end should become lighter as you are sitting the bike back more towards the rear. At 270lbs the stock shock/spring set to 4 or 5 wasn't doing a thing for me, my nose was still very light. After upgrading to a 500-560 spring I'm running on 3, also running the LR fork springs with 2.75" preload spacers, it's really nicely balanced again. I can control the weight balance a lot more by moving around on the bike than I could before. Much more neutral. Actually really shocked me how much better it felt. When I rode home I caught myself doing 70 in a 50 and didn't even feel it at all. On the way up to do the work I was pogoing all over the place and was going much slower. There's a formula for measuring your sag, Devon helped me out with that one, google will have a few sites that show how to do it. Try 'motorcycle sag adjustment'.

On Fri, Dec 19, 2003 at 05:37:29PM -0000, Glen wrote: > When I bought my A14 used this summer the guy who sold it to me was > fairly big and the rear shock was set on 5, I have ridden it the > exact way that he had it set up since day one. I am 160 pounds and > he was probably 200 and some. If I turn the rear shock down to > three would that be better off, and if I did then would I need to > mess with the all the other settings?? I haven't looked into the > suspension much at all if anyone maybe has a link to a detailed site > or something that would give me some much needed info. By the way > when I ride it is usually just me and a backpack so probably only > about 180 pounds total rider and gear! > Thanks > > Glenski(tinkering with the KiLleR all winter long) > A14 > -- ___ ______ _____ __ ________ ___ / _ |< < / == / ___/__ / /_ /_ __/ / __ ____ _ ___ /__ \ / __ |/ // / ****/ (_ / _ \/ __/ / / / _ \/ // / ' \/ _ \ /__/ /_/ |_/_//_/ == \___/\___/\__/ /_/ /_//_/\_,_/_/_/_/ .__/ (_) 8600 miles*Russel Lines*Supertrapp Race* /_/ http://www.panix.com/~cesser/mybike/

[Glen]

Thanks for the info guys it helped alot! How adjustable is the front end on the KLR?? I don't have a shop manual so I am just winging it. Glenski A14

--- In DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com, "Glen" wrote: > When I bought my A14 used this summer the guy who sold it to me was > fairly big and the rear shock was set on 5, I have ridden it the > exact way that he had it set up since day one. I am 160 pounds and > he was probably 200 and some. If I turn the rear shock down to > three would that be better off, and if I did then would I need to > mess with the all the other settings?? I haven't looked into the > suspension much at all if anyone maybe has a link to a detailed site > or something that would give me some much needed info. By the way > when I ride it is usually just me and a backpack so probably only > about 180 pounds total rider and gear! > Thanks > > Glenski(tinkering with the KiLleR all winter long) > A14

[Chris]

On Fri, Dec 19, 2003 at 08:07:40PM -0000, Glen wrote:

> Thanks for the info guys it helped alot! How adjustable is the > front end on the KLR?? I don't have a shop manual so I am just > winging it. > > Glenski > A14 >

Not very, the Progressive Suspension LR fork springs are almost a must-have upgrade though, at least at my weight. They will firm up the feel, lessen a lot of the dive under braking and help reduce bottoming. Once you put them in, you can mess around with the length of the spacers a bit which is essentially preload for the forks, though at your weight you probably won't need much of that. You can further tune by changing the fork oil weight to tune the dampening and even further by putting the valve emulators in. Where I left off is the stock shock body/oil, stock fork oil. As a newbie hack of a rider it's o.k. so far. I'll most likely upgrade the shock with a cleaning/rebuild with 10wt oil and fresh nitrogen just to help damp the tighter spring a bit better. For the forks, I'll get a round tuit one of these days and add my 15wt oil I have sitting here. Again those weight oils are quite heavy and are a choice due to my bulk. Same setup for you would be quite stiff riding. -- ___ ______ _____ __ ________ ___ / _ |< < / == / ___/__ / /_ /_ __/ / __ ____ _ ___ /__ \ / __ |/ // / ****/ (_ / _ \/ __/ / / / _ \/ // / ' \/ _ \ /__/ /_/ |_/_//_/ == \___/\___/\__/ /_/ /_//_/\_,_/_/_/_/ .__/ (_) 8600 miles*Russel Lines*Supertrapp Race* /_/ http://www.panix.com/~cesser/mybike/

[Chris Krok]

> I got my Works shock from gps-suspension.com. I might have Gary (owner > of GPS) try and work on a stock KLR shock and see what he can do with it. > > Devon

Forgot to mention... Works can also do a "heart transplant" of the stocker, so maybe Gary can do it as well. -- Dr. J. Christopher Krok John Lucas Adaptive Wind Tunnel Caltech MS 205-45, Pasadena, CA 91125

[Bryan Loehr]

Last week I sold my 1150 GS. It took a long time to decide to do so. As I weigh all the reasons I have for selling it, I realize that it's what I needed to do and I'm ready to move on. Recognizing an opportunity, however, I moped around the house for a couple of days until my wife said, "Why don't you go ahead and fix up the KLR a bit?" Yes!!! So, what about the very pricey Progressive rear shock and spring? I've already ordered a hydraulic clutch and a couple of other doodads, but I think I can go this one more thing. Is the shock/spring worth it. I have Progressives in the front, will there be a significant improvement with the rear set? I ride pavement mostly (love the twisties) with a yearly kick-ass ride down in Death Valley. Bryan [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Mike Torst]

I have the Progressive 420 and Grey spring (500-550 pounder if memory serves me correctly). I weigh 230lbs. in my gear. Still bottoms on jumps, but much better than stock. Some guys just by a heavier spring and further still some redo the stock shock to work with heavier springs. I expect you'll be hearing from them shortly. Mike Torst Las Vegas

> -----Original Message----- > From: Bryan Loehr [mailto:bryanl@...] > Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 8:08 PM > To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com > Subject: [DSN_klr650] Rear Shock > > Last week I sold my 1150 GS. It took a long time to decide to do so. As > I weigh all the reasons I have for selling it, I realize that it's what I > needed to do and I'm ready to move on. > > Recognizing an opportunity, however, I moped around the house for a couple > of days until my wife said, "Why don't you go ahead and fix up the KLR a > bit?" > > Yes!!! > > So, what about the very pricey Progressive rear shock and spring? I've > already ordered a hydraulic clutch and a couple of other doodads, but I > think I can go this one more thing. > > Is the shock/spring worth it. I have Progressives in the front, will > there be a significant improvement with the rear set? > > I ride pavement mostly (love the twisties) with a yearly kick-ass ride > down in Death Valley. > > Bryan >

[Chris]

If it were me, from all that Devon has gone through with the shocks, I'd go out and buy a WP or Ohlins, a 'real' shock that is made to be tuneable and one that you can have built to spec based on your weight and type of riding. They really aren't that much more and the guys here who run them have no trouble.

On Wed, May 26, 2004 at 08:08:01PM -0700, Bryan Loehr wrote: > So, what about the very pricey Progressive rear shock and spring? I've already ordered a hydraulic clutch and a couple of other doodads, but I think I can go this one more thing. > > Is the shock/spring worth it. I have Progressives in the front, will there be a significant improvement with the rear set? > > I ride pavement mostly (love the twisties) with a yearly kick-ass ride down in Death Valley. > -- ___ ______ _____ __ ________ ___ / _ |< < / == / ___/__ / /_ /_ __/ / __ ____ _ ___ /__ \ / __ |/ // / ****/ (_ / _ \/ __/ / / / _ \/ // / ' \/ _ \ /__/ /_/ |_/_//_/ == \___/\___/\__/ /_/ /_//_/\_,_/_/_/_/ .__/ (_) 8600 miles*Russel Lines*Supertrapp Race* /_/ http://www.kingsqueak.org/klr650/

[Lujo Bauer]

> So, what about the very pricey Progressive rear shock and spring? I've already ordered a hydraulic clutch and a couple of other doodads, but I think I can go this one more thing. > > Is the shock/spring worth it. I have Progressives in the front, will there be a significant improvement with the rear set? > > I ride pavement mostly (love the twisties) with a yearly kick-ass ride down in Death Valley.

I think that if you aren't incredibly demanding then the stock shock with a stiffer spring will do wonders for you and won't break the bank. -Lujo [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]