Hi all,
I’m writing about my 07 Breva 1100 (~ 20k miles) which I acquired in November. I’ve been very happy with how the suspension feels, firm and handles really well. I’ve never touched the suspension settings, as it was working well for me from the outset.
Last weekend, my wife got around to having her first ride with me as a passenger on this bike, and I wanted to reset the suspension for two people, so pulled out the manual and started unwinding the preload on the rear shock and counting clicks. Turns out the preload was set for rider, passenger, and luggage (42 clicks, I believe), rather than the recommended 8 clicks for rider only. So I set the preload for the recommended for rider plus passenger (35 clicks) and set the rebound damping to whatever the manual says (11 clicks). Pushing the seat down and letting the bike settle showed that the previous setting was massively firmer than what I now had, and the new setup was much more compliant. This was confirmed by the ride, which handled reasonably well (I wasn’t pushing it too much), and had a very compliant ride.
Next day, I set the suspension for rider only (8 clicks of preload, plus the recommended rebound damping setting of 14 clicks), and set off for a more aggressive solo ride. Somehow it didn’t impress me the way I was hoping it would. I’ll ride it some more with this setup, but it maybe didn’t feel as sharp as it had with the original high preload and damping setting. Maybe I’m just used to how it felt previously. By the way, 8 clicks barely compresses the springs, it feels like the first 6 or 7 clicks are just taking up free movement in the winder, the last one or two clicks are actually compressing the spring. That’s the same as I recall in my Norge 8v.
Here’s my questions and I’m looking for your opinions:
Given that I’m a 180-185 lb rider (and 6’2” if that matters), and the age of the suspension, is the stock setting correct, or should I compensate for my weight, age of the shock, and riding style?
Forks/front suspension: I haven’t checked the front suspension settings. The owners manual is a bit unclear, it says “8.5 turns from completely preloaded (std)”. Does this mean “crank it down to fully preloaded in the direction of the + arrow, then back off 8.5 turns on both forks”, or something else? Looks like the fork oil was changed at 11.4k miles.
Any other thoughts on suspension?
Thanks everyone! I love this bike, it brings me great joy.
