Rear Shocks

[JProdun]

First, don't want to seem apologetic, but I do apologize if some of my questions annoy some of the members on the forum... Things is, I'm relatively new to motorcycling and do like to hand my hands dirty as suppose to bringing my bike to the shop every time.

So the questions is in regards to adjusting the rear shocks on my '14 MY V7.

I just want to know how to make sure that they are even after I've adjusted them.

Want to play around before getting into aftermarket stuff.

Thank you!

[Poncho]

jp, well you could use a black marker and mark your current settings on the threads. If you put yor stone on a lift and get that rear wheel off the ground to unload tension on the spring, you would have to run the spanner nut all the way down to its start point. mark the nut and count how many full rotations back up to your desired setting. write that number down. then do the other shock the same number of rotations..

or if you've got really good eyesight and can count threads (I cant, keep loosing my place), you might be able to get close to even? poncho

[fotoguzzi]

your questions are not annoying and perfectly in sync with this forum. keep em coming..

[jacksonracingcomau]

I use a steel rule, measure between spring seat (fixed) and spring seat (adjustable), make sure both are same, From this point you can add or reduce preload in even amounts, ie one turn each side.

[O]

your questions are not annoying and perfectly in sync with this forum. keep em coming..

 :1:

[canuguzzi]

Use the camera on your smart phone if you have one. No need to mark stuff up and you'll always have the reference at hand.

I've gotten to the point that I take pictures before during and after adjusting, removing or messing in any way with anything. Those pics will save you a lot of grief.

You can also use the video feature and talk about your efforts, measurements and so on. Sure beats looking around for scraps of paper with scribbles on it that you can no longer decipher.

[Cam3512]

When I had the stock shocks, I did put a dot with a Sharpie on the adjuster ring.  Easier to count full rotations of the ring when making adjustments.

[pyoungbl]

In theory you should have exactly the same pressure on each shock spring.  In actual practice getting close is good enough.  The swingarm itself is rigid enough to deal with a slight imbalance of pressure.  The various tricks already mentioned will do the trick.  With that said, you still want to get the pressure as close to even as possible. 

For the suspension to do its job well you want to see some sag when you are sitting on the machine.  You'll need a helper to check this.  I use blue painter's tape to mark a spot on the frame that is directly above the rear axle.  Measure the distance from axle to the mark with the bike upright and unladen.  It's best to be using a metric measuring tape.  Then sit on the bike and take the same measurement.  If you have a centerstand you can also measure the distance from axle to tape when the wheel is off the ground.  Now you can see how much the suspension sags when the bike is just upright and when you are sitting on the bike....compared to full extension of the suspension when the wheel is off the ground.  I found that I had almost no sag even though I had backed off the pre-load.  The spring was simply too strong for my weight and the bike rode like a brick.  I like to see the suspension sag about 15-20% when I sit on the bike.  With the 4.5" travel on the rear axle that turns into about 1" of sag.  I still have 3.5" of compression available.  Remember that the geometry of shock to swingarm is such that the shock only compresses about 3" when the rear axle moves the full 4.5".  You can verify this by drawing the relationship on a big piece of cardboard.  It's an interesting experiment....well, for me it was.

Peter Y.