Rear Wheel Travel - V7 Stone

[TimmyTheHog]

Okay...

I finally got around actually set up my rear shock properly for my 2015 V7 Stone...

well, this is when I actually start reading the manual on wheel travels...

This is how I understand it:

Full extend shock distance minus the laden shock distance with full gear on = Sag

I NEED to set my sag to about 1/3" of the wheel travel which is 100mm according to my manual...HOWEVER, the more I "research" on the web, I start to read 118mm??????

Am I reading my wheel travel wrong???

[asaleo]

My experience of adjusting the stock shocks om my MG Special II is following:
Bike was delivered with 20 mm threads below setting nut. My weight is only 141 pounds which made my trip home with my new Guzzi very scary. My bike steered very easy, too easily since it kind of went either to the left or to the right on the road. I could not understand what was the problem then. At home I rembered something from my old BMW R75/5. Setting shocks with high pretension gives a bike which steers easily, in my case to easily. Lowering pretension on my new Guzzi to around 8 mm thread below setting thread gave me a much better ride. Conclusion: You have to test your setting by riding your bike. If it feels good, then it should be OK. Setting shock pretension is actually a setting of height of bike end. Lowering pretension to much will give a bike which is reluctant to steer.

[TimmyTheHog]

well, so far it is quite easy to steer and ride

just i noticed I can feel all the little bumps going down the street...not like a washboard but more like shopping cart down a parking lot feel.

Doesn't bother me enough to look into it, but I guess now with the rain/snow season here where I live, I got some time to see if my sag is correct as well as other stuff...

1/3 of 100mm = 33.33mm, and 1/3 of 118 is 39.333mm...that is a difference of 6mm...I know it doesn't need to be exact but I just want to set up at a point I know it is "supposed" to be right and work from there...

[pyoungbl]

 Hi Timmy, may I suggest that you are over thinking this a bit.  That 1/3 rule is just a rough guide.  Starting with 100 mm or 118 mm won't make a whole lot of difference in what you set your sag to.....as a starting point.  Then you need to ride the bike and see if you are happy with the result.  In a perfect world you  would start off with a spring that accounts for your weight, then have some adjustments for compression and rebound.  Unfortunately the OEM setup is a pretty stiff spring and no other adjustments.  I found the valving on my 2012 V7 to be pretty crappy and the spring was way too strong for my 195 lb body.  With the preload backed all the way off I was still getting launched off the seat when I hit a bump.  Others are perfectly happy with the stock parts so maybe I'm just too sensitive (my wife would disagree but that's another discussion).  In the end I opted for aftermarket shocks and I have no regrets.

My comments are not a hit against Guzzi.  Every other manufacturer cuts corners on their entry level product...well, until you get into the super high end stuff.  One way to keep cost down is with suspension parts.  Thus we get pretty basic suspension on the V7 line.  My Stelvio, on the other hand, had really nice suspension bits...it also had a MSRP of twice my V7. 

[kingoffleece]

Shocks can be very fickle at times to set up proper.  I had custom Ohlins made for my V7 and the experience at first was like the above post.  I would get launched out of the seat ofter-too often.  I spent several months tuning but never felt like I got it as right as it should be.  So, I headed off the HAMLIN and after we started setting sag discovered that my springs were too SOFT.  I'd blow thru the travel.
The point is pyoungbl and I had the same result with opposite issues with the spring.

One thing you can do to help fine tune is to  place a tie wrap around the shock shaft to see ow much it's really moving.  I prefer to use a black magic marker to make a reference line on the shaft.  You'll easily see exactly how much it's traveling at a glance by where it gets wiped off.  Easy to do when you are out for tuning runs.

On my 2015 V7 the factory indication is that the springs are set for approx a 165 lb rider if I understood correct.

[TimmyTheHog]

Hmm...I get what you two are saying. And according to the number, I am right in the range of the spring

Normally the ride is okay except I can feel minor bumps as I right on the street where it isn't the MOST flat...even a tiny pebbles I can feel the bike goes over it.

However, it isn't the bucking horse over the seat type of bounce...

Guess I can try the magic market trick and see how much travel I actually do have from full extend to when I sit on the bike...and work from there I guess...

just kinda mind boggling when there are different data coming form Guzzi themselves.  ...guess it isn't the first time they done that...*coughmanualcough*

[JohninVT]

I know you’re focused on sag settings and spring rates but a huge part of ride quality is determined by the tires.  Factory pressure settings are a guide.  They’re not always ideal.  I use the +3 rule.  For example, your tires are set at 30psi cold.  You take it for a spirited ride on a hot day and check them after a half hour.  The pressure when the tire is hot should be 33psi.  If it’s still 30psi the starting pressure was too high.  Drop the pressure a couple pounds.  If you start at 30psi cold and it goes to 36 hot then you started too low.  Bump up the cold setting a couple psi until the tire only changes 3psi from cold to hot. 

A tire must be warm to work properly.  Too hot and steering slows, the tire can get greasy and there is premature wear.  If it’s too cold you’ll feel every pebble(think roller skate wheels), steering will be quicker and it won’t grip as well.  The change in psi from cold to hot is an indicator your tire is operating as it should.  You will get the best ride quality from the tire. 

The +3 rule of thumb also applies when you decide to load a weeks worth of luggage and your wife on the bike for a cross country trip.  You will need to increase your cold pressures until you only gain 3 between cold and hot. 

Before you mess with shock settings or spring rates...start with the tires and work your way up.

[kingoffleece]

Well said.  I've used the 10% rule but it's almost the same as +3psi.
We've had the Dunlop racing tire guys at our BMW club meetings as they make the race tires in Buffalo.  They said that for street tires if the difference between cold and hot tires is 10% different that you're very close to ideal.  Kevin Cameron also wrote about this in one of his books.