Setting up your suspension

[spacetiger_imp]

carguy,

It looks like the 1 3/8" measurement is from you on the bike? I cannot make out the last measurement; I can see it is 2.5" but cannot see where the bottom is referenced from. Is it 2.5" above the ziptie, that is 1 3/8", above the fork dust seal?

Do you have a centerstand? If so, can you
1. push the ziptie to the dust seal
2. place bike on centerstand
3. sit on back of seat to get nose of bike up in air (this takes the weight of the bike off the front)
4. have someone measure this distance, this is the bike sag.

We need this distance to add to the 1 3/8" to know the total sag.

First impression is that you are going to have well over 2" [1" (guess at bike sag) + 1 3/8"] for your rider sag. The front suspension only has 4.2" of travel, so you would be investing over half of the suspension to set your sag. That would be too much. It is likely you will have to increase the preload spacers in the front forks.

I'll wait to hear from you on the bike sag measurement.

After you measure the bike sag since you have someone else in the garage, can you get them to sit on the bike (instead of you) and you measure the rider sag measurement for him/her. The bike will have to be on both wheels and he/she will have to have the feet on the pegs, you can steady the bike so it stays upright. I'm guessing that person does not weigh as much as you so the measurement will be less than 1 3/8" I also need their weight.

Jerry

[Carguy1959_imp]

And another
Here I are pictures of my measurements
The 2.5 measurement is from the zip tie to the tape. The tape was set at 4.2 with the front wheel hanging while the bike was on the center stand. The tire wasn't touching the ground when I put the tape on the 4.2 mark. My preload is set on the 3rd line from the factory.

[spacetiger_imp]

k, can you get the bike sag only measurement then? Getting your wife rider sag measurement would be helpful since I don't have your spring rate. I am trying to get 2 measurements knowing your weight and your wife"s weight to back fit your spring rate.

Jerry

[Carguy1959_imp]

Also I was the one on the bike, I used my floor jack to tilt the bike back. I weigh 170.

[spacetiger_imp]

carguy,

Here is what I can tell you based on the info provided, your current preload is at 40.5% which is a bit on the high side as a good target to shoot for is 25%. That means you need to increase the preload to the max possible, then repeat measurements to see if we can get close to 25%. If we cannot get there, then you will need to put in longer preload spacers. I can walk you through this as this can be done with the forks on the bike (although I am not sure what fork access you have with the vetter on).

Good call on the use of the floor jack.

Here is a pic of your current situation. As soon as you can get the wife's info or you with with 50 lbs of stuff on your lap I can try to backfit a curve.

[url=http://s93.photobucket.com/user/spacetiger81/media/CB1100/4.%20%201%20%20carguy_zpsnte7ldsi.jpg.html]

Jerry

[Carguy1959_imp]

So basically, I need to increase my preload to reduce my travel. Wife doesn't ride or ride with me.
Thanks for the info, I will play with it and get back to you.
Thanks
Steve

[spacetiger_imp]

Steve,

Take it for a ride too to see where the zip tie ends up. I think you are going to bottom out because you have just under 60% of the front suspension to ride on. If you bottom out, it is likely your zip tie will pow through the tape if you didn't account for the thickness of the ziptie when setting the tape 4.2" up from fork lower. Don't worry, it will not hurt anything (I have done it before).

Thanks for posting to help the other riders.

Jerry

[ChipBeck_imp]

Jerry,

I've enjoyed your posts on the XL Sportster Forum. Good to see you over here. I've got a CB1100 too.

Chip