Or..... Did I add support to the suspension to help the sky hook achieve it's parameters and keep the bike level?
So lets get my fuddled brain around this, my bike is giving a harsh ride for the missis who feels every bump so I need to put a stronger spring on the bike rather than a softer one?? Confused .com, I,ll try anything in order to keep the bike rather than flip it but need to get my confused brain around this. I would rather spend £500 getting this right than losing a shed load selling it for an alternative bike HELP!!! I losing my mind over this, driving me batty
Harsh ride some times means the suspension is bottoming out or working outside its best comfort range(the middle) thus giving a harsh ride,changing the spring to a heaver one stops the suspension bottoming out or adding preload on a normal shock would also help.Have you tried adjusting the suspension while riding 2 up,my Mrs was complaining(via headsets)about the suspension being uncomfortable,so i adjusted while on the fly until she was happy.
Yep tried that, suspension doesn't bottom out unlike my old 2011 bike which did when 2 up with luggage, been and had suspension set up by JHS racing and still wife complains about harsh ride hence the thought about changing the spring, cant find a solution which is driving me nuts, there must be a solution, just cant find the answer
I think your only option is to see if is possible to change your rear shock to a standard set up,but i would think its a major headache sorting out the skyhook,i doubt its as easy as unplugging the rear,guess changing the whole suspension would be easier and cheaper but kind of defeats the object.
My understanding from above post rationale: Skyhook has a range say 50 mm (made up number) which it works within If outside of that range, the suspension adjusts the damping to keep it in the range, ie makes it firmer As its damping, that can be felt far more than adding extra preload which, on the fly, does t make anytimg really harder as such So....heavier spring keeps within the right range and means less damping so less harsh ride Hows that...makes sense? Disclaimer: remember I know nothing...its regurgitated info from others
So my 17 stone and wife's 9 st is out the range? And would a heavier spring be the solution? Heads spinning, seriously thinking of going back to a 2012 ohlins scu, apart from the odd bottoming on with 2 with luggage which I can live with, why does the skyhook have this issue when std suspension doesn't have all this hassle
These threads might shed some light on my plite. just as a note I have no problems wiwh my coccyx now since I had the spring change. Painful Coccyx | Ducati Forum and Rear shock upgrade | Ducati Forum The guy (Teut, he's Irish) has the pattern for the spring now he made me 2 but one was a tad to hard for lone riding so I changed it back to the first one he made me they were £120 each and take about a week to get made and about 1-2 hours to fit.
Thanks for that JC, I,ll give him a call, it's got to be better than selling it, really want to keep it, and the wife !
To be fair JHS should know there stuff and should have advised you if a spring change is needed,got to be worth a try as its going to be you cheapest upgrade,on a side note my/our combined weight is a little more than yours and we dont have a problem,have you tried messing with tyre pressure and maybe a change of tyre(perhaps the same as your 2011).
Yep, messed with tyre pressures, not going down the road of replacing them yet at a cost of £300 as I took riders demo bike out ( it had Pirelli Angels on) and wife felt the same on that one, I,ve looked at all solutions so spring change is the last hope before letting someone enjoy it and I think what to buy next, .... It will be another MTS as I love it, will be a 2012 ohlins, new manual suspension or 2015 Manual suspension model
Tbh i dont think a spring change will help as the skyhook is a progressive rear spring ranging from 85N/mm to 125N/mm,no i am not a geek just googled it.
Well there you go mine is now a 3 stage spring that starts at 120/150/180 add the 12mm of preload to that and I bet you knocking on the door of 140/190/210 I'm surprised a 125nm spring could hold 2 adults fully geared with full panniers and top box, given that the top box is so far over the rear of the bike it must be putting just as much pressure through leverage as the 2 full panniers. You need to remember these bikes are a standard bike that they bolt bits to to call it a GT but they do nothing to the brakes and suspension. Even though they are adding at minimum 45kg's of full panniers and extras like crash bars heated grips spot lights pannier rack, bar raisers taller screens and a "touring seat" ...ect . All that adds up to a good few extra KG not to mention the heaver gear the touring rider sometimes wears. and if you want to bring it to the discussion the fact that the bike is designed around a skinny arsed Italian called Luigi "Linguini legs" Marohni
I'm in the process of getting a custom spring made, as the standard Skyhook rear is out of range with my svelte build. Build a mental image of a 5'8" dray man weighing 18.5 Stone. My previous 2010 Electronic Ohlins had upgraded front and rear springs (up two steps on both). It was perfect.
Ditto, Just ordered a 3 stage spring from TW suspension. Should be fitted some time in Jan so will be interested to see what difference it makes.
very interesting reading. By chance, one of my mates (Mike) told me a couple of them have had thier suspensions set up for them. Mikes bike is a 2014 with base suspension. He thought it was fine as it was, but says the improvement is superb. Apparently from the factory it is common for them to have zero front preload set. His has now been set to max. On the hand winder for the rear preload he would usually have it at about 30, and jack it up to close on 50 (max) when going on tour two up. This is now set at 15 for solo, and the guy told him to try a max of 25 when two up. Mike told me the bike now steers so much better. the other guy (Brian) has a 2014 d-air touring. I dont know what they did to his, but he had said the bike seemed vague on the steering compared to his previous GS-LC. I dont recall him commenting on harsh suspension like is being discussed here. Just thought the above might be of some interest. Both bikes were set up by the ohlins guy at P&H, for a cost of 99 quid.
