Hi All, I'm looking for some feedback from any 1200S owners regarding the suspension. Little story to tell so bear with me…. I had an error on the dash - which was a little orange square with "DSS" written in it. My bike has just been for first service and the dealer (who was great BTW) has also fixed/removed this error - mentioning that the error was with the suspension system. Only thing is - the behaviour and feel from my suspension has changed completely. I want to work out if it was faulty before (hence the error) and is now correct - or the other way round - before bothering the dealer tomorrow. So - what's changed… Before the service I never had any travel/dip in the suspension - when getting on the bike - or braking. My assumption was that this was the skyhook keeping everything level. Now - as soon as I got on the bike the front (and back) feel completely different - I would describe this as 'spongy'. If I put the front brake on and push on the bars there is quite a bit of travel - and also under any braking the front dips - and it feels like a lot - as previously there was no dip. Now there is quite a massive possibility (due to my lack of experience) that it was broken before and i've been riding round without knowing this and now it is fixed. My worry is that the error code has now gone and so has the Skyhook suspension. I have tested changing the riding mode to 2 passengers to observe the bike back end rising up and that all looked normal. Can anyone with a 1200S DVT comment on what their suspension travel is like? Results will mean I either have peace of mind - or it needs to visit the mechanic again . Apologies for the long post - hope you can help. Thanks, Adam
Horrible situation to be in, not knowing or being able to no if you are right or wrong, its also that placebo effect. It would be fantastic if you could get another bike exactly the same and have an hour to play about on it. The fact you have had some work done on it would also leave me suspicious, sorry I cant help with your year of bike but hope you get to the bottom of it
As a suggestion - are there any differences in the suspension feel with the bike on and running (i.e. the suspension is active) versus the bike switched off (i.e. the suspension is unpowered and shouldn't be doing anything)? So if you bounce the forks in both scenarios for example, is it the same or different? Afraid I only have the standard bike so can't compare but I'm sure someone with an S could do this simple test for you as well so you can cross-check.
Hi. Yes - the suspension goes solid when the ignition is switched off. I think this is the right thing for it to do as I read that somewhere. So - before service when I switched the bike on the front would free up a bit but still be very stiff - as opposed to now where there is quite a bit of dip and dive….and thinking about it this dip would probably feel normal on any other bike…just that mine didn't do it before and I'm not sure it should.
If there is a fault with the skyhook system then i understand it will stiffen up as it is when switched off so that the bike is still rideable otherwise it would be dangerous.
I'm across in the Hope Valley, Peak District. I've just got a 1200S DVT. Your welcome to come and compare if that would help.
That sounds like what I had when the error message was present - which I think is good news . Thanks for the offer dealer isn't too far away so will probably nip back there at some point just to check. Here is a quick vid of current fork dive. I'm 14st just pushing bars with the front brake on. Previously it would have less than an inch of travel. Someone tell me it's normal
That's what I'm hoping. Although rather than me adjusting the settings - that it was a fault causing it to be that way - which is now fixed…and I'm just freaked out by such a big change.
Has the reset be done and made everything on soft setting? My DVT SH dives far more than my 14 did, and I had to firm it all up and increase preload. Seems to have dialled most out now, but std was very soft
I had to reset my bike to default as the previous owner had it set waaaay too soft for my liking. Once I had reset it to default it gave me a base to work from and stiffened up the front to give me a more sports setting .... I ride in "Sport" mode pretty much all the time but have also bumped up the settings in Touring to match in case I drop down for long trips .....the only time i use Urban is to set the chain tension
Sounds very similar to what I experienced. Couldn't put my finger on what had changed but defiantely had changed. Took my bike to dealers who road it back to back with their demo and said it was fine. Looking back, it started off with an intermittent fault, then went soft permanently. Back to dealers, turns out the SCU had got hot and wheel sensors had also expired. You could see where the SCU had got hot as the Data tag sticker which was stuck on it was very faded. Anyway, with those parts replaced, everything is back to normal.
Thanks for the replies. Lots of information here - although I'm still unsure what to think. @Meds - Does you bike dip like my video? I think the answer to 2 questions will sort me here. 1. Should 1200S DVT dip under breaking (like in my video)? 2. Was it wrong that before I had zero/minute dip and thought this was DSS levelling everything out? If 1. is "Yes" and 2. is "Yes" then I'm happy enough
Hi. No - just leaving everything as default. I'm not looking for a specific setting. Just want to make sure that it's as it should be. Due to such a big change in how things feel.
Mine DVT s dived like a pig until I set the pre-load. Where abouts are you? I'm near Bedford if you wanna try mine.
I also have a DVT with standard settings and in touring mode it does the same shit from new tend to ride with it in sport , If im honest I thought the skyhook would be better than the ohlins system I had on 2011 , I bought the fancy box , set most of it to zero and it worked a charm , none of this mode switching nonsense. What should we be doing with the preload settings then folks , and will it make my forks leak anymore
