Now I have become used to riding this style of bike coming from a life of sports bikes I have been more confident giving it the full beans. The bike becomes unsettled in the bends when making good progress. Is this what the newer 1260 longer swing arm is supposed to sort out?
'Unsettled' - front, back or both? If you've come from sportsbikes it could be coming from you through a tight grip on the wide bars...??
Friont end usually has zero pre load 1 full turn for every 15kgs you weigh in riding gear is a start Rear spring is woefully soft… so unless you are 11 stone in your riding gear it’s no good You can mitigate the rear to some extent by upping the pre load but if you are substantially over 11 stone then a new rear spring for your weight is the way forward Then finally…. It’s got huge bars on it, the slightest input makes a difference
I agree the 1200 is unsettled (head shake/wobble) at high speed powering out of corners. I got my suspension tuned and it was better but still not perfect. Bought a 1260 and,yes, it is much better with still a slight tendency to 'wobble' at plus 3 figure speeds. A professional suspension tune has again helped.
Thanks for the info, I thought that the suspension being ‘active’ means it just sorts it self out. Is there adjustments I can make manually?
The skyhook system is very good but it works from whatever base level it’s set to The skyhook DOESNT control the front pre load only damping As above the front pre load is usually non existant using a 19mm socket wind it anti clockwise to it absolute minimum ( usually about 1/4 turn then from there wind on 1 full turn for every 15kgs you weigh in full Kit…. Then maybe back it off about a half turn For the rear everything is set up in the menu, you can set the pre load to whatever you want from 1-24 if you want to do it the easy way try it on either rider + luggage or 2 up, this increases the rear load and gives you an idea how a proper spring will sort things My forks are set up for me, I have a replacement rear spring fitted for my weight and my bike is rock solid whatever speed, whatever load and whatever roads Standard the Multi is very softly sprung
I put over 20,000 miles on both a 1200DVT and a 1260 before moving to the V4. I found in general the high speed handling of the DVT to be very nervous you needed to be very steady with your hands. I put this down to frame geometry and poor aerodynamics ( it felt like it wanted to take off) The 1260 fixed a lot of this by extending the swing arm by a massive amount and also increase steering head rake from 24 to 25 (interesting all previous multi ran 24.5 and so too the new V4) but the poor airo was still there. This all becomes very obvious when riding the V4 at high speeds which is dead stable and composed despite having a shorter wheelbase and tighter steering head angle than the 1260, which is also just one of the reasons why the V4 feels like a smaller more nimble bike than 1260 but that's another story
Stiffen up the front dampens, make sure the actual bike is balanced. Riding along at 40/50 hands off & see if it drifts/pulls to left or right. If it does you have wheel not aiming forward accurately.
I sent the rear shock off to TW Suspension Very knowledgeable bloke and it transformed the bike. Do the front tho, it’s free and that also makes a big difference
It only applicable to the Enduro model with a conventional swing arm You can’t Get the wheel out of line on the SSA models
It’ll be Road camber most Likely…. Find an empty road, ride on the right then see if it pulls right when on that side of the road
Yes of course, loosen rear wheel & move the hub resting nut positon inwards from one side a turn or two. Re-tighen everything to approx 170nm. And go for a ride & see how it handles. They do tend to become unstable at 80/90 hooned over but resting on rear brake through corner can stabilize them. Preload is a nut adjuster on top of one of the upsidedown forks. Just play & see how things pan out.
Will do thanks, I’ll change the rear spring in the winter. Got a European trip next month two up fully loaded. Wish I had changed the spring already
