K9_RN Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Hello all. They delivered my new to me 2010 R1200RT low suspension on Friday. It was 35 degrees but, I took it for a spin anyway. Wow is it different from my Harley. I love my Harley, it's not loud, just pretty. I know many have opinions of Harley riders. I just want to say they (I mean 'we') are not all beer swilling, leather clad dirt bags. OK moving on to the question. I have read that the factory sets up the bike for "the average rider". That is not me. Should it be adjusted? It is so different from my other bike, and only having ridden it for about 40 miles, I can't tell if it handles properly. Not to mention the 14 layers of clothing, and lots of sand all over the place. Should I just ride it more and see how it goes? Or, is there some sort of baseline to start at and go from there? I would be grateful for any insight. Link to comment
Marty Hill Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 PM Tewks, he lives in mass. and has both. Link to comment
hopz Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 I understand your comments about H-D. I was one of those nastys for 20 years. I got saved... Regarding your question. Yes, there is a starting point for suspension settings and it is not peculiar to BMW. Google with a search string something like ... "motorcycle suspension settings"...or "how to adjust motorcycle suspension". and see what happens. I warn you though. This subject is full of jargon that will make your head spin. My advice is two fold. First is to just ride it for now, and second begin by reading your owner's manual. There are two adjustments you can make. There is a knob under your seat for suspension pre-load. That means you can put the rear shock under some starting- baseline- tension.... more tension or less tension. With a Low-frame bike it probably has a fairly high setting- meaning the shock is pretty well loaded already.- This is a guess. The other adjustment is called rebound. This has to do with how strongly the rear shock comes back to "normal" after being compressed (like when on the road and you hit a bump). To change this you need a screwdriver. The range is from high to low. Turn it to the left or the right. Look at the Owner's book. What is it doing or not doing, or what are you feeling that caused you to ask the question? Another thing is that BMWs are not Harleys... (duh) they are designed to do and feel differently.... the RT it will be firmer, more solid, less spongy, less bouncy. Lastly- being somewhat experienced in H-D... a Springer can not be considered one of the bikes known for advanced suspension... (a Heritagge springer was supposed to look like an olad bike... it achieved that. For that matter, neither is a 1973 Sportster to be considered sophisticated in any way. Welcome on board. Link to comment
VinnyR11 Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Knowledge is power. There aren't a ton of adjustments you can make, and it's not magic. Learning a little bit about moto suspension can really help you ask the right questions. You can find a a very good overview of BMW motorcycle suspension by Ron Schmidt HERE It also includes a nice review of how to set up your bike. IMO it's very important to change only one thing at a time, write down exactly what you did, and do it in small-medium sized increments. Then after testing it out reset or go on to the next thing. Take the time understand the article, talk to some friends in the know and you'll be fine. Stock set-ups may not be perfect, and certainly not prime for larger or really small riders, but they are usually pretty safe. You can make things squirrily by making big random adjustments around without a basic understanding of what the changes do. Link to comment
EddyQ Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Welcome. My past bike was a Yamaha Roadstar which is rather similar to a HD. Going to the RT was heaven. My '07 has standard stock shocks which still have the factory settings which are for a single ride about my weight. I'm about 165 pounds. Ride through some nasty wooping bumps and if the bike jumps all over, you likely need to take action rather quickly. But if not, then simply read up on the web about pre-load and dampening and casually make some tweaks. Like others have said, keep good notes! Link to comment
K9_RN Posted April 3, 2011 Author Share Posted April 3, 2011 Hello everyone. VinnyR11 - The article you referenced was very helpful. I did some searching and reading and most of the stuff out there says to 'adjust this or that', not knowing what 'this or that was' made things a little hard to understand. The one you showed me is great. It explains what 'this and that' are and how and why to adjust each. Thanks! Thanks all fro your time, Kelly Link to comment
VinnyR11 Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Hello everyone. VinnyR11 - The article you referenced was very helpful. I did some searching and reading and most of the stuff out there says to 'adjust this or that', not knowing what 'this or that was' made things a little hard to understand. The one you showed me is great. It explains what 'this and that' are and how and why to adjust each. Thanks! Thanks all fro your time, Kelly Great! Glad you liked it. Knowing the basics makes a big difference. Link to comment
hopz Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Just for the record. The author of the fine article mentioned above is Ron Schmidt, formerly of BMW Repair and Rendezvous, here in Salt Lake City, aka M R&R. Ron and Jeff closed M R&R about a year ago and Ron has opened his own shop...Bavarian Motorcycle Workshop. http://bavarianmotorcycleworkshop.com/ Ron is one of the good guys. Knows everything about BMW's and is ready to help. If anyone is on the road in this direction, you might want to remember he is here. This is not advertising, this is information.... Link to comment
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