Boingy bits and rubber

Now that i have your attention

Anyone ridden their 1200 with 'vigour'

Despite having only covered a few hundred miles the GS tempts me into riding like i've stolen it, however i have noticed the following problems;

I keep catching wing mirrors with the handguards...oops!

But more importantly i'm not sure the tyres/suspenders are up to scratch.

Having fettled with the pre-load it is somewhere between normal and medium, the rear feels firm but the rear wheel seems to lift off the ground when accelerating reasonably hard over a series of bumps, also blasting round a bend over a few slightly sunken drain covers the rear got a little out of shape, nothing dramatic (in fact it was fun ) but it left me wondering whether
the suspension is not quite setup right?
its a bit stiff becuase its new?
or a combination of the above?

Carving through the twisties, the bike is superbly composed...so i'm not quite sure, esp. as i'm no expert on suspension

To add to the equation having always ridden Bridgestone shod sports bikes (BT020s), i'm wondering whether the Metzler tourances that are currently on the bike are a 'good' tyre for this bike or considered a 'crap' tyre for this bike.
I noticed its quite easy to get the wheels locked up going over bumps and stuff, so perhaps its my insensitivity to the Servo assisted brakes?

Any more experienced 1200 owners help is appreciated

Ta

PS a bit has already fallen off, the cover on the thingy where the 3 parts of the trellis frame meet (just above the right footpeg) ITYKWIM

Russ said:

PS a bit has already fallen off, the cover on the thingy where the 3 parts of the trellis frame meet (just above the right footpeg) ITYKWIM

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I'd be surprised if there was a cover on that side as standard.
I lost my left dust cover in a ford somewhere near Dartmoor though

The standard tyres seem surprisingly good for road use.

I'm used to using BT020s on my other bike (fazer), but despite the thinner wheel and different tyres, I've still managed to scrape the pegs on the GS. Not much I admit, but it was perfectly happy at that sort of lean angle

The suspension settings I'm using so far are: preload just above "standard" mark and rebound 2 turns off fully clockwise. I weigh about 95kgs. But I haven't had chance to play properly with this yet.

Mouse said:

...The suspension settings I'm using so far are: preload just above "standard" mark and rebound 2 turns off fully clockwise...

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I'm surprised the rebound doesn't feel a bit like a pogoe stick at two turns off max cos mine does. I use about one turn off max normally and half or less with a pillion. With any less rebound damping it just feels too spongy to me although it is definitely more comfortable.
Too much rebound and you would tend to skip over bumps & hollows. Too little preload and the stand grinds on fast bends. I've never had the pegs down, mine seems to be toes first then centre stand which indicates to me that I need even more preload but someone may correvt me on that!

020's , Brands Hatch and loads of fiddling with the shocks to get the right set up.

so i need to fiddle with the little screw at the bottom of the rear shock (rebound damping?) to stop the rear being so flighty?

Give the thing a fist full and as soon as the rear hits a bump it lifts into the air and the rear starts to spin up...were talking fractions of a millisecond here

Russ said:

so i need to fiddle with the little screw at the bottom of the rear shock (rebound damping?) to stop the rear being so flighty?

Give the thing a fist full and as soon as the rear hits a bump it lifts into the air and the rear starts to spin up...were talking fractions of a millisecond here

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Yep, it sounds like a bit less rebound damping is needed so turn the screw half a turn counter clockwise and try again. A little less pre-load might also help but the two aren't entirely independant so try changing one at a time.
Also check the rear shock is working OK some on this forum have reported their shocks to be almost solid and needed replacing.
That's exhausted my knowledge but others on here probably know a lot more.

JayGee said:

Yep, it sounds like a bit less rebound damping is needed so turn the screw half a turn counter clockwise and try again. A little less pre-load might also help but the two aren't entirely independant so try changing one at a time.
Also check the rear shock is working OK some on this forum have reported their shocks to be almost solid and needed replacing.
That's exhausted my knowledge but others on here probably know a lot more.

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Thats what i was guessing

If i bounce the rear shock by jumping in the seat it makes a hiss as it compresses, my VFRs never did this, does anyone elses 1200 do this?

Russ said:

If i bounce the rear shock by jumping in the seat it makes a hiss as it compresses, my VFRs never did this, does anyone elses 1200 do this?

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Yes, mine does that. But don't look to me for advice on suspension settings: mine's just the way it came out of the box and it works perfectly well for me.