Suspension help

[amantoor]

Help wanted by those in the know.
I have a 2010 GSA with approaching 19k miles I weigh 100kg without kit and kit adds 10kg or so.

Are the standard springs suitable, or should I change.

If suitable. As I have bought this bike used and new to setting up suspension. The suspension is manual (fully).

Can one of you gurus talk me through a step by step idiot (me) guide to setting the suspension up for best handling. I ride roads, and some gravel live outer Hebrides, so roads can be bumpy and lots of adverse camber.

Thanks in advance.

 

[siddo]

My mate is heavier than you and has never complained about his suspension. Though he has the auto dynamic setting.
I'd go to a suspension shop and get them to set it up properly.
Did it on my last bike and was the best money I ever spent on it and I'd spent loads on other stuff.

 

[botus]

I'm about the weight you're saying, and I run a 175nm spring, stock is 140nm - it would be better with an adequate spring - get one made to own rate by these guys at a sensible price https://dfaulknersprings.com/

sure you could run the stock spring with 2" of travel missing (coz you used it up sitting on the bike) and instead use it to wallow around when you don't want it too...

getting the shock refreshed with new oil and gas would be sensible, one of the regulars on this forum is highly recommended - and maybe he could tweak the damping to suit your new spring spring

 

[amantoor]

I live on Harris so don't have specialists to hand, so advice / guidance etc v much appreciated.

 

[DrFarkoff]

I live on Harris so don't have specialists to hand, so advice / guidance etc v much appreciated.

Don't listen to that Fuckwit above, 110 Kg is fine on standard shocks The bikes were built for a couple of 75 kg people plus full luggage

"But" check your shocks for signs of oil misting/ If there is any of this They will need a refurb, Lukasz at T tech does a great service)

The front shock I would probably set at one or two notches on the spring preload (Ring at the bottom of the shock, giving the Longest spring minus the compression of the one or the two notches )

So the most important thing is that you do NOT jack the suspension preload/compression/rebound up tight!!

Especially on Gravel you want compliant Rather than very stiff

The best description for how you want the suspension to feel "As described to me by a very successful bike racer here!" (Both on Track and SM!)

The front end should be like an 18 year pair of boobies Basically "Firm but compliant!"

The rear should be like a 30 plus ish set of boobies still fairly firm but definitely with some sway and movement

If the rear on a Paralever BM is set too hard it will overpower the front and it will make it ride like schit!!

If the front is too hard you won;t feel confident in corners it will bump steer you

So my advice? Set everything up "Light" One notch on the front Spring collar (Longest spring minus one click)

Red dot, Moyen or Medium on Spring compression on the rear twirly knob There is a scale to read off ((Usually))
There is a Flat blade screw thing in the exhaust side of the shock below the spring, turn Clockwise to increase rebound damping and anti clockwise is reduce it

Wind it all the way back out to the lowest setting and use HALF turns as the measurement I think you will find about 7 half turns from fully out to fully in? Go easy with it! The screw can shear f you get silly with it!!

Try 3 half turns at first as a base setting

There are some models of shock that have a staked screw, which is actually a fill or valving point so make sure you are not working at that one! Its just a plain flat blade slot


So Check your tyre pressures and then go out with those first settings and IF you feel comfortable Leave them be

If a little too soggy then tighten things up a little at a time (the front is "usually" fine on one click so work with teh back end first and if you make things worse you have base settings to return to

So pay attention to the Big secret above especially with setting up on gravel !!

 

[SnowMec]

I'm guessing your bike doesn't have ESA since you don't mention it.
In Sweden where I live, no 2010 GSAs were sold without ESA, which means I don't heard of that model without this option.
In any case, your bike is old and the shock absorber needs to be rebuilt if it hasn't been done.
The BMW GS(A) has a short and quite small front shock absorber that handles spring force and damping, the job that a front fork normally does. The oil volume is very small and the shock absorber has a tough job.
In the rear, the BMW GS(A) has a standard shock absorber without linkage like most other bikes have. It also doesn't have double damping pistons in the shock absorber "progressive damping" like the KTM without linkage has. Overall, it is extremely important that the shock absorbers are in good condition and they are unlikely to be after 15 years of use.
I would not replace the springs at a different rate unless I significantly increased or decreased the weight of the vehicle (e.g. extremely light rider or extremely heavy luggage + heavy rider/passenger.).
Original springs often work well when the motorcycle is used normally.

 

[botus]

Don't listen to that Fuckwit above, 110 Kg is fine on standard shocks The bikes were built for a couple of 75 kg people plus full luggage

you're a really clever person

with 150kg onboard even the 175nm spring is sagging and doesn't like NL speed bumps - where it's dragging the centre stand at low speed

 

[DrFarkoff]

you're a really clever person

with 150kg onboard even the 175nm spring is sagging and doesn't like NL speed bumps - where it's dragging the centre stand at low speed

No, not clever Just real world experience and not numbers and bullshit !!

That's why there is a big Fuck off Preload knob unless you have ESA and then you don't know if shit happened at all !!

 

[gspod]

I’m 105 kg and do trips with a lot of luggage and occasionally use my bike (1200 TC) for work which means carrying brick laying tools and the odd bag of cement - I actually strapped 5 bags of cement on once, luckily I wasn’t going far.
I had the shocks refurbished by Lucas (DenZo) at 65K for a long trip - they were a bit soft by this stage.
Personally I’d rather put my money into riding the the bike but everyone has different priorities.
Enjoy the bike whatever you decide

 

[er-minio]

Can one of you gurus talk me through a step by step idiot (me) guide to setting the suspension up for best handling. I ride roads, and some gravel live outer Hebrides, so roads can be bumpy and lots of adverse camber.

Best money you can spend (and it's about 50/60 quid) is to have someone do a proper set up, measure sag and all. If you are concerned about it, even a small trip to get this done at a specialist is a good time/money investment.

I'm a bit over the weights mentioned. My GS is on Ohlins and I do have the stiffer spring (as I did on all my other bikes with Ohlins and on my DRZ).
Yes it could not be necessary, but it will give you more leeway in setting up suspension as you'd start with less preload.

But before getting into the spring change and all... inspect them and set up as adviced in the posts above.

For servicing, I too strongly recommend using DenZo (shipping them to him of course).

 

[Doris]

No, not clever Just real world experience and not numbers and bullshit !!

That's why there is a big Fuck off Preload knob unless you have ESA and then you don't know if shit happened at all !!

Interesting that Luke re-sprung and re-valved my ESA units when he sorted mine out…

 

[Doris]

Interesting that Luke re-sprung and re-valved my ESA units when he sorted mine out…

Just checked…an excellent price for an excellent service…