Okay, after parting out my beloved '97 ss/sp over the last couple months, I took delivery of a 2007 MTS1100 in December, got it up to a whopping 320 miles, and today I received my Pitbull rearstand; so, I spent the evening doing some suspension stuff...
I weigh about 150-155 lbs w/ gear, so a lot of the time a bike's "factory" settings are a bit stiff for me. Today I pulled the forks up thru the triples 10mm from stock, to lower the front ride height a bit w/o just backing off the preload excessively. Then, w/ the bike up on both stands, I measured the full fork extension...163mm. Then I measured the same distance off the stand, which was about 125mm, yielding 38mm of static sag. Then, w/ the cunning use of a zip tie, I measured rider sag. That measurement was about 115mm, yielding an overall (static + rider) sag of approx 48mm.
That's almost 5cm! These measurements were taken w/ preload set at 8 turns in from fully out (vs factory 6 turns in, which is actually two full turns MORE preload than baseline). I know on my old SS, total (rider) sag should be *about* 35mm... a lot less than 48mm. And that's w/ only 150 lbs on board! It seems excessive to me, and I can't imagine any advantage to using up so much spring before any type of dynamic compression.
My compression/rebound settings are as follows: Compression 1 turn out (from fully in) vs factory 1.5 turns out, and rebound 1.5 turns out vs factory 2 turns out.
I know I'm used to having my ass in the air, but something just seems not quite right here. I haven't quite sorted exactly how I feel about the bike's handling, at times the front feels a little insecure, a little "skippy", but that's probably in the comp/rebound. I can say my rear tire is visibly worn to less than 1/8" of the edge, whereas the front seems barely scuffed off centerline. (I'm exaggerating, of course.)
In any event, those wear indicators suggest my rear ride height is too low, and my front end is riding high. I have 5mm preload on the shock, and rebound is set at the factory recommended 18 turns out from fully in, while compression is also at the factory recommended 2 turns out. I do have adjustable ride height, but I think I need to get some preload sett8ngs for the front down before I start messing w/ the shock...
I know this ain't a 999 (or should I say 1098, although being a Multi owner I'm pretty clearly a Terblanche fan), but there's gotta be some wisdom out there; someone who can help me figure out if or how far off base I am.
Sorry for the long post, but after all it is suspension crap. More details means less follow up questions by those in the know!
Any advice would be greatly appreciated...
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2007 Multistrada 1100, Termi silencer w/DP ECU, DP hard panniers.
I got my multi 2nd hand. the previous owner was almost exactly my size/weight, and had the bike setup perfectly. Turn in is crisp, and it just rails. I haven't touched a thing, so I can't offer any setup details. but hopefully, once you get yours setup, you'll be as happy as I am.
Bob, I've played about a bit on the Multi, and I found that they are really low in the back. 5mm extra on the ride height adjuster was better, and quite a bit more spring preload (15mm of preload, shock removed from the bike) plus closing up a bit the compression, but I left the rebound standard.
They are really sensible to tyres, too. Are you still on standard Pirellis ?
I wound on the front pre-load 3 turns from standard, and next time out will try some slightly longer springs. The bike felt a lot better, more precise, and not too harsh. Still felt a bit low in the back, though. The hydraulic was about the same as you found.
The rear öhlins is a good investment, though. Continental "Conti-Attacks" are running on one of the bikes, and I like these better than the standard Pirellis, sharper steering, better mid-corner grip, and so far good milage.
I am with Kiwi on this one and I've set-up many multistradas for street and track alike. Not only will the rear ride height help the bike steer but it will keep you off the pipe guard down by the cases when you really crank it over.
At your weight I would be careful(which is not to say you don't need it) of adding to much preload to the rear spring because you might be near minimum sag already with your present set-up. What is your rear sag? I'll reread your post in case I missed it. It is also important to remember that more preload, front or rear, will add even more rideheight respectively. Sometimes that is good and sometimes that is bad, but it is important to keep in mind.
I'd also try taking out some compression in the fork, say 1 3/4 to 2 turns from full in. This might allow it to ride lower in the front and keep that skippy feeling from happening. In your case I don't think you are 'getting into' the fork enough to get good feedback and control.
Try 35mm total sag in rear and 40-43mm total sag in front. These are my baseline multistrada numbers and not always the final numbers. Rider preference may dictate variations.
Don't break one of the golden rules of suspension tuning and do more than one change at a time. You might nail it if you do change multiple things but you won't gain as much knowledge, which will help you with future bikes.
Any Multi suspension experts out there?
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