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[Tim67]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and back on bikes after a break of 20 years.

I bought a 650 twin last year, a Continental GT and am absolutely loving it.....except, admittedly I'm a lot older now and so I guess I feel things a lot more, but the youngest bike I ever owned before was built in 1977, and I don't remember things being this uncomfortable.

To be fair, I'm a Sunday afternoon rider mostly and most of that on very smooth Dutch roads. However, when I do hit even a relatively small lump or pothole in the road, it feels like I don't really have much suspension at all.

So I'm looking for advice on adjustments I can make to the standard set up.

I'm putting some pre-loaders on the forks this weekend to make a start but I'm wondering if I should be thinking about changing the springs, front and/or back.

I weigh about 13 stone (83kg) and about 5'7"(sit fairly far forward) and whilst I read a lot of criticism of the standard set up being too soft, my instinct tells me that at the moment it all feels a bit too hard.

I am concerned though that softer springs might affect the handling (I do have some nice empty winding roads near me).

If anyone has had a similar experience or can offer some advice, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Tim

[Breezin]

Hi Tim,

Congrats on your Interceptor!

I think you'll find that a little more preload on the forks will make a huge difference.

I used a couple of 3mm (=6mm) in each fork, and it transformed the ride. Make sure not to overtighten the fork caps going back on.

The rear was too soft and bouncy for me. I actually hardened it up to the fourth notch.

[Tim67]

Thanks for that.

Yes I'm hoping the preload will do the trick.

I did drop the rear one notch last weekend, I think with the adjustment at the front I'll give it a couple of outings and see how I go

[stinkwheel]

Always start front suspension setup by setting your static sag first.

Put a cable tie round the fork stanchion. Lift the front wheel up off the ground, push the cable tie all the way down then gently lower the weight of the bike back onto it without bouncing. This will push the cable tie up the stanchion. Now lift the front wheel up again. The gap between the top of the fork leg and the cable tie is your static sag. It should be around 5-10mm for most bikes. The higher it is, the softer it will feel.

Adjust the preload to the point where you have this 5-10mm of static sag. That's your starting point for fine tuning.

[Tim67]

OK, thank you, that makes sense