Outstanding informative video. I have the Honda CMX 1100 DCT, and I have been feeling like the front brake lever was a little out of position for my enormous hand! But thanks to this video I can fix it, and check the pre- load on my shocks! Thank you!
Dave is an expert who does this stuff for pros and others at race meets, track days etc across USA. It's fun reading comments here, criticising his work, by folks who clearly don't understand the processes properly. This proves the old adage that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
He definitely pushed the rear suspension harder the first time,he knows what he's talking about no doubt about it.But he just did not want to disappoint you by saying he couldn't adjust the back springs enough,I think that's pretty nice of him 😁
because the spring had more tension in it... the point of a rear shock is to absorb bumps, not rebound the rider off of them. He was demonstrating that by reducing tension in the spring you would have more of an absorption effect vs what was initially happening so even if you hit the same bump and it took more travel, which is why he was suggesting using a bit of grease to show where the absorber was hitting, you would end up with a far smoother ride. Edit if he ended up bottoming out they could add more tension to the spring... it's a balancing act, right?
The looser the back suspension is the more wobble you’ll get a higher speeds. If you’ve ridden one you know what I’m talking about. The tighter the suspension the less wobble you’ll feel. Would actually recommend replacing them for Stiletto shocks.
Alot of people like the burly brand rear stilletto shocks they have 2 springs for both high & low spring reaction simultaneously & 5 settings making them simpler to adjust they also give a little more clearance & eat the bumps so you barley feel them
No one says how much suspension wheel travel you get with the Burly Brand rear stilletto shocks. Is it an increase or is it the same amount as stock just a taller shock absorber.
These are important (and often ignored) adjustments! I'm heading out to the garage this morning to check my suspension and levers. How did the test drive go? Did you change the oil in the forks?
I still need to do some similar adjustments on my Sportster. I adjusted my controls a bit last year, but my clutch lever is still too high, and sometimes causes discomfort. My new shocks were set for my weight before they were even shipped to me, but I still need to replace my fork springs as well.
Just destroyed the sportier handling of the bike. Out of the 6 owners I have talked to, none have had to reduce the available stroke on the rear as all of them were bottoming out the rear suspension. Logically, the rear has 20 levels of adjustment set at 3 from the factory but he is under the impression it needs to go to 1 instead?To keep or even improve stability have increased firmness on the front. The space on the top of the travel he feels for doesn't exist when the bike has weight on it.
You are supposed to do the rear preload adjustment when you buy it. I had to do the same on mine and was told at the dealership about it.....however, I don't recall anyone ever saying to go all the way out and leave it there. Started at 3 standard and went out two more clicks and mine was cherry. It does bottom out easily if you never adjust it, but its not as drastic of an adjustment as done here.
I am over 300lbs. I adjusted my rear up to 14 to keep from bottoming. I ran the front in one full turn and even that caused a lot of the bounce back he was showing on the front.
At 250 lbs I would bottom out that shock at factory just by sitting on it. They come from the factory adjusted for a 5' 6 150 lb Asian guy. Just pointing out the obvious
Got a '22. Roughly 215lbs myself. 4k miles on her already. I've never touched the preload, nor made any adjustment. I've never bottomed out. I'm thinking the owner muffed up his adjustments in the garage after taking it home 🤷♂️
I just got a 2024 rebel 1100 and I weigh 160. There's no numbers or markings that I can see on the top of spring. How many clicks and which way should I go with it for the best ride quality do you think?
Dave Moss is supposed to be some suspension expert. He shows how to adjust sag/preload with rider on motorcycles yet here he doesn’t even factor in rider weight to preload settings. Seems really odd to me.
I don't understand this. Did you ask him to make it a more comfortable ride or a sportier/better handling ride? Obviously there's a trade off between the two options. Tell me if I'm wrong. But as I understand, the function of the spring is to progressively slow the speed at which two objects are being pushed together so that they won't crash into each other or being pushed apart, right? Then how effective the spring is depends the tensile strength of the spring and the tensile strength of the spring depends on what kind of materials are used to form the springs, right? So when you artificially increase the tensile strength by increasing the preload tension you increase the strength of the force used to counteract against the force of impact. At the same time you're also decreasing the distance of travel. The outcome of this is a harder ride. YOu'd feel every little bump on the street. It'd also help to keep you from bottoming out to an extent that depends on how much you weigh. And then the shock is there to decrease the momentum in either direction. According to the user manual, I think the maximum weight rating is a load of about 324 lbs. So, for that person, you'd set the preload at the max I'd assume. But for someone how's 210 lbs, where would you set the preload? I'd set it at maybe 6 clicks out of 20 but certainly not zero clicks. Moss didn't even ask you to sit on the bike to see, nor did he use zip ties to measure the distance of travel. What basis did Moss have for turning the preload all the way down? It seems like this whole thing went down so fast. You were so quick to buy and he was so ready to sell. How would you know if you were better buying his products?
The rider complained of a jerky ride, and the only way to smooth it out in suspension without any valving adjustment is by doing what he did and soften the spring preload to match the spring hardness to the factory rebound valving. The real solution is to get better suspension with springs and valving rated for the rider's weight.
The rear suspension doesn't need to be softer, it needs to be harder. I am currently at 14 clicks instead of the standard 3 clicks. And I'm not really a heavyweight...
@@feloniousmonk3049 I weigh 76 kg or 167 lbs and I already ended up on 14 clicks. The problem with the standard shocks is that you can adjust te preload, but not the damping. So finally I decided to invest in a pair of aftermarket shocks from Hyperpro. These are adjustable in preload and damping.
Me being at 185# the rear was bottoming out at times at the factory settings of three clicks (twice pretty hard) I ended up adding 5 clicks so at 8 now and I might add 2 more clicks.. I wish he would've pushed the front and rear the same way.. that made me question him... But his lever adjusted I definitely agreed with... That bikes front end seemed extremely soft & bouncy unlike my 2023 I added 1/2 turn of preload (clockwise)...
I am so confused. The heavier u are u suppose to add preload to ur shocks so it want bottom out. Why is he making the rear softer instead of stiffer. My dad is 220 and he has to go 10 clicks so he dont bottom out. Why would u soften them all the way? Someone please explain. Because if i take the 10 clicks out hes bottoming out terrible
I think he was taking about some of the rebound from hitting bumps, the problem is you are supposed to stiffen the rear preload when you get it. Mine bottomed out when I hit hard enough bumps because it was too soft and I'm 260 lbs. Its factory set to three out of twenty so I went up to five and mine has been fine. I dont get why he was bringing it all the way out.
just follow life of burches shock upgrade and suspension guide lmao, if crocodile Dundee knew what he was doing he would have grabbed the adjustment tool under the seat 🤣
This guy has no idea. He doesn't know how important negative travel is. Without preload there is no negative travel. The wheels dance over every little bump and lose traction. It's better to have a suspension specialist explain this topic. By the way, instead of adjustable valves you can also fill in oils of different viscosities.
Just made me not want one as much. Recommends a 2 1/2 hours on shocks every 3k miles? Just shocks? Damn the upkeep on this bike is insane if that's true
Only if you're burning up the fork oil by having incorrect springs for your weight. A new set of springs from racetech for your bike and weight is around $100, well worth the investment.
By bmi 5’10 175 is 25-29 which is considered overweight just bc ur at 5% body fat and most likely completely shredded doesnt mean someone else cant be 5’10 175 and 20% body fat
So he specifically asks for the rider’s weight before he adjusted the suspension of the bike WITHOUT the rider’s weight on it? And his conclusion is that the spring has to be bottomed out to the softest spring setting? Don’t let this man near your motorcycle.
My thoughts exactly. The weight of the rider will dampen that kick. If there is no kick without the weight, it will bottom out with every little gravel on the road once the weight of the rider is added in.
Excellent. I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere else. Thank you! Buying Rebel 1100 soon.
THis guy is the dad I would love to have as a teenager
Outstanding informative video. I have the Honda CMX 1100 DCT, and I have been feeling like the front brake lever was a little out of position for my enormous hand! But thanks to this video I can fix it, and check the pre- load on my shocks! Thank you!
Dave is an expert who does this stuff for pros and others at race meets, track days etc across USA.
It's fun reading comments here, criticising his work, by folks who clearly don't understand the processes properly. This proves the old adage that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
He definitely pushed the rear suspension harder the first time,he knows what he's talking about no doubt about it.But he just did not want to disappoint you by saying he couldn't adjust the back springs enough,I think that's pretty nice of him 😁
because the spring had more tension in it... the point of a rear shock is to absorb bumps, not rebound the rider off of them. He was demonstrating that by reducing tension in the spring you would have more of an absorption effect vs what was initially happening so even if you hit the same bump and it took more travel, which is why he was suggesting using a bit of grease to show where the absorber was hitting, you would end up with a far smoother ride.
Edit if he ended up bottoming out they could add more tension to the spring... it's a balancing act, right?
That’s what I thought as well
The looser the back suspension is the more wobble you’ll get a higher speeds. If you’ve ridden one you know what I’m talking about. The tighter the suspension the less wobble you’ll feel. Would actually recommend replacing them for Stiletto shocks.
Alot of people like the burly brand rear stilletto shocks they have 2 springs for both high & low spring reaction simultaneously & 5 settings making them simpler to adjust they also give a little more clearance & eat the bumps so you barley feel them
No one says how much suspension wheel travel you get with the Burly Brand rear stilletto shocks. Is it an increase or is it the same amount as stock just a taller shock absorber.
thanks for uploading this… very helpful, same bike
These are important (and often ignored) adjustments! I'm heading out to the garage this morning to check my suspension and levers. How did the test drive go? Did you change the oil in the forks?
I still need to do some similar adjustments on my Sportster. I adjusted my controls a bit last year, but my clutch lever is still too high, and sometimes causes discomfort. My new shocks were set for my weight before they were even shipped to me, but I still need to replace my fork springs as well.
Amazing how small adjustments most people don't even think about can possibly save your life
Just destroyed the sportier handling of the bike. Out of the 6 owners I have talked to, none have had to reduce the available stroke on the rear as all of them were bottoming out the rear suspension. Logically, the rear has 20 levels of adjustment set at 3 from the factory but he is under the impression it needs to go to 1 instead?To keep or even improve stability have increased firmness on the front. The space on the top of the travel he feels for doesn't exist when the bike has weight on it.
You are supposed to do the rear preload adjustment when you buy it. I had to do the same on mine and was told at the dealership about it.....however, I don't recall anyone ever saying to go all the way out and leave it there. Started at 3 standard and went out two more clicks and mine was cherry. It does bottom out easily if you never adjust it, but its not as drastic of an adjustment as done here.
@@bmagada that's just it. He didn't start at 3 and go to 5. He went all the way in to 1. That thing is going to bottom out on a pebble.
I am over 300lbs. I adjusted my rear up to 14 to keep from bottoming. I ran the front in one full turn and even that caused a lot of the bounce back he was showing on the front.
At 250 lbs I would bottom out that shock at factory just by sitting on it. They come from the factory adjusted for a 5' 6 150 lb Asian guy. Just pointing out the obvious
Got a '22. Roughly 215lbs myself. 4k miles on her already. I've never touched the preload, nor made any adjustment. I've never bottomed out. I'm thinking the owner muffed up his adjustments in the garage after taking it home 🤷♂️
@Cali life. How was the ride after the adjustment??
holy fucking shit i learned so much in so little time.
Totes wanna meet that dude.
Yep I learned from this video. Cheers
I've never heard about changing fork oil that frequently
Every shop should watch this video...
I would be dying inside a little bit watching him scratching the mat paint with his tool
Same rather have the harder ride 😂
there's a fucking adjustment wrench under the seat 🤣🤣🤣
I just got a 2024 rebel 1100 and I weigh 160. There's no numbers or markings that I can see on the top of spring. How many clicks and which way should I go with it for the best ride quality do you think?
one advise for you. By a ohlins suspension kit for you bike, it will change it radically!
Dave Moss is supposed to be some suspension expert. He shows how to adjust sag/preload with rider on motorcycles yet here he doesn’t even factor in rider weight to preload settings. Seems really odd to me.
Nice rig. Been keeping an eye out for one. What engine protector and headlight cowl is that?
Headlight cowl is from eBay, i just ordered one last night
Where can I find some one to adjust my suspension in the Los Angeles Area?
So what is the results after the test ride man?
Wow, very impressed.
i know the bikes are a universal fit, but according to this guy everything honda has set is wrong. seems a bit odd no?
How was it after adjustment?
I don't understand this. Did you ask him to make it a more comfortable ride or a sportier/better handling ride? Obviously there's a trade off between the two options. Tell me if I'm wrong. But as I understand, the function of the spring is to progressively slow the speed at which two objects are being pushed together so that they won't crash into each other or being pushed apart, right? Then how effective the spring is depends the tensile strength of the spring and the tensile strength of the spring depends on what kind of materials are used to form the springs, right? So when you artificially increase the tensile strength by increasing the preload tension you increase the strength of the force used to counteract against the force of impact. At the same time you're also decreasing the distance of travel. The outcome of this is a harder ride. YOu'd feel every little bump on the street. It'd also help to keep you from bottoming out to an extent that depends on how much you weigh. And then the shock is there to decrease the momentum in either direction. According to the user manual, I think the maximum weight rating is a load of about 324 lbs. So, for that person, you'd set the preload at the max I'd assume. But for someone how's 210 lbs, where would you set the preload? I'd set it at maybe 6 clicks out of 20 but certainly not zero clicks. Moss didn't even ask you to sit on the bike to see, nor did he use zip ties to measure the distance of travel. What basis did Moss have for turning the preload all the way down? It seems like this whole thing went down so fast. You were so quick to buy and he was so ready to sell. How would you know if you were better buying his products?
The rider complained of a jerky ride, and the only way to smooth it out in suspension without any valving adjustment is by doing what he did and soften the spring preload to match the spring hardness to the factory rebound valving. The real solution is to get better suspension with springs and valving rated for the rider's weight.
Where can we find this mechanic
Thanks for the tip very helpful.
Very informative!
Excellent video
The rear suspension doesn't need to be softer, it needs to be harder. I am currently at 14 clicks instead of the standard 3 clicks. And I'm not really a heavyweight...
What do you weigh? I am at 270 # and the bike comes with 3 clicks of preload, and I've figured I will need 15 clicks total on the rear, for my weight.
@@feloniousmonk3049 I weigh 76 kg or 167 lbs and I already ended up on 14 clicks. The problem with the standard shocks is that you can adjust te preload, but not the damping. So finally I decided to invest in a pair of aftermarket shocks from Hyperpro. These are adjustable in preload and damping.
Me being at 185# the rear was bottoming out at times at the factory settings of three clicks (twice pretty hard) I ended up adding 5 clicks so at 8 now and I might add 2 more clicks.. I wish he would've pushed the front and rear the same way.. that made me question him... But his lever adjusted I definitely agreed with... That bikes front end seemed extremely soft & bouncy unlike my 2023 I added 1/2 turn of preload (clockwise)...
Honestly, I thought people did this on every bike they get...
I am so confused. The heavier u are u suppose to add preload to ur shocks so it want bottom out. Why is he making the rear softer instead of stiffer. My dad is 220 and he has to go 10 clicks so he dont bottom out. Why would u soften them all the way? Someone please explain. Because if i take the 10 clicks out hes bottoming out terrible
Well he was talking bout getting rid of some kind off "kick" so im guessing after loosening the springs they retighten them again later.
I think he was taking about some of the rebound from hitting bumps, the problem is you are supposed to stiffen the rear preload when you get it. Mine bottomed out when I hit hard enough bumps because it was too soft and I'm 260 lbs. Its factory set to three out of twenty so I went up to five and mine has been fine. I dont get why he was bringing it all the way out.
@@bmagada 20 clicks is for a max of 330# rider and gear. Stock 3 clicks is probably for a 150 to 160# rider.
learned a lot here....
I'm 308lbs without gear,whats the best I should do for my suspension
Buy a car 😂😂😂😂
This guy has no idea what he’s doing. Lmao at him saying he needs to soften up the spring then the spinner wrench doesn’t even move it 😅
buddy took care of you!!!
Just bend the lever.
This days bike also got body massages!
just follow life of burches shock upgrade and suspension guide lmao, if crocodile Dundee knew what he was doing he would have grabbed the adjustment tool under the seat 🤣
This guy has no idea. He doesn't know how important negative travel is.
Without preload there is no negative travel.
The wheels dance over every little bump and lose traction.
It's better to have a suspension specialist explain this topic.
By the way, instead of adjustable valves you can also fill in oils of different viscosities.
Nice
Just made me not want one as much. Recommends a 2 1/2 hours on shocks every 3k miles? Just shocks? Damn the upkeep on this bike is insane if that's true
Inspection on shocks every 8k. Right in the maintenance schedule. Maybe a 5 minute job just to inspect/adjust preload.
Only if you're burning up the fork oil by having incorrect springs for your weight. A new set of springs from racetech for your bike and weight is around $100, well worth the investment.
@@LividAxis I'm glad I'm a skinny fuck and stock bikes barely notice I am there.
so many know-it-alls.
Can you do it by hands? because i don't have that special tool that guy is using.
It comes with your bike in the tool kit.
@@MrJimmyWiles Got it, thanks!
its under the seat
these bikes and most bikes in general are designed for the "average" 5'10 170lb rider
Since when is that average? I’m 5’10” and at 175 I was 5% body fat. There’s no way your average motorcycle rider is 5% body fat.
By bmi 5’10 175 is 25-29 which is considered overweight just bc ur at 5% body fat and most likely completely shredded doesnt mean someone else cant be 5’10 175 and 20% body fat
@@OkayZeta which is why bmi is a garbage metric. At 10% bf I was considered obese by bmi standards.
If you would have left it how Honda set it I would have been fine also this guys job is to sell so yea ima leave it at that
dude is trying to get you buy springs/ parts !!! i'm 210 with all my gear and i had to add four clicks to the stock 3 clicks
👍👍
So he specifically asks for the rider’s weight before he adjusted the suspension of the bike WITHOUT the rider’s weight on it? And his conclusion is that the spring has to be bottomed out to the softest spring setting? Don’t let this man near your motorcycle.
My thoughts exactly.
The weight of the rider will dampen that kick. If there is no kick without the weight, it will bottom out with every little gravel on the road once the weight of the rider is added in.
Ooof… man I’m glad I was able to get rid of mine, worst bike I’ve ownes
What was wrong with it?
V
They are fake reservoirs
I wouldn't get on that hunk of junk if it was free
That bike will still be running strong when you're old and gray