Rear Spring Adjustments

I have a 2007 Triumph America and this past weekend I took a trip with my
girlfriend on the back for the first time. I readjusted (stiffened) the rear
springs according to the owner's manual. Afterwards she told me it was just
too rough of a ride for her.

My question is, if I set the springs back to standard solo rider and she
rides like that, is there any immediate or long-term harm that could happen
to the bike? BTW, I did re-adjust tire pressure prior to her riding.

Thanks for any input on this.

Cale Dupre' wrote:
>I have a 2007 Triumph America and this past weekend I took a trip with my
>girlfriend on the back for the first time. I readjusted (stiffened) the rear
>springs according to the owner's manual. Afterwards she told me it was just
>too rough of a ride for her.

No kidding. She's sitting right over the rear wheel.

My GF used to complain that the expansion joints on the freeway were shaking
her tits off at 80 mph.

I had 150 lb/in rate springs on that bike. You can look for an online spring
rate calculator to see what springs you have, and you can figure out the
mechanical leverage advantage of the swing arm and trig out the angle of the
shocks to see how much the swing arm geometry effectively reduces the spring
rate. It's usually around 10% to 15%.
>
>My question is, if I set the springs back to standard solo rider and she
>rides like that, is there any immediate or long-term harm that could happen
>to the bike? BTW, I did re-adjust tire pressure prior to her riding.

It's considered OK to bottom out the rear suspension occasionally.

There are probably rubber snubbers on each shock absorber shaft that will
stop the shock absorber from bottoming out and damaging internal valving.

But don't go crazy with bottoming the shocks all the time. I did damage a set
of rebuilabable shocks so badly through bottoming they weren't economically
rebuilable any more. But they were glorious while they lasted.

Typical shocks for a dual shock arrangement will have a stepped collar that
allows you to select five different settings. Other arrangements have a
threaded collar and a large locknut.

But the stepped collar arrangement will sometimes result in the rider
selecting one setting that is a little too soft or a setting that is a little
too harsh.

You can tell the rear springs are set too soft when the motorcycle wallows
and weaves while cruising on the freeway and too hard a setting results in
butt burn, but you have to compromise between comfort and control

One time I was returning from San Francisco with a large lady on the back,
she must have weighed about 180 or so.

She said her butt was hurting, so we stopped at K-Mart and bought a cushion
for her to sit on. But I was glad to get her off my bike when we got home.

A gel pad or padded bicycle shorts might be your lady's solution to setting
the shocks correctly for both of you.

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