adjusting rear shocks

[madcow]

i am finding the rear of my nomad a little soft fo my liking. the shocks are set on 3 at the moment but i wish to firm them up. i assume that i move them to a higher setting, which setting do you guys reccomend and how do i go about adjusting them as they seem differen to the konis on my other bike. thanks in advance for your help... madcow....

[redjay]

Hi. Do you have air in them ? You might want to try 30 lbs and #4 setting at the top of the shock.

[Bdog]

At 210lbs and riding solo..I find #2 and 24 lbs of air works great...check out air gauge thread..Bdog

[dank]

I'm 220 and use damper setting 2 and 14 lbs. I do not notice a big difference between setting 2 and 3 unless I do several 700 mile days on the freeway. I notice the cumulative effect on my lower back. I up it to 18 lbs with my wife on. (She's a sexy little slip of a thing, so doesn't make a big difference.) I find those combinations make it firm enough for corners but soft enough for long days hitting bad joints on the super slab. Tried 24 lbs and she would nearly bounce off the seat on freeway joints. Just riding back roads and twisties I'd probably pump it up to 20 lbs and use position 3 solo.

So add some air and try different pressures and settings until you find what is right for you.

[dogdoc]

i ride with 20 lbs air, and setting of 2 for me and setting 3 for 2 up riding. works great, Im 160 lbs.

[waterman]

Me, I ride with 20 lbs and 1 when I am solo and adjust to 3 with the wife on. One thing with the shocks, do not use an air compressor to add air to the shocks. Get a progressive shock pump.

[finky]

Hi Madcow
Run mine on 4 and 20KPA with luggage or a passanger when solo I run on 10KPA and leave the rebound on 4 I like a stiffer ride stops the bike wallowing in corners.

[schoeney]

190#, solo, no luggage, around town, setting @ 1, air @ 15#...seems pretty close for me.

[madcow]

thanks there guys, im 165lbs so i will try playing with the air pressure before maybe going up to setting 4. are the settings easy to change with the paniers on or will i have to take them off? i am used to a stiffer bike but i like the softness of the nomad, just not the midcorner wallowing. i checked the tyre pressures today and they were down so it handles a lot better already. its taking a bit of getting used to having a big cruiser as i have always had sports/touring bikes but this is awhole new kettle of fish.

[flavor]

I weigh 210. Setting 2 and about 18 lbs in shocks. Ride mostly alone.

[dogdoc]

You can just reach in between the bag and seat and roll the dial. But if you want to add air you will need to remove seats or I do. :-)

[blowndodge]

Madcow, somewhere on here I did a big write up on air pressure vs. damper settings. Do a search on the Garage and you should understand how the rear shocks work and when and what to do....

[madcow]

sweet, thanks doc and blowndodge, thats exactly what i was looking for. all my woes shouldnow be fixed.

[Top Cat]

Originally Posted by madcow

sweet, thanks doc and blowndodge, thats exactly what i was looking for. all my woes should now be fixed.

Ya just gotta love the naive innocence , don't ya? ;)

[madcow]

thanks topcat i think you jinxed me.... after a long ride today i found i now have a slow leak in my rear tyre. im sure all the guys here will do a good job of leading me astray, (or up the garden path).