Yesterday I took family and friends to the Florence dunes and had the first opportunity to ride my 07 DS in the sand for more than an hour (last attempt it rained buckets). I might first say I have owned multiple bikes that have been ridden strickly in the dunes, but this was the first opportunity to really stretch the legs of my DS on the sand.

We had a wonderful day and I was excited to finally have a bike with enough torque and a short enough swing arm (the raptor is +4) to ride wheelies as long as wanted to. It was an amazing accomplishment (at least for me) to ride and hold the front end up (in every gear including 5th!!!) for 1/4 mile while headed down the beach and dragstrip.

Okay, okay, enough boasting- I'm just extremely happy with my DS that (I might add was purchased as a result of this forum).

HERE'S MY QUESTION: I have ridden all fall and winter long in the dirt and gravel with the shocks set as per the manufacturer's recommendations (and have been pleased with this setting), but found this setting to be WAY TOO STIFF for the dunes. It was so stiff that at one point I intentionally wheelie'd into a mogel- trying to get the front end to give and would only see half the available travel used in the front end.

Where are you duners setting your stock adjustable suspension? Today I adjusted to a level I thought would be suitable, but after looking (and having to wait for the next dunes trip to test) it seems to be too low. On the front shocks, I measured from the top of the threaded portion to the top of the threaded nut and got 3 3/8" (now it's at 2 1/2") On the rear shock I measured the bike with the recommended 4" sag under my weight (now it's at 8"). These new measurements seem severe, but I've been spoiled by my Raptor which has triple rate Works suspension.

I know stock shocks have their limitations, but hoped the experienced DS owners here might assist in this trial and error. . . . plus I have zero experience with preload and damping adjustment settings.

Opinions PLEASE? ? ? ? ? I might add I'm 6' and 245lbs. on a riding day LOL.

 

Howdy, welcome, and glad you like your DS

the settings I like and recommend is
1/3 of the rear travel in sag for the rear shock preload,
and
1/4 of the front shock travel in sag for front preload.

Measure sag , aka preload, with you on the seat. but first start by fully extending the rear shock by lifting grab bar, and measure to the floor, and then extend the front and measure to the floor. get on the seat and have somebody again measure front same location you measured from earlier. the difference is sag. adjust spring preload to achieve the sag mentioned above - about 3-1/2" to 4 " of sag for rear and about 2-1/2" to 3" of sag for the front. but to get the front to sag before measuring you gotta roll the bike back and forth a bit so the wheels can part away due to rubber friction on the floor. Now preload is set for your weight, regardless of riding conditions.

and now you have your rear compression and rebound speeds to play with, which do vary per riding conditions/terrain type. they both have about 20-24 clicks of adjustment total, start with them both in the middle and tweek them to your liking from there - if you hit big jumps and hammer deep whoops really hard then slower/stiffer compression damping (adjustment on the rezzy)will help prevent bottoming - if you ride easy and smooth a faster/plusher compression damping will give a smoother ride. rebound is adjusted at the bottom of the shock, if its too fast it can buck like a bronco and get the rear bouncing off the ground and too slow the shock will pack up and lose its travel. trail and error these, their ideal settings are different when going from trails to dunes or track to trail but preload never needs to change once set for your weight

 

Very good info Hightower. I had always adjusted my sag in the rear per the manual but had never haerd mention of doing the front likewise. It does make alot of sense though. I'll be checking/adjusting my front to see how it all works out.

Gadget, you may also want to address your tire pressures. Too high will creat a rough ride. Most duners will run about 5psi up front and 4, sometimes 3psi in the rear. Hope this helps some. Pretty elementary after Hightower's input...

 

Gadget,
I like a little more sag, I run 4 in the front and (when I had a stock swingarm) 5 in the rear. I weight 200 and do not jump over 5 or 6 feet high. It really makes for a nice ride.

Like Ace said, tire pressure has a big effect on ride and handling. Like my sag, I like a softer tire than most as I run 4PSI front and 3PSI rear most of the time. If you have much elevation change from where you live to where you ride be sure to set your tire pressure where you ride. Its amazing to me how much it can change.

Scott

 

when I leave home in Indiana at 3psi in the tires, and get to Utah or Idaho at 5K, they're up to 10psi!!! And Pringles cans pop there own tops on the way!! No kidding at all man, oil quarts and anything in a sealed container is about ready to pop going from 800 feet to 5,000!

 

Thanks guys. I should clarify this issue is NOT tire pressure related. I have been riding the dunes for years and check tire pressures every ride and sometimes throughout. My question was rebound/damping and preload adjustment related.

I will return my preload to where I had it earlier and will start to play with the dampening settings . . . . . I was just looking for a little feedback to see where other people have theirs set.