After 5 weeks of daily tweaking, I have managed to have a working suspension setup with stock springs and shock. I would like to share this information for us fatties out there! I experienced high speed wobbles, had to constantly correct myself in corners and had a lot of bumby front situations at lower speeds. Honda aimed the suspension for 75 kg / 165 lbs / 12 st riders. Unfortunately, I am 108 kg / 238 lbs / 17 st.
My setup:
- FRONT preload: 8 turns, starting from full SOFT.
- FRONT compression damping: 2 clicks from full TIGHT.
- FRONT rebound: 2 and a half turn from full TIGHT.
- REAR preload: Maxed out, turned anti-clockwise untill you hear the first click.
- REAR compression damping: stock settings (14 clicks from MAX).
- REAR rebound: stock settings (11 clicks from MAX).
Testing situation:
- Both my Tusk panniers, weighing 8 kg / 17 lbs total, have been removed.
- I have equipped a front crash bar of around 6 kg / 13 lbs
- Did a constant 160 kmph / 100 mph for about 20 km / 13 mi on the highway with a few fairly sharp exit lanes.
- I intentionally pushed against the handlebars to the left and to the right on the highway and I'm satisfied the gyroscopic effect corrects my path and keeps me in a straight line without the handlebars feeling twitchy or 'light feathered'.
- Did 50 kmph / 30 mph within city boundries, all on tarmac, both new and old pavement with tar snakes and speed bumps.
- I have done a couple of full turns on a roundabout and ONLY noticed a slight oversteer in the back when I had to correct my speed and lean angle a bit while taking the long turning circle.
- Road surface was wet. I can happily say I was really confident on cornering the bike hard for the first time since I owned it.
- My AT runs on Dunlop Trailsmart Max, front 2.0 bar and back 2.6 bar.
I really hope this information will help you sort out any discomfort or trouble you are experiencing with your AT. The rear shock is simply not build for our weight. I'm convinced that if you apply these settings, you will regain control and a good level of comfort!
My setup:
- FRONT preload: 8 turns, starting from full SOFT.
- FRONT compression damping: 2 clicks from full TIGHT.
- FRONT rebound: 2 and a half turn from full TIGHT.
- REAR preload: Maxed out, turned anti-clockwise untill you hear the first click.
- REAR compression damping: stock settings (14 clicks from MAX).
- REAR rebound: stock settings (11 clicks from MAX).
Testing situation:
- Both my Tusk panniers, weighing 8 kg / 17 lbs total, have been removed.
- I have equipped a front crash bar of around 6 kg / 13 lbs
- Did a constant 160 kmph / 100 mph for about 20 km / 13 mi on the highway with a few fairly sharp exit lanes.
- I intentionally pushed against the handlebars to the left and to the right on the highway and I'm satisfied the gyroscopic effect corrects my path and keeps me in a straight line without the handlebars feeling twitchy or 'light feathered'.
- Did 50 kmph / 30 mph within city boundries, all on tarmac, both new and old pavement with tar snakes and speed bumps.
- I have done a couple of full turns on a roundabout and ONLY noticed a slight oversteer in the back when I had to correct my speed and lean angle a bit while taking the long turning circle.
- Road surface was wet. I can happily say I was really confident on cornering the bike hard for the first time since I owned it.
- My AT runs on Dunlop Trailsmart Max, front 2.0 bar and back 2.6 bar.
I really hope this information will help you sort out any discomfort or trouble you are experiencing with your AT. The rear shock is simply not build for our weight. I'm convinced that if you apply these settings, you will regain control and a good level of comfort!