1800 schocks setting

[cfennell1832]

Anyone know what the settings should be for one person and the setting for two people on the GL1800?

[FlyBoy2121]

"I cfennell

You ajust the rear suspension has the place as you are most comfortable, depending the road.

FlyBoy2121

Anyone know what the settings should be for one person and the setting for two people on the GL1800?

[Viking]

I run mine at 10 alone and at 20 with two up. If I add the trailer, I run it up to the top. I have the 10 and 20 set into the memories.

[thrasherg]

I am the same as Viking, but I also have progressive suspension front and rear. I did find that 1 to 8 on the rear had no effect on the shock, it just takes up the play, so I really only have 9 to 20 as a range of adjustment. There are several links on the WEB that explain there can be air in the system and that causes this issue. It is relatively simple to refill the system and remove the slack, but I couldn't be bothered..

Gary

[Steve F]

I'm with Gary on this one, and although I have the 2-up setting a little higher, I noticed I bottomed out a couple of times when going over some rough RR tracks. I was wondering if servicing the rear shock reservoir level would help at all....filling it so there's adjustment from zero or 1 to the upper limit.

[Viking]

I'm with Gary on this one, and although I have the 2-up setting a little higher, I noticed I bottomed out a couple of times when going over some rough RR tracks. I was wondering if servicing the rear shock reservoir level would help at all....filling it so there's adjustment from zero or 1 to the upper limit.

You can do this, but you really need to replace the hose on the unit with a traxxion hose when you do the refill. This should start the adjustments to be noticeable at lower numbers. I don't have this problem yet, but have a traxxion hose sitting here waiting for when it happens, cause it will. It only takes time.

[Steve F]

Why do you need to replace the hose? Is the factory hose prone to failure, or does the aftermarket one offer something better than stock?

[tfdeputydawg]

A little extra info here:
The manual states to adjust the rear preload while on the center stand. Almost no one does this! IMHO, this causes excessive pressure build up and over time causes the OEM hose to expand. That's why the suggestion to change the hose when topping off the pump.
Also, the design of the rear suspension system of the Wing suggests one should set the preload on the max of 25 and leave it there!
I did this, not mentioning it to the wife. Next ride we took, she asked what I had changed as the "bumps" where not as harsh as before.

[thrasherg]

A little extra info here:
The manual states to adjust the rear preload while on the center stand. Almost no one does this! IMHO, this causes excessive pressure build up and over time causes the OEM hose to expand. That's why the suggestion to change the hose when topping off the pump.
Also, the design of the rear suspension system of the Wing suggests one should set the preload on the max of 25 and leave it there!
I did this, not mentioning it to the wife. Next ride we took, she asked what I had changed as the "bumps" where not as harsh as before.

If you are running the stock shock or stock spring, I would think this was excellent advise!! With aftermarket springs (They are about 25% stiffer (I think they are 1000lbs instead of 800lbs springs)) you don't need to run much pre-load if one or two up, but as you add luggage the pre-load starts to make sense..

Gary

[Viking]

Why do you need to replace the hose? Is the factory hose prone to failure, or does the aftermarket one offer something better than stock?

After a few years, the stock preload hose tends to soften up, and the inside expands a bit when pressured. This means that till it gets enough pressure (preload of 12 or more) it doesn't actually change anything. Changing to traxxions hose eliminates this problem for life.

[collinsa]

depends on weight
I weigh 84kg and use 6-7 depending on gear I am carrying
TWO up I use 13 with a 75kg passenger

More a case of trial an error

Remember ZERO is the factory base setting and ride firms as the numbers rise.

[rec45]

I filled the reservoir 65,000 miles ago and it still starts moving the spring at "0". Original shock and hose.

[cfennell1832]

Thanks, I'm at 200-lbs now and have it set on 2, guess I'll reset to 10 then.

[mosesmcrae]

I've purchased a new Progressive spring and steel braided line for the rear shock. My problem is i need a tool to compress the spring. Progressive no longer sells these compressor tools which are custom designed due to the preload connector on the top of the shock.
Does anyone have a tool they are willing to sell or rent? I'm very trustworthy and would send it back as soon as I'm finished with it, if you would consider renting it.

Thanks,

Mosesmcrae

[thrasherg]

Moses,

I made a tool out of a length of 2" PVC pipe and a long threaded bolt.. I will take a look and see if I can find it and send you a picture, the parts cost about $5 at home depot and it took 15 minutes to cut them to fit, it worked great on my bike.

Gary

[FlyBoy2121]

I Gary

Post the picture Please, I want to see this.

Tank You

FlyBoy2121

[thrasherg]

I will try to find it, no promises, I did this 2+ years ago and haven't used it since and have moved from Texas to Washington, so no idea where the parts might be, but I will definitely try to find them.

Gary

[mosesmcrae]

Yeah, I'd like to see what you made. I'm trying to figure out how you can get at the retaining ring after cranking down the spring. Also, amazed the pvc is strong enough.

[dalph07]

I Gary

Post the picture Please, I want to see this.

Tank You

FlyBoy2121

Me too! Thanks

[expplane]

OK, you will think at first I'm nuts but read on. Anyone who has ridden Motorcross or just riding for fun on dirt bikes know or should know about SAG. That is the amount of shock travel used to support rider and bike, and is primarily for the rear shock. The 1800 has 4.1" of travel. When siting on the bike and feet on the pegs(get help to do this) no more than 33% of shock travel should be used. I found my 2008 was using (with the preload set to 25) 55%. NOT GOOD!!!!!
I called Works Performance in southern California after seeing that they have a custom built shock for the 1800. The stock shock has a 850 lb spring. Works shocks use 1050 lb spring and have rebound damping adjustment. They custom build the valving to ones riding style and weight normally carried. I weight 195 lb and am an old fart - 75. Even setting the stock shock to 25 I was hitting the bumper on modest bumps. With the Works shock not a problem. Oh the preload is set to 25.
Soooooooo....... I highly recommend anyone set the stock shock to 25 for all conditions.
BTW the 2012 1800 have "modified suspension". I rode one and am convinced they have stronger springs as well as different and improved valuing.
And one more thing; preload has NOTHING to do with ride smoothness. Just SAG. Ride smoothness is controlled by valving I.e. damping adjustments. Rebound damping is very important and that why stock bikes that come most times only rebound damping adjustment.

[KarateKid]

As I understand it:
Preload only sets sag

Example 1: An 850 lb per cm spring might have the preload adjusted such that it is preloaded to 1050 lbs, but as the spring is compressed by a big bump, each additional cm of compression provides only 850 lbs of additional force. Setting the preload to 25 with stock springs guarantees roughness over small bumps and no improvement over big bumps.

Example 2: An 1050 lb per cm spring might have preload adjusted to 950 lbs., but as the spring is compressed by a big bump, each additional cm of compression provides 1050 lbs of additional force. This should improve small bump compliance and big bump control.

Going to the proper weight spring should fix that, but it also increases ride height (reduce sag).

[expplane]

Good analysis; the idea as I understand it is setting correct SAG will allow more shock travel before bottoming on the bumper stop. That was happening on my '08 before getting the Works shock with stronger spring (and improved valving).

[charliektm400exc]

The main reason why having a stiffer spring will actually make the shock more responsive to small bumps is that there are different parts of the shock stroke that are designed for different situations. The first part of the movement should be very supple to absorb those small bumps. Then as the shock moves a bit more into the mid part of the stroke, the damping should firm up to absorb the bigger bump that has moved it that far. Then at the end of the stroke it should firm up even more to try and stop the shock bottoming out.

So when the spring is too week to hold the bike up, the shock is moving through the mid part of the stroke when it's going over small bumps, so the ride will be harsher then it needs to be. If a stiffer spring is put on,then the shock is riding in the initial part of its stroke which is designed to absorb small bumps, so it will be more comfortable.

As for a shock bottoming out. You can expect that it will bottom out occasionally. If its not, then you are not using all the travel of the shock, and some of its wasted. However it should only bottom if you hit a large bump with a fair bit of speed/force. Not normal bumps in the road at normal speeds. Hope this helps make it clearer for people.

Charlie

[artgrantz]

Thanks to all the posters who provided such good info on this topic. I have been riding Goldwings for 16 years but just bought my first 1800 so this is new to me.