Harder is harder 
Hey everyone,
Last weekend, I installed the Elka stage 1+R on my 2010 RT-S. These were used from a member on this site. I did everything as suggested, but now I need help adjusting them because know i feel every bump on the road. I tried to PM Trooper like 4 days ago, but have gotten no response. Could anyone else here help me out? Right now I have 5" between the very top thread and the very top of the adjustment collar. I also am not sure how to adjust there rebound... New-be problems!
:banghead:
ray:
The purpose of suspension is to allow the wheel(s) to move up and down over bumps without transmitting the movement to the chassis. Soft springs ==> smooth ride, increasing stiffness ==> more 'bump' transmitted to the frame/rider. Suspension 'tuning' is a lot of tradeoffs between handling and ride comfort. So presuming you got them installed correctly - here goes.
Ride harshness is a function of spring rate and compression. Softer is softer and harder is - well- harder.
Stiffer spring rate ==> harder ride. Ultimate 'stiff shock/spring' ==> hardtail motorcycle
Oh my aching behind. LOL Higher compression numbers ==> harder ride.
Also tire inflation does affect the overall spring rate. Tire sidewall flex is about 2% of overall spring rate. so again harder = harder as more pressure make the tire harder to compress. You might try adjusting the pressures down (within mfgr limits) if you are running on the high end.
Rebound controls how quickly the shock allows the suspension to return downward. If rebound is too 'tight' it will not allow the wheel to get back to surface quickly enough which results in loss of contact with the road. The Spyder will tend to skip and hop across the road. This is no fun particularly if it turns in to 'chatter.' Skipping in the middle of a turn is very *unnerving*:yikes::yikes:
preload is used to adjust ride height when a stiffer spring is used than what is stock. When you use a stiffer spring the weight of the vehicle does not compress the new stiff spring as much as it would a softer spring so ride height goes up. Returning to correct ride height is achieved when the new springs are preloaded/compressed to correct height with the preload ring. Preloading a spring does not change it's rate (if it is a linear spring).
My understanding is that Elka puts custom spring rates (generally considerably stiffer - see their thread on 2013 RT shock development) on its shocks which are tailored to the rider weight and riding style (solo/2up) when they are ordered/built. I agree you should contact Elka. You got these used so perhaps they can assist you in 'recustomizing' the springs to a rate that better suits your style of riding. I presume they serialize and record what was actually built into the shocks.
Bottom line on the Stage 1's compression is preset so changing rebound/preload is not likely to get rid of your ride comfort not suiting your derriere
.
A call to Elka customer support definitely the order of the day.
