Newbie onboard - question about front shock adjuster.

Daz555 · Post by **Daz555** » Thu May 10, 2007 10:51 am

Hi all.

I have a quickie about the front shock adjuster on my R1100S. Simply - mine is stuck. The previous owner was a big lad and the bike feels a little firm so I'd like to take it down a click or two from his settings.

I purchased the bike on Monday from a private seller and the bike is mint but I just didn't notice the adjuster problem. Rear adjusters are fine.

My questions are:

Is this common?
Do you recommend trying to force it a little?
What is the screw on top for? Does it just remove the cap?
Is it likely to be just a bit of WD40 and I'll be fine?

I'll have a tinker with it this weekend but just thought I'd get a bit of info first. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Nero · Post by **Nero** » Thu May 10, 2007 11:57 am

Welcome on board.

If the front suspension is on the firm side and the adjustment knob doesn't turn freely, then it's most probably been wound tightly in the direction of 'H' and should free by using firm pressure in the 'S' direction.

Don't undo the little screw on top, unless you're ready to catch the small ball bearing that is spring loaded to give the clicks for adjustment. If you want to remove the to knob unit completely you will need to use a spanner (14mm from memory) under the knob.

HTH

Nero

Daz555 · Post by **Daz555** » Thu May 10, 2007 1:07 pm

Cheers for the info - especially about the ball-bearing.

I'll have a go tonight, or at the weekand, and try to give it a bit of 'gentle persuasion'.

sproggy · Post by **sproggy** » Thu May 10, 2007 1:14 pm

You may not notice much difference even if you get the knob to move - the knob adjusts rebound damping only. The 'firm' feeling that you describe may (depending on whether you've ridden telelever BM's before) just be the difference between the dive that you've got used to on a regular telescopic fork and the minimal dive on a telelever BM front end.

There is no preload adjustment on a standard S front damper, and to be honest there isn't a huge range of adjustment on the rebound damping either......

Daz555 · Post by **Daz555** » Thu May 10, 2007 1:39 pm

Yes this is my first BM (and first telelever). You are right - the lack of dive under braking is bloody strange but I actually quite like it. By contrast though I find the nose of the bike lifts more under acceleration than my Hornet 600 with a traditional front end.

I'd still like to lower the rebound damping however and see what it feels like. I hope that this will reduce the 'impact' feeling I am getting from the front when encountering a number of bumps at motorway speeds. It may of course just be a characteristic of the bike and if so I'll live with it - but hey, its always good to have a fiddle.

sproggy · Post by **sproggy** » Thu May 10, 2007 1:59 pm

Daz555 wrote:By contrast though I find the nose of the bike lifts more under acceleration than my Hornet 600 with a traditional front end.

That suggests a lack of rebound damping (maybe the adjuster stuck on minimum?), but could also be the bike lifting because of the reaction in the shaft drive. They are a bit weird to ride until you get used to them.

Daz555 wrote:I hope that this will reduce the 'impact' feeling I am getting from the front when encountering a number of bumps at motorway speeds.

Hmmm, that doesn't sound right, but excess rebound damping (within the range of adjustment on a standard shock) would be unlikely to cause that. I've tried mine over the full range of adjustment and except in very specific circumstances it's near impossible to tell the difference.

bigblackfalco · Post by **bigblackfalco** » Thu May 10, 2007 2:28 pm

The standard front shock is set up pretty firm (both spring preload and damping).
Over time things do soften up a bit.
Adjustment on the knob is for damping only. If it is stuck it's probably something to do with the bearing/spring assembly mentioned.
You'd be best off using a PTFE based lubricant rather than WD40 which is paraffin based and can actually cause more corrosion at a later date!
Anyway.....I hope you manage to get your knob unstuck sometime soon.

Bailey.