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Shock Adjustment

superdedooperman

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Soon, I plan on adjusting my rear shock to soften it up some. I've noticed the bike is very stiff and want to try it with a bit more "spring" in it. Also, it would help this shorty reach the ground a smidge better too! Ha! After watching the how-to video posted on the forum, it doesn't seem like it would be very difficult.

I was told by the dealer I bought it from that the PO was "too big" for the bike, which is why he traded it back in. So, I was wondering if he had stiffened it up any.

Has anyone tried softening the rear shock up a bit and what are your conclusions?
 
TL;DR: You can't. Budget bike etc...

You can bash around some of the 'adjustable' preload rings, but the consensus here is they are set by the factory and not really worth messing with.

I put this on mine and will probably cost you half of what the bike is worth, but it works, and it's great for adjusting for 2 up, heavy boxes etc...

Nitron R2 Shock Honda NC700X 2011-2015 - RevZilla
 
You can't soften the shock, you can reduce the preload but this will not change the absorption much. Even changing the spring will provide limited improvement as absorption is handled mostly by internal hydraulics.

I just ordered a new shock, better hydraulics, adjustable, and set for my weight. This is kind of expensive (500) but it really makes the bike better handling, and more comfortable.
 
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What the others said..........you can not adjust the stock shock into “compliance.” and or better ride.

The other choice for rear shock upgrade is Cogent. Custom built shock to your wants and needs was $660.

https://www.motocd.com
 
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A new shock certainly is good. However, you might see how much the PO cranked a down the preload. I had mine cranked down pretty far (I’m 240lbs - a far cry from the 160 I understand the bike is set for). I had little shock absorbing left because there was little spring travel left. So depending on your weight, you might try backing that off first and see how you like it.

Otherwise, it’s a pretty big investment for a new shock, and then you’ll also want new fork springs. I got an Ohlins shock and race tech fork springs — all in was around $700 (I did not get emulators - there’s a lot of posts on those as well).


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Beating the dead horse, I know, but as was already said, you cannot "soften" the shock by adjusting the preload ring. Turning the ring adjusts the ride height, so that with you and your gear on board, the shock is operating within the range of travel, and the ride height sets the proper geometry of the motorcycle. However, the spring rate is fixed, i.e. the amount of weight it takes to compress the spring a given distance is fixed.

If you are on the extreme ends of rider weight, be it big or small, adjusting the shock ring is possibly needed because it puts the suspension back at the right point in the travel range. If the PO messed with it, you might need to adjust it back to accommodate your weight.

The rear shock is a low budget item and does not comply well with sharp up bumps. The rider tends to get bumped off the seat, rather than the shock simply absorbing the bump. But at the same time the spring allows a fair amount of sag with a large rider or lots of gear.

A $500-$800 aftermarket shock will fix you right up. The front suspension can be improved, too, at a more reasonable cost of maybe $150 or so.
 
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So, descreasing the pre-load would lower the ride height? If that is the case, I will try that. My term of "softening" it was indeed to see if it would change my ground reach level. I'm still trying to learn the technical side of all this! Ha. As for buying new suspension, I think I'm gonna pass for now on those price tags.
 
So, descreasing the pre-load would lower the ride height? If that is the case, I will try that. My term of "softening" it was indeed to see if it would change my ground reach level. I'm still trying to learn the technical side of all this! Ha. As for buying new suspension, I think I'm gonna pass for now on those price tags.

Decreasing the preload does lower the ride height, but also gets you closer to bottoming out the shock. If you really just want to lower the bike, the proper way is to replace the "dogbones." Do a search on lowering links. You can buy and install them and lower the height of the rear suspension without compromising shock travel.
 
Decreasing the preload does lower the ride height, but also gets you closer to bottoming out the shock. If you really just want to lower the bike, the proper way is to replace the "dogbones." Do a search on lowering links. You can buy and install them and lower the height of the rear suspension without compromising shock travel.
So as I am on the heavier side would me backing this off a bit help me out?20180307_200020.jpg

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Another rear shock option. Met them at the local bike show. The Extra Volume 2 is the model that fits the NC. Price was $750cad. Don't know much about it other than it was interesting and picked up the brochure.

Gears Racing Canada

Taked the s out of https: if you have trouble with loading
 
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If you want the shock to function more smoothly over rough surfaces then increasing the preload rather than decreasing it is a better option. Some have touched on that above because of squatting. I did that with my NC for two reasons. One was to raise the rear of the bike and quicken the steering and the other was to avoid squatting of the shock over rough surfaces which resulted in a harsh ride.

Afaik YSS do a reasonably priced shock for the NC. I have such a shock on my CRF250L and am well pleased with it as is my friend who has one also on his NX650. With that shock one also has rebound damping adjustment and spring preload adjustment. Needless to say they also do a more expensive shock with more adjustments but they are still not as highly priced as Ohlins or Wilbers.

Try lowering rear tyre pressure also because 42psi is over the top when riding solo on these bikes. I generally ran 36/38 psi on my NC as I do now on my X-Adv. It will soften the ride marginally but every little helps.
 
[...If you want the shock to function more smoothly over rough surfaces then increasing the preload rather than decreasing it is a better option...]

You first have to determine if the shock is bottoming or is the preload too stiff.
 
Decreasing the preload does lower the ride height, but also gets you closer to bottoming out the shock. If you really just want to lower the bike, the proper way is to replace the "dogbones." Do a search on lowering links. You can buy and install them and lower the height of the rear suspension without compromising shock travel.

That is my main goal here. Fortunately, I have a friend who said he will make me some for free since he is a machinist and has one of those dandy water jet cutters.

Thanks for all the help! I don't intend on replacing the shock unless after many more miles, I decide it's time.. (I've only been riding the bike since last September)
 
The only adjustment available on the stock shock is preload.

Preload will not affect the stiffness of the suspension. The only thing preload can affect (assuming standard springs, not one of those 'fancy' variable spring rate springs that try and give you more 'adjustment' in a very cheap way with usually poor results) is sag. At a basic level, preload only affects where the neutral position of the shock sits. If you put more weight on the bike, the shock will be more compressed, closer to bottoming out. In this case, you would want to dial up the preload to return the neutral position of the shock to where it is desired. The damping and spring rate stays the same regardless of preload setting.

A fully adjustable shock will have adjustments for preload, compression damping, and rebound damping.
Compression damping will affect the initial movement of the wheel. Too much damping and the wheel can't move to absorb the shock, to little and the wheel can bounce off the pavement.
Rebound damping will affect the overall tendancy for the wheel to settle back. Too little and the wheel will 'chatter' over the pave, too much and you won't absorb the shock.
The damping will also not affect the stiffness of the suspension, but will affect the performance by allowing the swingarm to move more (or less) freely as it tries to absorb bumps. This can have a significant improvement on performance if dialed in correctly for weight, the wheel can keep better contact with the ground while still absorbing the shock. It will feel stiffer or softer, but the actual stiffness of the suspension is not changed.

The only real way to adjust the stiffness of the suspension is changing the spring. Many suspension manufacturers have various springs available with many different spring rates that have recommendations based on weight, but it really comes down to personal preference whether you prefer a stiffer or softer suspension. Many people end up with springs "designed" for someone much heavier or lighter than they are based on how they like their ride to perform.

A suspension that has only preload adjustment is typically set up for a standard rider weight (I would guess somehwere around 200#, but different manufacturers may have different design criteria) and for a certain performance. Assuming you are not topping out or bottoming out your suspension, the only way you are going to improve the performance of the rear suspension is to buy a new shock/spring. If you are topping/bottoming out, you can improve performance by setting a proper level of preload for your weight (including passengers/luggage as applicable). Unfortunately, the only performance improvement in this case would be to stop topping/bottoming out.
 
I kind of understand this but here's my simple explanation using round numbers with no particular relationship to motorcycle shocks.
Take a spring with rate of 100 lb/in that stands 6" tall with no load on it. Put 50 lb on it and it moves 1/2", 100 lb it moves 1", 200 lb it moves 2", until the coils are solid against each other.
Now use a clamp to compress it 1". This is a preload of 100 lb. Put 50 lb on it and it doesn't move, but the load on the clamp is reduced. 100 lb doesn't move it, 101 lb and it barely moves, 200 lb and it moves 1" from the preload position.
There's a stop in the shock that acts like the clamp. So the preload simply determines how much load is required to start deflection beyond the preload setting. It shouldn't affect how much load is required to bottom out the spring.
Bottoming out the spring will be affected mostly by the total load, not the preload. As long as the rider exceeds the preload there should be no difference in the ride for different settings.
How far off am I? What did I miss?

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I kind of understand this but here's my simple explanation using round numbers with no particular relationship to motorcycle shocks.
Take a spring with rate of 100 lb/in that stands 6" tall with no load on it. Put 50 lb on it and it moves 1/2", 100 lb it moves 1", 200 lb it moves 2", until the coils are solid against each other.
Now use a clamp to compress it 1". This is a preload of 100 lb. Put 50 lb on it and it doesn't move, but the load on the clamp is reduced. 100 lb doesn't move it, 101 lb and it barely moves, 200 lb and it moves 1" from the preload position.
There's a stop in the shock that acts like the clamp. So the preload simply determines how much load is required to start deflection beyond the preload setting. It shouldn't affect how much load is required to bottom out the spring.
Bottoming out the spring will be affected mostly by the total load, not the preload. As long as the rider exceeds the preload there should be no difference in the ride for different settings.
How far off am I? What did I miss?

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Preload is a misunderstood and misused term. It comes from the process of preloading the spring against the shock’s mechanical limit before the shock/spring assembly is installed on the bike. Once the spring/shock is installed on the bike and the bike is loaded, assuming the preload was earlier set correctly, the spring is neither fully extended nor coil bound, and the shock is not at either mechanical limit. At this point there is only load, not preload. Preload was a term/process for presetting the spring position to get us to this point before we mounted the unit onto the bike.

So, assuming again that we’re staying inside the mechanical top and bottom limits of the suspension, the spring now has a load on it due to the suspended weight of the bike and rider. The spring is compressed by an appropriate amount based on that load and the spring’s rate. How the preload was set earlier does not now determine how much the spring is compressed. Moving the ring collar at this time doesn’t preload anything, nor compress or relax the spring any, it just repositions one end of the spring on the shock body and raises or lowers the bike. This continues until you reach the mechanical limits of the shock body, linkage, or swingarm, and then you are either topped or bottomed out, depending on which way you went.

This is easier to see if you picture the shock and spring as separately mounted units. Take a car, for example. Say you’ve got the shock over here doing its thing within it’s mechanical limits. You’ve got the spring over there supporting the weight of the car. Now just imagine taking the bottom of the spring loose for a second, slipping a spacer under it, and reinstalling the spring. What happens? Well if you didn’t reach the end limit of any other suspension components in the process, all that happens is that you raised the body of the vehicle by the thickness of the spacer. Spring rates and spring compression don’t change. That’s the same thing that happens if you turn the ring on the motorcycle shock body.
 
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In short the preload simply allows you to use the full range of the shock. You set it so that the rest position is proper (static on the loaded bike). It does not change dynamic behavior. It doesn't stiffen of soften, unless it was way off and the shock was toping or bottoming.
 
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