Pre-Load -- Refresh My Feeble Mind

There are parts of Europe, the UK especially, which are trying to catch up with the US weight-wise...

The idea of free top-up sodas hasn't really caught on in Europe. KFC does it but most people have one small one - a large one here is about half the size of a large one in the US. A Big Mac in France is the same size as or, perhaps even smaller than, an ordinary burger in the US.

Although we tend to walk more, it isn't really the fuel price, though that can be a factor, but, the fact that everywhere is closer. It's often more hassle (and may take longer) to take the car than it is to walk.

Someone also mentioned in another post the lack of SUVs. Europe's roads are smaller. The Parking garages and spaces are smaller, roads narrower, corners tighter etc. so SUV are a nightmare to drive in Europe. There are even 2 sizes of Ranger Rover and most tend to drive the smaller one. When it comes to SUVs, if you can afford to buy one (they tend to be much more expensive, like double the price, over here), you can afford the fuel so, the price of fuel isn't important.

I mentioned above that I was 195 lbs. At my height 5'8", this is considered verging on obese in Europe. My doctor wants me to lose about 25-30 lbs. The real benefit would be that, like DirtFlier, 30 lbs is approximately the weight of my gear and backpack so the bike would perform a hell of a lot better. In Asia, 30 lbs is 1/3 the weight of a pillion passenger!
 
Last edited:
DirtFlier said:
When I ordered a new shock for my NT, I took my bathroom scale to the garage and weighed my riding gear and all the stuff I'd take with me on a multi-day trip. I can't recall the exact figure but it wasn't over 40 pounds. 100 pounds is a lot!
Click to expand...

OK; you aroused my curiosity so I weighed my stuff just now. I tried to replicate as closely as possible, all the gear I took on an 11 day trip.
I weighed my tent, chair, sleeping bag, all clothing and gear, including my helmet and jacket and everything my panniers and topbox held

215# for me
approximately 80# of gear and clothing, so that's 295 +/- and I know I did not dial in more than 12-13 clicks of pre load. Anything over that and the ride is just too harsh.
And like Phil said before, with all that weight the bike is still a delight to ride over the mountain passes and thru the twisties
 
Oh, you're a camper so that puts a different spin on it, with lots of additional items necessary. I usually do my camping at the Super 8 or Comfort Inn if I'm feeling flush! :eek:
 
If not camping I am hard pressed to have 20lb of gear. I always carry about 5lb of tools and spares.

Camping I weighed and I put about 20lb in each side and the top case, so 60lb.
 
Well the answers seem to be varied and (as usual) come down to personal preference. But one common thread seems to back up what an old girlfriend once said. Everything from Europe seems to be smaller and undersized. :USflag1:
 
[...Everything from Europe seems to be smaller and undersized...]

 That's strictly an American perception about Europe. They probably think everything in the US is oversize.
 
Eating is mainly a function not a contest. If your owner's manual said to use 4.0 litres of oil at an oil change, would it run better with 5 or 6 litres?
 
Last edited:
No, I have an US manual and it's been that way since OH was accepted into the Union. I just used the term "litres" since JQL is in France. :)
 
OK, so back to preload.

Adjusting preload really just changes the initial bike height. It can also reduce the amount of suspension travel depending on the design of the shock/spring assy.

If you find you need to change preload outside the mfg's recommendations then you might consider getting a different spring designed for the weight of you and your bike.
 
I learnt Imperial Units at school (before the UK went Napoleon :() The problem is that some Imperial Units aren't the same as US Units. For example:

1 Imperial Gallon = 4.54609 Litres (or if you must Liters)
1 US Gallon = 3.785411784 Litres.

The benefit of this is the UK pint is bigger than the US pint so we get more beer :pint: :nanana1: Yet we still weigh less :butt1: :crackup:

:bigpop:


OK being deadly serious. If you have an old manual from the UK (pre 1976) for, say, a Norton or BSA, you do need to check the units otherwise you could be overfilling!

As an aside, I fully understand US, Imperial and Metric units as I wrote a conversion program in the early 1990's which was used by, among others, the New York Port Authority.
 
Last edited:
[...If you find you need to change preload outside the mfg's recommendations then you might consider getting a different spring designed for the weight of you and your bike...Charlie]

I agree completely because preload adjustments were only mean to work within a certain range for the average sized rider. it's not one size fits all. :)
 
I'm 6'0 165 pounds so I guess Europe's perception of America is rather negligible to me. Anyway, I was always under the assumption if you collapse the pre-load the seat height would be lowered (slightly) and since the spring is "loaded" the initial stiffness of the spring would be slightly greater. That's how it works on a dirt bike so I can imagine it holds true for an NT.
 
Zombie thread time. So Frosty and I were discussing how BMW folk set the preload on their rear shocks. They measure from the center of the rear axel to any reference point they choose straight up (say the top of the pannier) and then take the bike off the center stand and put on the rider and the touring load and remeasure the distance. They want about 2.5 inches compression depending on the bike.
So out of curiosity, I checked the NT and its about 1 inch compression for me.
So I read the manual and this thread and did some tests.
For me a click is about 180 degrees turn of the adjuster knob. Is this correct for you? I weigh 170 lbs with street clothes so I weighed my tools, touring stuff, and riding clothes and I decided on a max touring load of 70-75 lbs depending on how much Mike's hard Lemonaide manufactured with vodka I want to smuggle home from Canada. Now I am wondering how I should set up the clicks from the standard 11....... ?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom