Assuming that you have the standard shock absorbers on your bike, look at the bottom of the unit. There's a hole in the adjuster ring. Insert suitable tool, blunt screwdriver for example, and turn the adjuster ring clockwise to increase spring pre-load, (if you want to carry a pillion for example) anti-clockwise to soften suspension. Make sure both units are adjusted equally.
Would taking the shock off the bike and remounting it 180 degrees allow full adjustment. I didn't know they could be fitted incorrectly. I haven't got my Bonnie anymore to check.
There is a stepped spring support collar which when rotated moves up or down the shock body. In the photos above the adjuster collar is on the softest/longest setting. When you rotate the collar it clicks up to the next step against the lug at the bottom there. As the spring is compressed is provides more preload to better support the pillion or luggage and therefore retains more of a full stroke of damping movement. Otherwise the damper would be short of available travel and you could bottom it out more easily. Triumph provide a tool clipped into the inside of a side cover on my bike, it looks like an allen key. It's just a short lever really so as already said, a screwdriver or similar would work depending on the clearance. Clockwise or anti-clockwise depends on which end of the shock you are looking from. The spring platform adjuster will only turn one way in the above photo, ie to a harder setting. Make sure each shock is set the same obvs! It should be possible to adjust on the road, but you might get more clearance if you swing the bottom of the shock out but then you'll need a vice to hold onto the damn thing.
Totally agree. But looking at the image the shock is on minimum setting. Adding preload is not possible as using the adjustment tool/rod will just whack the frame. Or am i missing something.
Yes, there isn't room for a screwdriver there but an allen key shaped tool has a shorter bit which gives more clearance and a longer bit that still gives you the leverage. I haven't tried it myself yet but that's the idea.
Looks to me like the shocks have been fitted on the wrong side of the bike. Is the opposite side shock able to be adjusted Guillermo or is that the same?
Thanks to everyone for all the feedback. I did find the Allen wrench underneath the right side cover. I ended up removing the chain guard and continued to go clockwise to get it back where it should be. I'm all set. Can I get confirmation this setting for the least amount of preload (single rider)?
The handbook says for all models with the standard shocks, the factory setting is position 1 of 5 which is also standard for solo riding and position 5 of 5 is for rider, pillion and luggage. You have it set in position 1 now and you have to use the handbook as a guide. I'm 75-80kg in kit so P1 is fine for me. As DD says P3 feels right for his weight. Bear in mind that we don't know what average rider weights Triumph use to spec the shocks but if the average person is..... Quick google says this; "At 5 feet 10 inches, a healthy weight ranges from 132 to 173 pounds; at 6 feet, 140 to 183 pounds. Based on height and weight data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average man in the United States is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 196 pounds, and the average woman is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 166 pounds." So you can easily put 200kg + on the bike with passenger and luggage. Best thing would be to experiment to see what works for you. Triumph will have tried to keep the rear in a range that will not drastically change the balance of the bike while not adjusting the front forks to match the changing load. There is loads of advice from Dave Moss if you want to start measuring sag etc but the bike doesn't need to be anymore complicated than just trying a couple of settings.
Got it, now it's a matter of riding and adjusting accordingly. This was triggered by my rear tire feeling oddly when doing more aggressive turns. It felt like like my tire was not properly inflated of which it is at 36 psi. The back felt squishy.
Prior to upgrading my suspension, I used a cut-off phillips screw driver that bit snuggly in the hole. An experience I had from having rear suspension too soft on a loaded bike is the front end feels like it's wobbling when cornering. I suspect this is because force is causing the rear of the motorcycle to load more than the front; thereby lightening it.
