I've only done 3,700 miles on the Thruxton (2019, 1200 R) but I'm loving it. Corners great, goes great and stops great too. And looks even better, I'd say The one issue is that the suspension is too firm, especially the rear. I'm about 12 stone and my rider sag is only an inch or so, maybe 2 inches. I'm not sure if I should be measuring it from when the rear wheel's off the ground, or the rear subframe is lifted up a bit or from the bike's natural rest position. Anyway, I'm not really convinced that achieving some magic number for rider sag would sort the problem anyway - I just think I need less preload. But the unit's already on 'position 1' with the two rings up against each other - minimum preload. I've tried reducing compression rebound as an alternative way to reduce the firmness but that's of limited effectiveness, especially as I'm now 18 out of 22 clicks from maximum damping. I just wondered if you clever people can tell me I'm missing a trick. Unless you have ideas, it seems like my only option is to look at softer springs. Am I alone in the rear being very hard? I don't suppose I'm especially light in weight terms. Maybe I should get the dealer to look at it as the Olins are supposed to be great for configurability but the one thing I need it seems it can't do. When I say it's hard, on a good hard ride on country roads it's not unusual that I hit a bump that throws me up out of the saddle. That hard. Cheers, Dave
Hi Dave, I am no expert and certainly not a "fast group track" rider but I do ride on pretty poor road surfaces here in Scotland and like to make "progress". I am now on my second Thruxton R having covered over 20,000 miles on both bikes. I guess I am a little smaller and lighter than you at 5' 5" and under 11 stone but I have found the comfort settings from the hand book (+/- a couple of clicks) a really good starting point for a controlled / more comfortable ride. I also found the lower comfort seat an (expensive) but useful addition. Cheers Steve
Firm suspension is nothing to do with sag. Sag controls ride height and operating range. Certainly the shock is overdamped on the standard settings. put the settings to Comfort. Spring rate is about right for a 12 stone rider so standard setting position 1 should be fine
Thanks Carrock, a) I'm certainly no expert but my understanding is that sag is a measure of how far the suspension deflects under the bike's weight (static sag) and the rider's weight (rider sag). If you measure your sag and then increase the preload the sag will be reduced. That's what I've been told. And it makes sense to me (according to my limited knowledge). b) I've also heard that increasing the preload makes the suspension firmer. It only achieves this because, at rest, the suspension is already topped-out. So increasing the preload compresses the spring, making it 'harder'. So to make the suspension softer you need to reduce that preload, making de-compressing the spring. Hmmm, now I'm reading that I'm spotting the inconsistency between a) and b) - the suspension is only topped-out if your sag is zero. By definition, if your sag is not zero then your suspension is not topped out and increasing the preload will only increase the ride-height, not compress the spring. So, as my sag is not zero, I think I'm agreeing with you!! Reducing preload would only reduce ride height. As I mentioned in my OP, I already have compression damping on 18/22 clicks from max (with 22 being least damping) so I don't think I've got the compression damping too high!! I'm gonna drop by the dealer tomorrow and see what they say - I'll post here... if it's useful.
You have to get your sag (preload) right. If the suspension is working at the extreme top or bottom of its stroke, your going to have a hard ride. It's designed to work best in the middle of its range. I had a Thruxton R and it was always a little hard admittedly.
I took mine to MCT and had front and back RR valved and new fork springs to suit my 12 stone a real difference on the road
I’m booked in at BG motorsport next to silverstone track they are an Ohlins specialist, he is going to setup my sag and settings correctly, in addition they ordered in some upgraded springs for the rear based on my weight. as soon as I told him my model of bike he said they have upgraded the rear springs of many a Thruxton r. I have already played with the settings as per the manual but BG are confident with their adjustments it will be like a different bike
Hi Dave Not sure if your suspension issues have now been sorted, but have been trying to make my '16 Thruxton a bit less harsh on bumpy roads, I've backed off the damping (comp & reb) but left the preload on softest, which has helped, but it's still not right so...... When I first started reading the forums, I read this: ".....I found setting all the damping to comfort settings helped, along with using the spanners to move the shock preload to position 2. Basically, the bike is under sprung and overdamped, causing too much sag at the rear and a harsh ride......" This seemed a bit counter intuitive, but today I checked the sag on the Ohlins. Using a zip tie around the piston rod to check the movement, I found that static sag (without rider) was about 4mm (which according to Superbike Coach website; is about right). Then, I added my own weight without riding kit, (that's about 75kg/11stone 11 pounds) the sag then increased to about 35mm. By my measurement that's about 50% of the total available travel, according to the Superbike Coach website, it should be in the region of 28% to 33% for a street bike. That seems to confirm that a higher preload and a bit more damping may actually improve the ride and possibly the steering, I feel my TTR understeers on a trailing throttle. That "can" be caused by soft rear suspension not letting the front end drop into corners (I have read). As the Triumph "C" spanners have a reputation for scratching the Ohlins, I've bought some Harris Products spanners (cheaper than Ebay) and will try upping the preload. Fingers crossed! There is a very extensive article about setting up motorcycle suspension at: https://www.superbike-coach.com/coachs-blog/coachs-motorcycle-support/motorcycle-suspension-guide
Sorry I should have replied since visiting BG motorsport. Firstly check out my review of BG motorsport. Secondly I learnt the springs on the thruxton R needed upgrading.
Hi Timboo I'm not sure where your review of BG Motorsport would be, if you could give me a pointer? Your findings mirror something I read on one of the forums, which I quoted on 14th Oct. ".....I found setting all the damping to comfort settings helped, along with using the spanners to move the shock preload to position 2. Basically, the bike is under sprung and overdamped, causing too much sag at the rear and a harsh ride......" Following this, I jacked my rear suspension up to the middle notch and backed off the damping to near minimum. And I also replaced the standard fork oil with one that is about 2/3rds of the weight. (Silkolene RSF5) and turned up the fork preload to about 2.5 full turns out from hardest, A professional setup could improve on it, but I am VERY happy for about £75 expenditure including the fork tools and Harris shock adjusters. Seasons greetings to you!!
Hi Timboo I'm not sure where your review of BG Motorsport would be, if you could give me a pointer? Your findings mirror something I read on one of the forums, which I quoted on 14th Oct. ".....I found setting all the damping to comfort settings helped, along with using the spanners to move the shock preload to position 2. Basically, the bike is under sprung and overdamped, causing too much sag at the rear and a harsh ride......" Following this, I jacked my rear suspension up to the middle notch and backed off the damping to near minimum. And I also replaced the standard fork oil with one that is about 2/3rds of the weight. (Silkolene RSF5) and turned up the fork preload to about 2.5 full turns out from hardest, A professional setup could improve on it, but I am VERY happy for about £75 expenditure including the fork tools and Harris shock adjusters. Seasons greetings to you!!
Hiya It may well be you read my review on the other forum https://triumphmotorcycleforum.com/t/bg-motorsport-silverstone-ohlins-suspension-thruxton-r/1093
