Scrambler Scrambler 1200 Suspension

Discussion in 'Thruxton, Scrambler & Trident' started by Repooh, Apr 15, 2020.

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  1. Repooh

    Repooh Rarely Satisfied

    Jan 5, 2018
    1,427
    1,000
    Stabby Town
    Like al of you folks I like my bike to be set-up for the best performance and safety, so tyres, brakes suspension are a priority for me.

    My shiny new Scrambler 1200 XC has fully adjustable front & rear suspension. Upon adjusting my rear suspension I've realised that there is not enough adjustment to accommodate my all up riding weight of 115KG. With max adjustment on the rear I cannot get the bike into the industry recognised rider sag range of the first third

    Confused as the max payload advertised by Triumph is 220kg, how can I not get it into 115kg?

    I’ve asked Triumph aftersales to clarify this and after weeks of running around with marketing speak, claiming they use a different method to calculate rider sag, avoiding answering direct questions and the like, Triumph have finally confirmed the Scrambler 1200’s suspension is designed to operate optimally for rider weights of 70-90kg, beyond this or indeed below this the bike suspension cannot perform optimally.

    So if your between 70-90kg, (11st-14st2lbs, 154-198lbs) you’re all good, albeit at the 90kg end you’ll have no adjustment left for luggage or pillions.

    They told me if they were to make bikes to accommodate riders outside the 90kg range they risk alienating the majority of their customers (strange statement)

    So I have a new £13,000 bike which can never perform at it’s best as confirmed by Triumph. Don’t recall during the sales cycle being told this nor does it appear in Triumphs literature.

    Now of course I can do three things (1) loose 25kg, (2) install a new set of suspension (3) sell the bike.

    Option 2 will give Triumph warranty bail out equity and cost me, option 3 is not an option, option 1 is advisable, but for health reasons

    So what do you recon, am I being unreasonable expecting my 45 day old £13,000 bike to fit my needs or not?
     
  2. RebelHawk

    RebelHawk Well-Known Member

    Mar 1, 2020
    338
    53
    SC, USA
    I'll have to agree with you regarding the disappointment of finding out I'm to heavy for a bike this large. I ended up purchasing my XE without having ridden it as I had surgery on my right foot 7 weeks ago and bought my bike around 5 weeks ago. When I signed off on the purchase I ask them to setup the bike's suspension for a heavy load (I'm 6'2" and 260lbs which I think is around 115 kg). Having nothing but time on my hands for the past few weeks I've watched every YouTube video posted featuring the new Triumph Scrambler 1200s. I came across a video I posted in a another thread talking about suspension with an Ohlins technician who set up a XE for a vlogger that was just a bit over 200 lbs. I went out to check the settings on my bike to find out that neither of the rear shocks were set the same much less for my fat ass. My local dealer didn't do anything to them at all apparently. I turned my rear shocks to the settings recommended in that video and broke quarantine (for essential transportation of course) and ignored Dr recommendation for the first time this past weekend just to try the bike out around the neighborhood (on my way to the store for necessary items).

    I found the settings to be relatively smooth if a little on the tight side in the rear. I found I was actually aiming for pot holes and speed bumps just to try it out. The front shocks feel disproportionality soft but the rear gave more than enough support for street riding without being hash. My folks have 40 acres not far from here with plenty of off road potential but I'll have to wait for Dr clearance to get out there for a visit and try my settings off road.

    Since I'm coming from an Indian Scout Bobber that I bottomed out the suspension if I rode over an ant's ass I'm going to have to reserve final judgment until I get some seat time.
     
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  3. Shaun64

    Shaun64 Senior Member

    Feb 23, 2020
    651
    243
    England
    Repooh if you like the bike then spend some money on sorting the suspension it’s the best money you’ll ever spend on a bike , I bought a new Daytona 675 in 2014, the standard suspension was rock hard it was only any good on smooth roads it was no good for Yorkshire’s bumpy A & B roads, I took it to Reactive suspension in York and spent £1100 and transformed the bike into a very fast bike on non perfect roads, it was the best money by far I’ve ever spent on a bike, I did the same again with a 900 tracer which took some catching, it’s shite that you’ve spent all that money on a new bike and it’s not perfect for you but I am afraid bike manufacturers can’t make a bike that suits everyone suspension wise, I don’t why but people think nothing to spending a £1000 on a exhaust or carbon fibre but take a sharp intake of breath when it means spending money on the bike suspension.
     
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  4. Shaun64

    Shaun64 Senior Member

    Feb 23, 2020
    651
    243
    England
    repooh, the 70-90 kg ideal rider weight is that just for the XC model? Or is it for the XC and XE? , I’ve weighed my self with all my riding gear on and I am bang on 90 kg and the big handles well for me as it is. Have you thought about trying to loose some weight off the bike itself? If you loose the standard mirrors & rear foot pegs that’s around 4 kg,if you could loose 10 kg off the bike plus if you lost some it may help.
     
  5. Repooh

    Repooh Rarely Satisfied

    Jan 5, 2018
    1,427
    1,000
    Stabby Town
    I’m not sure about XE I only spoke to Triumph about XC. Good news, been to the loo, lost .5kg. Working on loosing more
     
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  6. Bug

    Bug Well-Known Member

    Apr 29, 2020
    149
    93
    Aylesbury
    I’m your weight Hawk , would love to know how you get on.
     
  7. RebelHawk

    RebelHawk Well-Known Member

    Mar 1, 2020
    338
    53
    SC, USA
    I was just thinking on this earlier this week. To start off I spent a bit of time out at my folks place and made a few laps over the back 40. Until last year this was wooded and overgrown farm land from my great grand parents cotton field days. My dad got a hair up his ass and bought a tractor and rented a dozer and flattened the few hills out there but there are still plenty of low rolling hills and ruts that are perfect for a lazy "off road" ride on the XE. The suspension settings from that video has my setup completely absorbing all bumps at low speeds, I haven't bottomed out once. Last week I took a drive out to the Appalachian mountains down this road that has horrifically bad buckles in the asphalt that killed my kidneys and lower back on my Indian Scout Bobber. I hit those same buckles at 45+ MPH and while I knew I went over them the suspension cleaned it out so other than a sharp buck there was none of the debilitating bottoming out of the shocks. I've also found a fondness for going over curbing in my neighborhood to get to my garage instead of coming down the drive (my wife is going to loose her mind if I keep riding over the lawn). Now I'm not jumping over any crazy dirt bike level hills but for my riding style/needs I am 100% happy with the stock suspension at my 6'2" 260 lbs old man body shape.
     
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  8. Bug

    Bug Well-Known Member

    Apr 29, 2020
    149
    93
    Aylesbury
    Great , I will dial in the same settings .
    Thanks for the update Hawk.
    Mark
     
  9. Bug

    Bug Well-Known Member

    Apr 29, 2020
    149
    93
    Aylesbury
    I am 240lbs ( I know ‘Fat Bas**rd’ ) . I dialled in the settings from the utube clip ( well done Rebel ) ..... 14 clicks compression, 17 clicks rebound rear , ( both anti clockwise) and went for a ride. On shoddy English A and B roads the suspension worked a treat!
    Really comfy for the hour’s riding , not affecting the handling .
    Result
     
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  10. Avinarant

    Avinarant Well-Known Member

    Aug 19, 2017
    220
    63
    Leeds
    Crack on with option 1 my friend!!!!! and even if you still end up splashing out for some new kit (springs and riding gear for your new slim frame) it'll be worth it!!!!!
    End of Jan I was 95.2kgs (2.2lb per kilo) decided a diet was in order but really couldn't face starving and also being a bit of a Gym pervert I didn't want to feel weak during the diet. I started with the fasting malarky, limiting my eating to 8 hours and nothing but water the other 16, 8 of which I was snoring, so unless you stuff yourself stupid you cut a fair amount of calories. After a few weeks of that I started the 5/2 routine, so still sticking to 8hrs only for food but also two days a week (Mon & Tues for me) no more than 600 calories per day in the eating window. I'm now 79.8kgs a loss of 15.4kgs, still Gym (Home lockdown) so feeling strong, it's worked, plan another couple of kgs then I'll just drop the two days of 600 calories and stick to the 8 hr eating window apparently the sketch for this is do 6/1 and that's enough to keep a check on any slip-ups, obviously, you do need to try and be reasonably healthy, food-wise but as long as you keep off tons of sugar, chips, bread and gallons of beer it really is a steady way of dropping the notches on the belt.
     
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  11. Repooh

    Repooh Rarely Satisfied

    Jan 5, 2018
    1,427
    1,000
    Stabby Town
    Good job sir
     
  12. Avinarant

    Avinarant Well-Known Member

    Aug 19, 2017
    220
    63
    Leeds
    Think I might have overdone it!!!!!! upload_2020-6-5_20-18-59.png
     
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  13. Highwayman Nico

    Highwayman Nico Well-Known Member

    Nov 7, 2020
    73
    68
    Denver, CO USA
    I keep telling myself that if I drop 20lbs it will be the best upgrade I can get for my bike...
     
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  14. Mark9

    Mark9 Noble Member

    Jul 13, 2020
    564
    343
    Derby
    Not wishing to be rude but the late great Colin Chapman (Lotus) did comprehensively prove the advantages of “adding lightness” as far back as the 1960’s.
     
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  15. jron42

    jron42 New Member

    Nov 19, 2020
    3
    3
    Virginia, USA
    I'm no expert, so take my responses with a grain of salt.. :p

    The key word here is OPTIMALLY. Sure, a bike can pretty much run with almost ANY rider weight, the question is, will it ride/handle worth a damn.. Generally, riders won't care, or know any better.. They just throw a leg over and tool on down the road..

    yup, pretty much ALL bikes are designed with a target rider weight range. Its not really possible to cover all weight ranges without other huge trade-offs.. The general answer is SPRINGS.. If you are outside the designed weight then the first thing you need is to put different springs on it.. Forks and shocks.. Rebuilding/valving should not be necessary. Sure, you can do that as well, but the real issue with getting correct sag are your springs.

    This is the case for about 99% of all (non-harly/goldwing/cheapo) bikes ever made.. It is NORMAL to put rider weight appropriate springs on a bike if you are outside the normal rider design specs.

    No, you just get new SPRINGS.. You don't need completely new shocks/forks or to even have then rebuilt.. All you need is new springs, straight or progressive (I generally prefer progressive), throw them on and then adjust your sag.. The only issue might be that the even the XC uses a pretty LONG spring that may be more difficult to find than shorter springs.

    actually..... YES... Generally, unless you go the cruiser/old fat guy bike route that has some kind of pneumatic/magical suspension, you will have to change springs if you are outside designed weight params. And actually, the more that price goes towards a high performance machine the more you are going to have to do to tune it to you weight and riding style..
     
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  16. Haro

    Haro Well-Known Member

    Jul 13, 2020
    158
    83
    Australia
    Screenshot_2021-03-16-21-46-48-03.jpg
     
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  17. Bug

    Bug Well-Known Member

    Apr 29, 2020
    149
    93
    Aylesbury
    Heavy Load Springs – Scrambler 1200 XC/XE
    £84.99
    I have asked TEC what rider load they have they in mind ? I am 19 stone in leathers ..... if these give me the rear sag required , I’m in

    Any one got any comments ? ( leave my girth out of it please ).
     
  18. Bug

    Bug Well-Known Member

    Apr 29, 2020
    149
    93
    Aylesbury
    Nothing back from TEC parts yet ....... any of you guys making enquiries?
     
  19. 45james

    45james New Member

    May 31, 2020
    1
    3
    Bristol
    #19 45james, Apr 4, 2021
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2021
    It says these are "25% uprated"

    Hopefully, that means 70-90kg is upped to 87.5kg-112.5kg

    It doesn't specify exactly what property is uprated, or what "uprated" means, so a bit hazy in engineering terms!

    One reviewer says they're spot on for his 108kg, so almost certainly worth doing for less than a hundred quid.

    Fingers crossed for you.
     
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  20. Bug

    Bug Well-Known Member

    Apr 29, 2020
    149
    93
    Aylesbury
    Many thanks 45james........ most helpful
     
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