The Setup

**warewolf** · 10th August 2006, 11:06

Originally Posted by merv

p.s what should we call the adjuster thingys on shocks - they aren't really nuts as such but castellated threaded rings?

Give an Irishman three shovels and tell him to take his pick!

Originally Posted by WP Suspension

Spiral Spring Plate and Spring Retaining Plate

Originally Posted by KTM

Adjusting Ring and Locking Ring

Originally Posted by Ohlins

Lower Ring and Upper Ring

An easy way to turn the adjuster is to grab hold of the spring and turn the whole thing, the adjuster will move with it.

**merv** · 10th August 2006, 12:32

Originally Posted by warewolf

An easy way to turn the adjuster is to grab hold of the spring and turn the whole thing, the adjuster will move with it.

This surprised me because I've never had a bike that will do that - grab the spring and all that happens is the spring turns - I guess your's can't be locked very well then.

**Zukin** · 10th August 2006, 13:31

Bloody Marvellous Guys!!

But
How do I know how much to wind it down??
Sorry probably a dumb question, but I need to ask

I found this site which I think explains it?

In a nutshell the more I wind it down, does it raise or lower the ride height?
And the damper adjustment, the harder I make it the harder the ride right and and its stops the bouncing?

**merv** · 10th August 2006, 14:01

Originally Posted by Zukin

Bloody Marvellous Guys!!

But
How do I know how much to wind it down??
Sorry probably a dumb question, but I need to ask

I found this site which I think explains it?

In a nutshell the more I wind it down, does it raise or lower the ride height?
And the damper adjustment, the harder I make it the harder the ride right and and its stops the bouncing?

Your adjuster is on top of the spring isn't it? Wind it down it will tighten the spring and raise the ride height.

How much? Depends on your load so just wind it until you are happy - as a guess, taking it down about 15mm I would think is all you would need.

With the damping I'd say adjust you spring first, take it for a ride, if it feels OK you could leave it alone, if not try it about a couple of clicks harder, I doubt you'd need much more than that.

I've never carried as much stuff as you are talking about so generally I've set my dirt bikes to suit my height and weight and then never adjusted them again because they are such a prick to change - remembering my comments about C-spanners versus hammer and punch.

In the old days of twin shock bikes if I had Mrs merv on the back I would click the preload adjusters around two notches because they were easy to change. We didn't have the luxury of damping adjustment then and they were fine just with the extra preload.

**warewolf** · 10th August 2006, 15:00

Originally Posted by merv

This surprised me because I've never had a bike that will do that - grab the spring and all that happens is the spring turns - I guess your's can't be locked very well then.

Err, I omitted the prior instruction that says, "back off the locking ring out of the way" as I felt that was obvious. Mea culpa.

All I'm saying is that the adjuster ring is not the only thing that you can manipulate: if it is too stiff, hard to get to, or just plain awkward. Try any combination of adjuster only, spring only, or adjuster and spring together. Whatever works for you.

Oh, and if we're dotting i's and crossing t's for n00bs, it is easier if you fully extend the shock before making the adjustment. That is, get the rear wheel off the ground.

**Wolf** · 10th August 2006, 15:26

Originally Posted by warewolf

Oh, and if we're dotting i's and crossing t's for n00bs, it is easier if you fully extend the shock before making the adjustment. That is, get the rear wheel off the ground.

That's the bit I thought was obvious...

Bit of an arse to do on bikes that do not have centre stands, though.

**Zukin** · 14th August 2006, 17:31

Originally Posted by Zukin

Vist here to see it in its stock form

Feet - Yep I have put on the Tyres, They are MT21's front and rear (due to the fact I cant ride fast and they are only on an XR250 so I should get some good mileage).
Intially they feel very good, the hum that is typical of knobblies isnt really noticeable, and much better on the road
Gearing - I have changed the front sprocket to a 14, I dont think a 15 would allow me to get top gear in a head wind. It is a vast improvement though (Thanks Merv)

Racks - I have installed the Ventura Rack system, I decided on the sports rack so I wasnt too high.

Next - Sort out the pannier racks, I think I know what I want but I need to someone to bend them and put them on

Here are some updated photos
1. The new MT21
2. Side profile
3. The Navigational aid

4. The Rack
5. The 15 litre tank

Cheers Scott

**Wolf** · 14th August 2006, 18:32

Originally Posted by Zukin

Feet - Yep I have put on the Tyres, They are MT21's front and rear (due to the fact I cant ride fast and they are only on an XR250 so I should get some good mileage).
Intially they feel very good, the hum that is typical of knobblies isnt really noticeable, and much better on the road
Gearing - I have changed the front sprocket to a 14, I dont think a 15 would allow me to get top gear in a head wind. It is a vast improvement though (Thanks Merv)

Racks - I have installed the Ventura Rack system, I decided on the sports rack so I wasnt too high.

Next - Sort out the pannier racks, I think I know what I want but I need to someone to bend them and put them on

Here are some updated photos
1. The new MT21
2. Side profile
3. The Navigational aid

4. The Rack
5. The 15 litre tank

Cheers Scott

Looks bloody wicked, Scott! A serious touring machine!

I have plenty of tail rack options including one that I could bloody-near stick a house on, plenty of options for tyres, GPS is very do-able (I even have access to step-by-step installation instructions with more illustrations than you'd ever want), sprockets are not an issue, custom seat mods likewise, larger foot-pegs - the list goes on, courtesy of the thriving XT225 forum and its talented members. We even have a guy experimenting with fitting a tacho.

The one thing I can't source is a larger tank. 8.8 litres is it. Unless I carry additional fuel canisters strapped to the rack or the frame.

**merv** · 14th August 2006, 18:58

Originally Posted by Zukin

Gearing - I have changed the front sprocket to a 14, I dont think a 15 would allow me to get top gear in a head wind. It is a vast improvement though (Thanks Merv)

Cheers Scott

OK sounds like you are happy with the gearing. I'm sure it would have been OK with a 15 if it fitted because it would have still been slightly lower geared than my L stock and you have a higher power engine on the R model. Basically you don't necessarily need to worry whether you are in top gear, just change into 5th if the going gets tough.

**Zukin** · 21st August 2006, 14:36

Hi All

I have posted a thread in the tech section and wondered if anyone here has has a similar problem??
You can read the post here
And more importantly, how do I fix it?

Cheers Scott

**Zukin** · 27th August 2006, 23:07

Hey all

Yeah I know, I was not supposed to be back for another day, but I needed to get back to repair the bike after the fire

Still that happened on the first day, and that was not going to put me off the trip

Still I managed the East Cape and Coromandel, so I am happy about that!!

It was good, I will post a report and pics up in the next few days, but first I have to find some parts to repair my bike before this weekend

Cheers Scott