[Rdaglock]

Picked up the ‘19 Pikes Peak last week....good lord what a stunning machine. Got the 42 tooth supersprox rear sprocket on, as well as the R&G radiator guard. Now safely tucked away in the man cave for the winter months.

Curious if Anybody with an 18 or 19 Pikes Peak has found some specific suspension settings for the Öhlins that worked particularly well? (I am about 170lbs without gear). My last 2 PP’s had Skyhook, so back to manually tuning.

Thanks in advance.

 

[t-bills]

Set your sag. What are your intentions for the suspension? I daily on mine, so not wanting it to be super stiff. I put a couple clicks of compression and rebound in the shock, but am going to back one click of rebound out. To get to these, pop off the seat. There is a rubber cover that will provide access to these knobs. I think I added one click of rebound to the forks. The stock setup is pretty dang good. For reference, I'm ~150lb without gear.

 

[Rdaglock]

T-Bills - thanks mate!

Yup...agree 1000% with starting with sag, and think I have it about right. Also, from other posts I have read over time...there is no “standard” setting from factory, and can arrive with a wide range of settings, or dealer messed with it.

So, over the weekend I adjusted to the recommended “sport” setttings from the manual...although didn’t get a chance to take it for a spin. So figured I would pose the question...and see what others have done to reach that “sublime” calibration.

 

[t-bills]

Fair enough. I haven't checked to see where mine left the dealer set as. I rode it and adjusted to taste.

 

[AXSPwr]

Preload = set your sag. Watch some Youtube videos about it, there is plenty of information out there. It helps to have a second person, especially for the shock since the zip tie trick doesn't really work there.

Just an estimate, but at your weight you shouldn't need to mess with the preload too much, unless you are taking a bunch of luggage or a pillion. Preload is one of those things you should only use as much as you need, since you're essentially compressing usable travel out of the suspension.

 

[DarR]

The dark arts of suspension tunning is always interesting. Lots of misconceptions about preload and sag out there.

Preload is the amount the springs are compressed while the suspension is fully extended. That's it.
Preload makes the bike either sit higher or lower. It does not make the spring stiffer.
Preload adjusts the sag as @AXSPwr mentioned and consequently, the ride-height, not the stiffness.
Too little preload (too much sag) will make the bike feel harsh on bumps, twitchy (front) or slow turning (rear).
Generally speaking, less preload will make the bike somewhat more harsh because the suspension will sit lower in the stroke and closer to the rubber bump stop on the shock.
Too much preload (too little sag) will make the bike feel skittish on bumps when accelerating (front) or braking (rear), twitchy (rear) or slow-turning (rear).