DoktorMandrake wrote:Rear on my NC30 is sagging down v. low. So low I reckon my fat arse could cause it to ground the tyre on the undertray if not careful.
Rebound damping on the shock appears to be nice and healthy (goes down quickly, but when the bottom adjuster is set to hard it returns v slowly. Is there a compression damping adjuster anywhere? Couldn't see one. Only the rebound at the bottom of the shock) but I don't know how much preload is left as I can't get the top lock nut undone to wind it on even though I have tried a selection of various drifts and plenty of wd40. Any ideas? I am thinking judging by how low the rear end is that the shock is fucked but had intended to try winding the pre-load on a bit and seeing if that made any difference and firmed it up a bit.
Its kinda dangerous to ride with a shock like that! Sounds like you at least need a new spring (you can try and increase the preload but that would only get you so far before you run out of adjustment). The stock shock is also very badly designed (as told by my suspension guy), the air bleeds into the shock very easily and the air bleeder on the shock is next to useless and dont work. You will also have to considered that even if you manage to bleed the air out and stock shock will let air back in very quickly and will require much more servicing than an aftermarket shock. One way of telling whether you have air in the shock is to push it down and hear whether theres air in the shock (should have subtle whistling sounds).
I have recently put a Penske shock in my bike. Much better feel and feedback compared to the stock shock (but my stock shock was full of air, so go figure). I would recommend a good quality aftermarket shock, but of course that would depend on your budget. Longer serving interval, better shock action....etc, etc.
Personally, I think setting up suspension is the most important mods to do to a bike. You will be able to ride much faster and much safer with properly set up suspension.
