suspension setup and steering dampner ?

[robert poe]

I have ridden with various suspension setups, solo, and solo w/ bags, and I was wondering if anyone has a current setup that is particularly good for a 190lb. rider, or any setup that is better for various terrains. Has anyone mounted the steering dampner? For some reason dampner looks misspelled. Anyhow, I would appreciate anyone with some advice or info. Thanks.

[dfaber]

It is both mis-spelled and incorrect. I have not heard of a steering damper (nor a dampener) being available for the "S". I am a little surprised because all of the other boxers come with one as standard, even the 850 model.

[robert poe]

Look at the bottom the the telelever front end, it has the mounting brackets for the BMW damper. I have not spoken with a dealer about it, however, I have read articles stating them as options. Why put the mounting brackets on the front end, when it was specifically designed for the bike? Had BMW not intended for there to be an option, there would not have been mounts. I could stand corrected, but I only asked the question because I did not know the answer.

[JeffD]

I read somewhere that the body work on the R1100S is designed so there is enough down force created at speed so as not to need a steering stabilizer. I don't think the R1100RS nor R1100gs have the stabilizer either. The RS fairing creates the same down force and the GS funky front fender does the same. The telelever components for each different model are all basically the same and probably made by the same manufacturer or supplier so they all get the steering stabilizer mounting tabs to cut costs. Jeff

[roger albert]

Hi all,

Yes, dampener is incorrect. One of those words where the verb form gets an 'n' and the noun form doesn't, for you fellow grammar geeks. There is indeed a factory damper available, at least as part of the performance suspension kit. Don't know if it's available yet. As for the fairing design not requiring one, this is largely untrue. In general, downforce/lift issues are largely separate from steering stability. True at very high speeds with chassis or fairings that do provide lift, the steering geometry, grip, and portion of stability provided by contact patch friction can be
lessened, but that is not the primary purpose
of most dampers (gyroscopic stability tends to be the primary stabilizing force at very high speeds anyway) In _most_ designs, the steering damper helps with sharp jolts at relatively low speeds, and lessor jolts with the front wheel lightly loaded under acceleration. That last condition is the only condition I've seen much head-wag under.
Otherwise its great to 140ish.

Just my .02

[jsherman]

Robert-

It looks like your question about the steering damper has been answered, but not your question about suspension setup. Are you asking about the settings for preload/rebound on the rear and rebound on the front stock suspension units, or about aftermarket suspension components?

[robert poe]

I confirmed with a dealer that the steering "stabilizer" is available for the low low price of $269.00 US. I am ordering one. The 2000 spec "sport" edition of the r1100s, the one with the silver/mandarin paint scheme (i bought one with the paint scheme, but it is 1999 spec) comes with the "stabilizer" stock, including "sport" suspension which eliminates the possibility of the center stand, it also has the 5.5" rear wheel as stock and higher, adjustable bars. Aside from that thread, my question concerning suspension setup is an ever-growing quest for some setups I can use for various types of riding. The manual is rather limited in information and I tend to change setups while I am riding if conditions change, especially when I have the bags attached. Also, the manual states nothing about preload. I tend to think after going from a 916, my first motorcycle ever, with tools required for adjustment, to the r1100s, the easier it is to fool with, the more likely they get fooled with. I have ridden at time and the whole bike rocks back and forth from the less than perfect american roads. I then add some preload or firm up the front end or reverse accordingly. Any words of advise concerning this is appreciated.

[robert poe]

one more bit of info...this spawned from an incident on the bike around an overpass that had a large hump in the road. I was charging fairly aggressively into the curve and the front end hit the hump and began tank slapping and made leaning left difficult. As I finally got the bike under control, I immediately knew I wanted the "stabilizer" I had an Ohlins on the 916 at almost full lock, I loved it. I only hope the BMW is rather firm, I don't think they are adjustable like the Ohlins unit. tah...

[Steve Br]

I have a Canadian spec 1999 r11s which I ord
ered with what is called the Sport Package.This included a steering damper as well as the 170 rear wheel and more suspension front and rear. Everthing seems to work well excepting that the suspension preload is stiffer at both ends and the taller suspension doesn't allow the use of the standard center stand.

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[roger albert]

Hi Robert,

No, you've haven't rx'd a lot of suspension setup specific replies, probably because the 'proper' setup is so rider dependent, due to both weight and style. Still, always start
with the owner's manual's base setting. Most bikes are setup for a typical rider of 175lb or so, each company having a different model.
The S only has 3 of the current possible adjustments, so this isn't a particularly tough one. I'd start out with the base setup
and then dial in a few extra turns of rear preload to boost your ride-height up a bit and match it to your slightly higher than average weight (I needed basically full out
on preload to get proper rear sag at my whopping 150-155lb) Alternately, you can adjust for 1/3 of the rear suspensions 130mm
of travel as your base ride height. That implies 130/3~=43mm of sag. If you really want to learn this, you need to both experiment and read a bit. A good and cheap introductory guide would be Kevin Cameron's Sportbike Performance Handbook. If I were the Fuehrer, it would be required reading.
But I digress. A good base line rear damping
would be about 1 click more than the baseline
setting. Up front, the rebound adjustment is fine, so I'd suggest 3-4 clicks more (inward) than baseline. The lack of compression damping adjustment keeps one from inappropriate settings that would easily allow for packing down. All of this can be a bit technical, but the stock components are usually pretty conservative and simple. About
any adjustment in the middle 2/3 of its range
should work OK and be fairly safe. Play around with really minimal and really heavy
damping adjustment settings over a well known
and fairly challenging (perhaps curvy/bumpy) stretch of road and see how each adjustment
affects things. Goes back to practice. If there were a simple pat answer I'd be glad to
share it. No such luck. Do read up on setting rear sag. That's the one that will
matter for you most on the stock suspension,
barring extreme tight or loose damping choices. The preload knob just allows easy
adjustment of sag for adding extra loads, be
they passengers or bags. Clear as mud?
Get the Cameron book. It is the best $20 any
motorcyclist can spend, especially when wanting to know more about suspension settings. Hint: read it, think it over, put it away for a week while you ride, and then read it again - repeat as necessary. Like a lot of good books, you'll likely pick up something new each time.

Good luck
regards
roger

[Jon]

Does anybody else find that you can detect suspension changes at the rear shock but twirling the silver knob for the front shock makes very little if any differance at all from one end of the setting to the other.

Jon

[roger albert]

Hi,

Yes, the stock rebound damping adjustment does seem to work in very fine increments over a fairly narrow range. Still, there is a noticeable difference from one end of the range to the next. Full out (soft) seem to drop to much control over bumpy road undulations, even at fairly low speeds.
Full in will definitely (though not severely) let the front end pack down over long bumpy stretches. Also, full tight will see the front end unload a bit easily, especially when flicking into a turn just as you crest the hill. Easy to run wide there with too much rebound dialed in up front.

So, in short, no it doesn't do a lot, but remember, its a conservative BMW design, it
only controls rebound damping anyway, and even that is only the low speed rebound circuit.

later
roger

[robert poe]

well I have spent a lot of time reading and experimenting with the suspension setup and have found that stiffening the rear had both positive and negative influences, I favor the positive ones though. I think I have the rear a little too stiff at the moment, but the bike holds a line and feels capable in turns. I took the bike out on some very familar roads and carried a much greater speed and resulted in a take from one of the turns that reminded me I still need that damper on the front. When the wheel came back down, it was a beast to kill the wobble, especially with a sharp left turn approaching fast. All in all, I am please with the suspension, although I am researching the replacement with Ohlins, front and rear. I have seem them on bikes and they look great, and after having ohlins on my 916, I know they are capable. I only hope I dont have to sacrifice the center stand. Thanks for all the responses.

[roger albert]

Hi Robert,

Well, if you get the standard Öhlins for the S (standard length) then you won't have to sacrifice the centerstand. The factory sport kit has a taller shock, and when purchased as a package, does include a taller centerstand. Another option would be to go with the stock sized Öhlins and a slightly longer paralever,
if you really want the quicker handling and a bit of extra ground clearance. If you want lots of extra ground clearance, then the factory sport kit with longer shocks front and rear, is probably your better choice. It depends on what you're looking to do. My suspension is stock except for swapping in the Öhlins rear. I'm pretty happy with it, though think the hi-speed compression damping is a bit high for my light 150lb self. (maybe thanksgiving will help If you're at all larger, then I'd guess you'd be very happy with the better quality of the rear Öhlins, not to mention adding compression damping adjustability.

later
roger