Advice on changing Suspension setup....

[rmg08057]

I have a 2000LT with 95k miles. I have had Wilbers for about 60k miles and am very happy with them. I am about to get them rebuilt for the 2nd time. During the rebuild, I am considering getting the rear shock 1" longer. The reason is that though I love the way the bike handles for such a beast, I am wanting to sharpen the steering up a tad more if possible. By "sharpen" I mean make it fall into turns a bit easier.

Now, my question is as follows.....would the quicker steering I expect produce a consequential less planted feeling on the freeway? I am concerned that raising the rear will cause the bike to wander quite a bit more on the freeway - I love the way it sits at the moment and, though I don't really focus on freeway riding, I have to be practical and recognize that proportionally, its my commonest riding location.

Any experience/ suggestions?

[bowlesj]

Boy, I don't know about the exact handling characteristics or the shock geometry, but 1" seems to be an awfully lot.

Realizing the angle the shock is positioned, taking into consideration standard spring rates etc, it seems like youd barely be able to reach the ground, sliding down the saddle often, and really quick steering.

Now, I'll let the engineers take over from here.


Be interesting to see the recommendations.

[rmg08057]

At 5'19" - it'd have to be 6" to make a difference with my inseam.

[DavidTaylor]

1 inch on a shock is a significant amount of change, and I think it would be too much. Steering would get quicker, but you would also potentially be sliding forward i the seat, not to mention the change in weight distribution. It may also mess up the overall look of the bike when niewed from the side. I put 1/2 inch longer shocks on the last Harley dresser I owned and it fixed a lot of problems with the bike in all of these areas, but I'm sure that was enough.

[rmg08057]

I can see what you mean, but given the angle of the shock, I wouldn't have thought that a 1" longer shock would equal a 1" vertical height change.