Setting the proper preload for the rear suspension

It absolutely helped me out! I did 20 turns, and it rides like a whole new bike. Honestly, this was the only thing I wasn’t satisfied with. And, my Mustang seat has been ordered with a backrest. This really was a game changer and so simple to do. I added a few pictures for everyone to get a visual.

Thanks for the tip!5 -
Good to know Alt-Cruiser. i have been dancing around this rear shock issue for a while. One of the thoughts was that no matter what one does one cannot beat the fact that 90 mm is the R18 rear travel. When compared to the 115mm to 120 mm rear travel on other cruiser like bikes thats going to come up short every time owing to physics.
 
Many of the early reviews and many of the first customers have complained about the R18 having a very harsh ride and easily scraping the pegs. This is not indicative of a design flaw on the R18, but a procedural miss by BMW to properly document the unpacking and setup procedures for the customer. During shipping, the rear shock preload is placed in "Shipping" position. That means the adjustment of the rear shock is turned anti-clockwise until it hits the stop. In this position you are basically sitting on the rubber bump-stop on the shock with little to no spring action. During shipping it keeps the bike from bouncing around. The manual mentions setting the preload, but it appears that none of the dealers have been doing that. I have created a chart that gives a breakdown of preload from minimum adjustment (0 Turns) to Max Adjustment (26 Turns).

The process is very easy: With a 13mm 6-Point socket, turn the adjuster anti-clockwise until it stops. Slowly rotate the adjuster clockwise until you feel it engage the spring perch (you will feel slight resistance). This is position "0" Continue turning clockwise until you reach the desired preload based on the chart I created.

I hope this helps everyone out.
Svtweb. You are the one who gave me hope the first time I rode the R18 and was dejected by the rear shock. For that I am grateful :). Owing to some personal issues at the time I did not pursue. revisiting now. I have a question - something that nags me a lot about the rear suspension. We have a 90 mm travel. That is a fact that we cannot escape from - its design and physics. So the question is that on another thread i was told about a new gas shock system from Touratech called the Black T system (several stages available) that makes the ride better. Now I am still wondering how a physical restriction of 90mm can be overcome by shock design ... can that be done ? Sorry for my lack of mechanical knowledge - am very curious whether one can surmount the physical limitations of the 90mm travel by design, by changing the shock which obviously has different than stock internals and working, but would also be subject to a similar physical restriction of travel is it not ? Hope I am able to communicate what I am trying to say clearly.
 
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Svtweb. You are the one who gave me hope the first time I rode the R18 and was dejected by the rear shock. For that I am grateful :). Owing to some personal issues at the time I did not pursue. revisiting now. I have a question - something that nags me a lot about the rear suspension. We have a 90 mm travel. That is a fact that we cannot escape from - its design and physics. So the question is that on another thread i was told about a new gas shock system from Touratech called the Black T system (several stages available) that makes the ride better. Now I am still wondering how a physical restriction of 90mm can be overcome by shock design ... can that be done ? Sorry for my lack of mechanical knowledge - am very curious whether one can surmount the physical limitations of the 90mm travel by design, by changing the shock which obviously has different than stock internals and working, but would also be subject to a similar physical restriction of travel is it not ? Hope I am able to communicate what I am trying to say clearly.
Not sure on that, but in experimenting (I seriously take a tool with me,) don’t limit yourself to the chart. I’ve had good results well over recommended. Now I need to find a way to firm up the front. Satisfied without needing to go to an aftermarket solution. I will say the Day Rider was a game changer as well..
 
Many of the early reviews and many of the first customers have complained about the R18 having a very harsh ride and easily scraping the pegs. This is not indicative of a design flaw on the R18, but a procedural miss by BMW to properly document the unpacking and setup procedures for the customer. During shipping, the rear shock preload is placed in "Shipping" position. That means the adjustment of the rear shock is turned anti-clockwise until it hits the stop. In this position you are basically sitting on the rubber bump-stop on the shock with little to no spring action. During shipping it keeps the bike from bouncing around. The manual mentions setting the preload, but it appears that none of the dealers have been doing that. I have created a chart that gives a breakdown of preload from minimum adjustment (0 Turns) to Max Adjustment (26 Turns).

The process is very easy: With a 13mm 6-Point socket, turn the adjuster anti-clockwise until it stops. Slowly rotate the adjuster clockwise until you feel it engage the spring perch (you will feel slight resistance). This is position "0" Continue turning clockwise until you reach the desired preload based on the chart I created.

I hope this helps everyone out.
Cheers for this pal, picked mine up from my local dealership in Cardiff, Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 UK.
Always had sports bikes, and on my first outing I've scraped both sides of pegs, and without reading this post I'd have been none the wiser.
Thanks for the info, and I'll be using this forum for as long as I keep the R18, at this moment I'm absolutely loving it.
Cheers pal,
Rhod.
 
Many of the early reviews and many of the first customers have complained about the R18 having a very harsh ride and easily scraping the pegs. This is not indicative of a design flaw on the R18, but a procedural miss by BMW to properly document the unpacking and setup procedures for the customer. During shipping, the rear shock preload is placed in "Shipping" position. That means the adjustment of the rear shock is turned anti-clockwise until it hits the stop. In this position you are basically sitting on the rubber bump-stop on the shock with little to no spring action. During shipping it keeps the bike from bouncing around. The manual mentions setting the preload, but it appears that none of the dealers have been doing that. I have created a chart that gives a breakdown of preload from minimum adjustment (0 Turns) to Max Adjustment (26 Turns).

The process is very easy: With a 13mm 6-Point socket, turn the adjuster anti-clockwise until it stops. Slowly rotate the adjuster clockwise until you feel it engage the spring perch (you will feel slight resistance). This is position "0" Continue turning clockwise until you reach the desired preload based on the chart I created.

I hope this helps everyone out.
Thank you for the wonderful explanation I will check mine soon....
 
Are there any of the R18 riders who have experimented with the spring preload adjustment. I myself have been playing around with it a bit and after I noticed before that it had not been loosened at many dealers and so your R18 actually had no suspension, I have now found out for myself that a lot has changed with the driving characteristics when the spring preload is correctly adjusted. It benefits the handling and also the rider's seat, at least for me.
What I've done isn't really anything special. I turned the hexagon counterclockwise to the stop and first turned 6 turns clockwise, then I drove a little and then finally turned 11 turns clockwise. Handling improves and the seat seems a bit higher to me compared to the footrest.
My question is has anyone else had this experience?
 
it’s a good practice on any new bike to adjust the preload to your riding weight. I did that on my R18 before I did the first ride after it was delivered.

Many dealers left it in the shipping position, even for the journalist test rides, so many reported the suspension was harsh and it scraped pegs easily.

A buddy of mine didn’t set his when it was delivered and he scraped at minimal lean.

Properly setup the R18 is one of if not the best handling cruiser on the market today. 20-30MPH over the limit in twisty roads is no problem.
 
Are there any of the R18 riders who have experimented with the spring preload adjustment. I myself have been playing around with it a bit and after I noticed before that it had not been loosened at many dealers and so your R18 actually had no suspension, I have now found out for myself that a lot has changed with the driving characteristics when the spring preload is correctly adjusted. It benefits the handling and also the rider's seat, at least for me.
What I've done isn't really anything special. I turned the hexagon counterclockwise to the stop and first turned 6 turns clockwise, then I drove a little and then finally turned 11 turns clockwise. Handling improves and the seat seems a bit higher to me compared to the footrest.
My question is has anyone else had this experience?
Indeed. It’s quite the topic. I think you’re close. I rode a few rides with a 13mm socket and ended up at 12 full rotations out. Haven’t touched it since..42CD2337-45D6-4AAC-A024-026598FD07FE.jpeg
 
Thank you for making the chart!

I was just reading about this in the manual.

It appears that I have the opposite "problem".
I am 75kg / 165lb with gear on.
I'm out of the range of adjustment possible for the bike. I do like a stiff suspension and as the bike doesn't get pushed to it's limits of suspension, it is working for me. I've been doing some spirited rides with a friend on a GS on some technical roads (unmarked mountain back roads) and I haven't had problems with scrapping the pegs.

Of course the R18 doesn't have the lean angle safety margins compared to riding a GS or any non-cruiser, but it was able to go plenty fast enough for the road based on visibility, conditions and braking ability of the bike.
Maybe I'm biased as I like the bike so much but I feel that people shouldn't really have much problem with lean angle particularly keeping in mind what the bike is suppose to be.

I do wish they had provided a wider range of adjustment encompassing lower weight riders.
i was about to type the same. 170 soaked, helmet, jacket, etc., here. ergo, no adjustments for me? 🤷🏽
 
i was about to type the same. 170 soaked, helmet, jacket, etc., here. ergo, no adjustments for me? 🤷🏽
That’s within the range of adjustment. The manual offers a base setting at 8 rotations in for 100KG and provides a couple other examples. If you are not exactly matching the examples, you simply adjust by 2 rotations for each 10KG from the base setting (Up or down).

So, we end up with this simplified chart for those weighing at or below the base setting

100KG (220lbs) 8 rotations
90KG (200lbs) 6 rotations
80KG (175lbs) 4 rotations
70 KG (154lbs) 2 rotations
 
After reading this all the way through, I'm pretty confused.

Turning the adjuster all the way anti clockwise sets the minimum possible preload for the shock - how can that be the 'shipping' position?

In this position, the bike will move around / bounce the absolute most possible & the bike be in it's maximum softness setting.

When set at minimum preload, the ride can feel harsh & kick you out the saddle due to using up all the available travel, then hitting the stops. This transfers the impact to the seat (hence you feel the bump).

Have I fundamentally misunderstood how suspension works?

Spring preload too low (for rider weight) = wallowy, cushy, jarring when hitting a larger bump in the road. Glides over minor imperfections.
Spring preload too high (for rider weight) = firm, feel every imperfection in the road transfreed to seat.
 
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