Feerless
Parking Attendant
Posts: 3
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posted September 10, 2008 01:38 PM
New Concours 14 owner & member
Good afternoon,
I just purchased a 2008 Concours 14 and I'm new to the forum. A little history: I've ridden dirt bikes most of my life until my wife bought me a 2006 Harley Dyna Wide Glad a couple of years ago for our 25th wedding anniversary (total suprise). Since I was new to street bikes, I was pretty impressed with the bike for a week or so, then I became aware of the whole HD marketing sham. I don't mean any disrespect for any Harley owners that enjoy their rides, but it just wasn't me. Performance minded, I just wasn't satisfied with the ride, handling, breaking, and power.
This spring I sold the bike and began test riding every sport and sport touring bike I could. I liked what I was reading about the Concours, but couldn't find a place to test ride one. I ended up purchasing a 2004 Yamaha FZ1 to get my feet wet, took the California Superbike course, tweeked the suspension spent a week at Deals Gap, and fell in love with every aspect of sport riding.
The FZ1 is a great all around bike, but I also wanted a bike that would be more comfortable on longer hauls. I found a deal on a 2008 Concours that only had 2000 miles on it, 36 mo extended warranty, Two Bros Titanium exhaust, Corbin seats, and a Cee Bailey windshild. I also got all of the original parts as well.
I love the ride and performance of this puppy, but I need to spend some time tweeking the suspension. I'm 6' and 210 lbs with riding gear. The stock settings for a 150 lb rider seem a little harsh for some reason. Maybe it just the rebound dampening.
Any ballpark suggestions for a rider of my capacity?
I live in Virginia. If anyone is aware of any rides coming up please shoot me a message.
Thanks,
Feerless
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2008 C14, Two Brothers, Corbin Seats
2004 Yamaha FZ1, MIVV exhaust, jet kit
  
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FaStEsTBuSaArOuNd
Needs a life
I eat Fish...
Posts: 7889
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posted September 12, 2008 06:13 PM
 Edited By: FaStEsTBuSaArOuNd on 12 Sep 2008 19:14
Someone must have changed them, because @210 they should be way too soft. Check the manual and set them back to stock and start from there. I'm 220 and have them set to stock with only a couple of turns in on the rear compression. Depending on the type of riding I'm doing that day, I'll move it up or down, but I have not had to touch the rest of the settings.
I did this and worse all day in July on the Dragon without breaking a sweat and found no issue with the suspension at all.
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FYYFF!!!
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Feerless
Parking Attendant
Posts: 3
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posted September 14, 2008 05:34 PM
Thanks for the advise. I'll let you know what I end up with.
By the way, what is the Area P mod?
Dan
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2008 C14, Two Brothers, Corbin Seats
2004 Yamaha FZ1, MIVV exhaust, jet kit
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fish_antlers
Administrator
The Truth is Out There
Posts: 21896
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posted September 14, 2008 05:58 PM
welcome!
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What business is it of yours where I'm from, Friendo?
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DrewHerc130
Expert Class
Posts: 140
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posted September 15, 2008 10:15 PM
Edited By: DrewHerc130 on 16 Sep 2008 06:16
Area P is a slip on exhaust. Very nice if I do say so myself.
I spent a lot of time tweaking the suspension on mine. I'm about 195 and I'm using a few clicks tighter than the stock setting in the rear preload and about mid range on the rebound. I also noticed that by adding just a couple clicks of front rebound clockwise, that it improves the bikes cornering agility exponentially! I was amazed especially at lower speeds. Best advice is to start messing with each setting one at a time, ride, and monitor the effects of each change. Make huge changes at first, just so you can feel the difference easier, then start fine tuning. I actually kept a log for a few weeks. It also depends a lot on they type and speed of riding you're doing. I found that when riding 2 up, adding about 8-10 clicks preload to the rear worked really well.
Welcome to the forum and enjoy the new ride. Perfect time of year to ride too.
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2008 C14, flies out, Area P-Carbon, BMC, PC3, Spencer Seat Mod, Alaska Leather, Helibars with Ram GPS mount, Nuvi 250W
"Life moves pretty quick. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
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