Do you dudes find that suspension adjustment is crucial?

[johnnyadventurepants]

I've had my 99 Tiger for 1.5 years/10k miles and I was just thinking that I still haven't looked at the suspension settings.  I haven't changed anything from the PO, and he sure wasn't 250 lbs like me!  However, I've used it on and offroad and loaded up for trips and really haven't thought to myself "Hmmm, it isn't riding that well, I should adjust the suspension"  Do you find that it makes a big difference?  Do you change it in between trail riding with no luggage, and a 2 week road trip loaded up?

[iansoady]

Never really bothered on my 04 - I have it set fairly firm but it's only ever me on it and I don't take tonnes of luggage.

[jonathan jaecks]

First off, I'm going to assume you are running stock suspension both front and rear?  For much of riding around town, commute to work etc, I set sag and preload then leave it alone for months.  For those days when I ride it like its stolen, properly set up suspension and tire pressure is a much bigger deal.  I'll also make small adjustments to both for ambient temp as well.  Once you start exploring the limits of the bike (and you own limits) you quickly realize that the suspension components make a significant contribution towards going forwards, stopping, and going where you point it.  The second realization is that the stock suspension is sadly not up to the task. I've got a Penske aftermarket rear, and put Wirth springs and Race Tech cartridge emulators in the front.  If I did nothing else to help the handling of the stock bike I'd set the preload on the rear and put emulators in the front to cope with the fork dive induced in hard braking.  Hope this helps...

Silver 06' Tiger (modded and loaded)

[Chris Canning]

When it comes to suspension there are 2 factions when it comes to Tigers,those that are pretty steady with which,stock stuff is more than good enough,and those that realise, scratch the surface of the Tiger and there's a serious motorbike underneath,and ridden at the pace it is capable of with stock suspension it'll kill ya,as it has the quality of a cheap christmas cracker.

With the 3 i've had,just wound the stocker up to 5 the day i had e'm,untill while on one trip my other half suggested it was like riding on a roller coaster,so the rear shock got dumped,when it comes to suspension and headlights Triumph still have a way to go

[blacktiger]

My 2p
You should always adjust the preload (and damping to suit) whenever you alter the load the bike is carrying. THAT'S WHAT IT'S FOR!!
Doing that makes sure the bike is riding at the correct level or ride height and, therefore the steering geometry is correct and how Triumph designed it.
You can throw all sorts of expensive stuff at it but if you don't set it up correctly it'll still feel like a POS.

[Chris Canning]

The problem with Tiger shock the basic settings are wrong,setting 3 should be 1,and there needed to be at least another 2 settings after 5,anyone riding a Tiger on settings 1.2. or 3 sure as hell ain't riding very hard,more like a motorized pogo stick,plus over a distance the stock shock every quickly go's AWOL,hardly rocket science as it doesn't have a remote reservoir.

Despite running two bikes with Ohlins,through my own fault bought a secondhand shock(Wilbers) for my K1200,not realising that it didn't have separate compression and rebound grrrrrr,so i'll never get it set right,which is a shame as it's a quality shock.

[jonathan jaecks]

This is oversimplification but suspension tends to work the best when in the middle of it's range.  Too close to the tail ends of the bell curve and it will bounce around like a rubber ball or feel like its not there at all.  Set up properly for your weight and riding style, will make you safer, faster, and better looking.
Remember that once you go down the road of upgrades there is little looking back.  And once it's done up right and you still can't push the bike hard you have no more excuses save for "must be the rider".  ;-)
At slower speeds many of the stock suspensions shortcomings can be properly sorted with the throttle, once the pace gets higher though it simply gets overwhelmed.  So depending on how you like to ride setting up the stocker and some precise throttle inputs might get you the performance you want without spending the extra coin.