Re: Preload importance; Factory Knows Best

[Don MacQueen <dmac@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Ben Barkow <dr.ben@xxxxxxxxx> opined:

>As I said, except for extreme settings, preload has little consequence
>for riders off the racetrack. Certain people with a poor grasp of high
>school physics may not agree.

Your deprecating premise lends no weight to your incorrect 
conclusion, and moreover is unnecessary here.

You may be correct with respect to preload and its effect on ride 
height, BUT ONLY if you are considering a single rate spring.  With a 
progressive rate or dual rate spring, preload adjustment serves to 
put the operating range of the suspension in the desired operating 
range of the spring. This is one of the reasons that top shelf shocks 
offer *both* preload and ride height adjustability.


>But compression finesse matters a lot. But having compression damping
>adjustment is too pricey for BMW to include.

Or any other manufacturer, except on high end sportbikes.  This is 
also the easiest place for the unskilled to bugger up their handling 
and not get back to the "factory knows best" setting.

- -- 
____________________________________
Don MacQueen, Shelby NC
- --a hangover is the wrath of grapes...
'95 R1100RS
'75 R90/6
'00.5 RSV Mille
'88 K75s (challenged)
'05 B5.5 Passat PD-TDI
'01 Great Googoolee Moogoolee
'02 BikeE E2
WolfPack #004 emeritus
BMWRA, BMWMOA, TDIclub.com, Apriliaforum
____________________________________

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End of oilheads-digest V3 #26
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