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V7 III Suspension Thread

The 3 is simple, if u have a Center stand put it on it and put a jack under the engine. Loosen the two bolts that hold the one side drop jack down 1/2" retighten. You might have th lush down a bit. Do other side next. Have a small ruler, or some type of measuring device. If you drop it too far jack it up and a Light tap with a wood block will drive the tube back down.
 
Yes, the length of the shock absorbers, axis to axis, decrease from 390mm to 349mm (V7 III).
So for the V7 III the travel of the rear wheel is only 93mm, with a 80mm shock effective travel (85mm without the rubber tampon).
 
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So, I am struggeling with setting my Preload.
I get the theory, i've read plenty of pages about that.

But the problem i have is that i dont know where to measure from.

I find the following numbers confusing

Stock specs:
Front fork travel: 130 mm / 5.1" (100%)
Target total sag: 43.33 mm / 1.7" (33.33%)

Kaifa forks:
Unl. 182 mm (100%)
Stat. 148 mm (81.31%)
Lad. 132 mm (72.5%)
TSag: 50 mm
Target: 43.33mm

first, what does this 130mm travel mean? It is the amount the front wheel can travel up right? perpendicular. S
o that is a hard measurement by yourself, and basically useless for setting the preload.

Second, what does the unladen number come from for the kaifa forks, 182mm?
When i measure my forks, and i did lift my wheel of the ground. I dont get the 182mm. I only get to 160mm (something like that, it is hard by myself ).
So to verify that i am not measuring it wrong. From where to where do you measure?
I could be wrong, but not 2,5 cm wrong.
I measured from the bottom of the first clamp to the oil seal.

Then, I read your target sag, it is very specific. 43,33. So I started wondering where you took that number from.

My book says, that ridersag should be 65-50% of the unladen figures.
However if i calculate 43.33 from the unl. numbers I get,(43.33/(182/100)) 23.8% of sag. Way to stiff. (and a weird way to calculate, right. how would you get those .33)

So i started wondering how you would have calculated your target sag. I think i found that by using the total travel figures (130mm).

43.33/(130/100)=33.33. And That is a logic number to target for you Preload! (correct me if I am wrong)

But if the reasoning above is correct. Your sag number is wrong.

It should be 60.66. (assuming the 182 unl. number is correct. )
Or in my case 53.3mm of sag.

Could you help me (or someone)

Kind regards,
Erik
 
See video above for the answer to most of your questions. Total target sag is 1/3rd wheel travel, simple math.

Sure I did that.
But i dont get where the numbers are coming from.

What is my travel. How do I measure that. Because if the travel is measured perpendicular, the sag should be measured like that too.

If I follow the books, I should have 53mm of sag. Not 43
 
Per; https://bikez.com/motorcycles/moto_guzzi_v7_iii_stone_2019.php
Front wheel travel: 130 mm (5.1 inches)/3 = 43.33 mm
Rear wheel travel: 93 mm (3.7 inches)/3 = 31.00 mm
Same as the first post, typed it again for you. About all I can be of help you with here along with the video. The note that typically lives at the top of the page... "Note there's decades of Guzzi hands-on experienced help on this site, all whom give endless amounts of their time for free - it should be common sense, but sadly needs to be stated; BE COURTEOUS AND RESPECTFUL!"
 
I get that, but my question is not answered.

You didn't need to type that again. I also typed it again in my post.

I find the numbers confusing. What does travel mean.

Is it the amount the wheel can move up and down?
Is it the amount t the fork can move up and down.

It matters for calculating preload and I can't find it anywhere.
So I came here.
To ask you.
 
I find the numbers confusing. What does travel mean.
Is it the amount the wheel can move up and down?
Is it the amount t the fork can move up and down.
Yes, and yes. At the maximum amplitude of the shock absorber.
The travel are a caracteristic of the bike with his shocks, you can't easily measure it.

You just have to measure decrease of the bike when you are sit on, and adjust preload if necessary, as you can see on the video.
 
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Just wanted to drop some words of encouragement to those of you on the fence about lowering the front end on the V7III. I dropped mine 12mm as one of my shelter-in-place projects and got to give it a test this morning around a 150 mile loop of interstate & back roads.
Wow, what a difference!

Initial impressions are:
- significantly better front end stability in turns, from long sweepers to tighter bends. The impact is similar to gentle trail-braking on the stock setup.
- better balance overall, the front and rear of the bike feel more connected and in sync now. I actually found myself looking for bumps to admire the improvement, never thought I'd do that with the stock suspension (it still isn't great over undulations, especially sharp ones, not even close, but it is "bump, bump" now rather than "squish-whack, bump".)
- the extra weight transfer to the front has reduced (almost eliminated) the spongy portion at the top of the fork stroke, making regular handling as well as bump response much more composed.
- Braking stability has improved as the fork is more compressed from the start due to above mentioned weight transfer, so fork dive is much less abrupt. Same applies to acceleration our of a corner, the nose feels more planted and lifts up more progressively than before.
- To my surprise, interstate stability didn't diminish (was worried about the now steeper rake), but actually seemed to improve. I think that the above mentioned weight transfer made the front end more planted, so the front tire is less likely to get bumped out of position across expansion joints or over road imperfections when you are going 75mph+.

After I have over 500 miles on this setup and some experience with it 2up, I'll share more impressions and shoot a video, but so far I'm a happy camper and recommend giving it a try. A big "Thank You!" to all of you who posted about how to make the adjustment and their experience with this modification (and Todd for posting the video), glad to have joined the chorus on this subject thanks to y'all blazing that trail.

PS: I'm running lowered & more forward handlebars as well as rearsets, so results with stock V7III ergonomics may not be as dramatic. I'm also 220# in gear, that surely impacts the results as well. But, so far for me, this has been the best $0 and 15min of effort I invested into the bike.
 
Hello All!

Does anyone on here know if Bitubo 2s000281 rear shocks will fit a V7 III Stone without issue?
On the WWW, everything i find is that it's for v7 II but alas, I do not know the technical differences between the two (re suspension mounts etc.) and I have a good opportunity to pick up a set.

Thanks,

M
 
Longer of shock absober, axes, is 349mm on V7 III, but you can go, and it's even better to 370mm. G0029WME52V2 bitubo.com/Bitubo/catalog/FRA/articolo/9-prodotti-finiti/clwspwcgry-coppia-reg-precaricoestensione-twin-adjspring-p.html

The Bitubo 2s000281 are 400mm (390+10mm) it is too much.
 
Longer of shock absober, axes, is 349mm on V7 III, but you can go, and it's even better to 370mm. G0029WME52V2 bitubo.com/Bitubo/catalog/FRA/articolo/9-prodotti-finiti/clwspwcgry-coppia-reg-precaricoestensione-twin-adjspring-p.html

The Bitubo 2s000281 are 400mm (390+10mm) it is too much.

Just tried to order the G0029WME52V2 but told it has been discontinued. Does anyone know of any other suitable longer shock, ie greater than 350mm but not longer than 370mm, for the V7 III to raise seat height? I know about the K-Tech Razor & Razor Lite shocks which have about 5mm length adjustment, but are there any others?
 
Just tried to order the G0029WME52V2 but told it has been discontinued. Does anyone know of any other suitable longer shock, ie greater than 350mm but not longer than 370mm, for the V7 III to raise seat height? I know about the K-Tech Razor & Razor Lite shocks which have about 5mm length adjustment, but are there any others?
The first post of this thread; https://www.guzzitech.com/forums/threads/v7c-s-suspension-thread.12618/ -- Notes all of the suspension parts that I've personally R&D'ed to sell on our sister site; https://gtmotocycles.com/collections/suspension/model_v7-iii?sort_by=best-selling -- the GTM 2WS and Matris offerings can be made to length for no additional cost.
 
the GTM 2WS and Matris offerings can be made to length for no additional cost.

Note that the Matris set I ordered came only +4mm on the rear, instead of the +20mm ordered. Was told that’s the max they are comfortable shipping. They’ve been great, but if length is what you’re after it might be a better bet to go with the GTM 2WS option.
 
Thanks for comments/replies re longer shocks, much appreciated. One big problem for me is that being UK based there are fairly punitive charges when buying outside the EU; we have to pay duty (on both the item and postage), along with other fees and admin charges which, while understandable, tend to restrict our marketplace purchases. Perhaps I'm being too optimistic in trying to improve both the ride height and shock performance at the same time. I may be better off improving the ride quality with a better shock and the ride height with a tailor-made seat so that both can be optimised?
 
The GTM 2WS can be longer, and you can request to have more shock travel.
If you are a light person ask for a softer spring with GTM 2WS to be able to take advantage of this additional shock stroke.
All shock orders I take have info requested and they are built to order only. I do not stock any "premade/off the shelf." Mine are also built with softer valving for the US market when ordered from me.
 
For anyone UK based I have found that Maxton (founded by Ron Williams) make their T260 and WR26 (with comp) twinshocks to rider spec and can be specified with a longer top eye to lengthen them. They also do replacement fork cartridges (SD20) with comp adj in one leg and rebound in the other). I will open up a query with them and see what's possible and will report back in due course (may be a while as I have just had minor surgery and can't get out to take measurements of the bike; weight on each wheel etc).
 
Here's an update on the Maxton T260C twin shocks for the V7 III. These are made to rider weight and use linear (not progressive) springs. The spring is mounted towards the upper part of the unit so they cannot be used if a rear rack is fitted as the spring would hit the rack frame (true for a Givi SR8201 frame but likely with other frames too). Inverting the shock does not solve this problem as the body does not have the tapered cone shape of the OEM units. Rebound is set using a 20-click wheel mounted just below the top eye. This model does not have compression adjustment. Cost is around £550 per pair. Length can be specified at time of ordering.
 
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