[Crilly]

I would check the neck bearings for tightness before I would worry about the fork suspension causing a wobble.

 

[tonyjuliano]

I would check the neck bearings for tightness before I would worry about the fork suspension causing a wobble.

If it was his steering bearings he would have known about it long before hitting a bump at speed.


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[DJKham]

I have had the shopping trolley slapper many times but was able to get control fairly quickly

Thats probably one of the funniest replies ive seen on a forum in quite some time Tc3. Lmao!

I dunno....have rideen the pants off this thing...hundreds of wheelies, top end runs, scraped the pegs, off-roaded....and not one bit of head shake after 4,000 kms. FT with stock suspension. Stock rubber.

Everyone has a different experience but i dont feel like this bike exhibits the condition much. Everyone has their own perception I guess.

 

[DaveInWoodland]

The only time in my over 40 years of riding that a tank slapper occurred was due to my rear brake pads disintegrating at speed on my KZ900 caused the rear end to wobble out of control and for some reason I decided to apply hard front brake and that stopped me from crashing at over 100 MPH. So it DEFINITELY was not the front forks that caused the issue.

 

[tonyjuliano]

The only time in my over 40 years of riding that a tank slapper occurred was due to my rear brake pads disintegrating at speed on my KZ900 caused the rear end to wobble out of control and for some reason I decided to apply hard front brake and that stopped me from crashing at over 100 MPH. So it DEFINITELY was not the front forks that caused the issue.

Rear end wobble is NOT considered a tank-slapper, it's commonly known as a "high-speed weave".

 

[DaveInWoodland]

Rear end wobble is NOT considered a tank-slapper, it's commonly known as a "high-speed weave".

That may be but the handlebars were sure slapping against the tank.

 

[mugwump]

Is there any info between handle bar types as in FT and standard icon? Riders weight leaning on rather than holding on the bars I have classic but with FT bars only done 400 miles but at all speeds up to 95 ( accidentally officer!) Bumpy roads, undulating roads had the pegs down no problem I weigh in at 200lb not that it should make that much difference, only tank slapper I had was on a FJ1200 roads smooth as a babies bum doing 50 mph on a long bend when a old godger decided to move to outside lane I had to brake and ended up wrong side of road with all sorts of fun with handle bars slapping nicely, just as I was eyeing up the grass verge for a off I got it under control, nowt wrong with suspension no locked wheels just the bike got out of shape . Even GP Riders get them and can't always work out why? As they say shit happens, seems odd that some suffer others dont!
I've been side ways in a bike with 8" overs, 18" apes a few times, was thinking about going speedway racing on it lol.
I'd be checking tyre pressure headstocks alignment and suspension, warped disc etc to much tunnel vision as to it has to be this or that is dangerous!!!!

 

[stavely]

Is it possible that some forks are softer than others? (tolerances) as my bike so far has been super stable and feels really firm but never harsh.

I agree with this.
I have never known another bike that has thrown up so many positive and negative views about the suspension. On the road my scrambler forks behave better than the fully adjustable showas on my last 3 Ducati's. The rear shock as new gave as good performance as my Ohlins did in the monster. After 3500kms the forks are still fine but I'll admit the shock is starting to fade in high temperatures. So i think this "budget" suspension varies significantly from bike to bike. Mine is definitely different from the test bike I took out. That is less precise and less damped than mine.

 

[tonyjuliano]

I agree with this.
I have never known another bike that has thrown up so many positive and negative views about the suspension. On the road my scrambler forks behave better than the fully adjustable showas on my last 3 Ducati's. The rear shock as new gave as good performance as my Ohlins did in the monster. After 3500kms the forks are still fine but I'll admit the shock is starting to fade in high temperatures. So i think this "budget" suspension varies significantly from bike to bike. Mine is definitely different from the test bike I took out. That is less precise and less damped than mine.

Suspension performance will differ depending on a bewildering number of variables. A given riders weight, the road conditions, the degree of aggressiveness that the rider is capable of subjecting the bike to, the ambient temperature, etc.

But I can say this - without any risk of mistake - there is no way on gods green earth that this $34 dollar shock and those forks perform ANYWHERE near as well as an adjustable Showa fork or Ohlins shock.

At the end of the day, if the bike performs the way you want - and with the way you ride - than that is all that matters. If it ain't broke (for you) no need to fix it.

 

[stavely]

But they do Tony. Amazing isn't it.

 

[tonyjuliano]

But they do Tony. Amazing isn't it.

Let's just say they perform that way for "you" - and like I stated before, that should be all that matters.

For MANY others, this simply is not the case.

 

[SBKen]

To quote Paul Thede "Suspension is what you know!" " You only know what you have ridden! It all depends on the rider and their abilities. What works for a fast rider is completely wrong compared to what works for a slow rider and vise versa. However, IMO the Scrambler is broke from the get go and doesn't work for anyone properly.

 

[stavely]

Let's just say they perform that way for "you" - and like I stated before, that should be all that matters.

For MANY others, this simply is not the case.

I agree with that. Cripes I'm lucky with this bike, I'd love to try some of the other troublesome one's on this forum.

 

[Doc59]

I agree with that. Cripes I'm lucky with this bike, I'd love to try some of the other troublesome one's on this forum.

I'm with you Stavely, no complaints about the suspension once it bedded in and I lowered the tyre pressure a bit. I reckon this bike was made for me. I'm only 70kg so maybe the stock setup suits us smaller blokes better, static sag is around 25mm and I'm using roughly 3/4 of the travel with reasonably quick riding through tight roads. Not a hint of a tank slapper and I've had the front wheel bounce off a branch while cranked over, front end just jumped sideways and held the line.

Just have to remember this is a forum and the number of people that have changed there suspension compared to the number that are happy with it in the real world is probably in the minority.

Tony, I'll buy your old used $34 shock for $25 plus shipping to Aus if you want to get rid of it, be nice to have a spare when mine eventually wears out.

 

[TC3]

I'm with you Stavely, no complaints about the suspension once it bedded in and I lowered the tyre pressure a bit. I reckon this bike was made for me. I'm only 70kg so maybe the stock setup suits us smaller blokes better, static sag is around 25mm and I'm using roughly 3/4 of the travel with reasonably quick riding through tight roads. Not a hint of a tank slapper and I've had the front wheel bounce off a branch while cranked over, front end just jumped sideways and held the line.

Just have to remember this is a forum and the number of people that have changed there suspension compared to the number that are happy with it in the real world is probably in the minority.

Tony, I'll buy your old used $34 shock for $25 plus shipping to Aus if you want to get rid of it, be nice to have a spare when mine eventually wears out.

I am 74kg kitted out and hated the rear shock at factory setting but was a lil better at lowest preload setting. I ride a lot of country lanes that have poor road surface and I am real pleased I installed a rear M Shock as the difference is very noticeable when you hit bumps and pot holes. After installing the M Shock the front seemed more harsh but does not seem too bad now after a couple hundred miles so unsure if I will upgrade the front at all.

 

[tonyjuliano]

Tony, I'll buy your old used $34 shock for $25 plus shipping to Aus if you want to get rid of it, be nice to have a spare when mine eventually wears out.

Tell you what... You pay for shipping to AUS, you can have it for free!

 

[stavely]

Tell you what... You pay for shipping to AUS, you can have it for free!

Doc59 go for it! Then stick it on and we can compare the two and see if it is a variable quality issue.

 

[El Toro]

To quote Paul Thede "Suspension is what you know!" " You only know what you have ridden! It all depends on the rider and their abilities. What works for a fast rider is completely wrong compared to what works for a slow rider and vise versa. However, IMO the Scrambler is broke from the get go and doesn't work for anyone properly.

I disagree. I've said it before and I'll say it again.......coming from riding sports bikes all my life and the latest one which I also have being the Panigale, I've ridden the Scrambler hard and fast (not that I'm Valentino Rossi or anything but a half decent sports bike rider) and slow and smooth and everything in between. I've ridden it on smooth roads and really rutted, potholed, raised and sunken man hole covered roads. gravel roads and proper gnarly and nadgery roads. And its been fine.

Maybe it's because I am "average" build (just under 11 stone/150lbs/68kgs) that it performs well. But broke from the "get go" it most certainly isn't.

 

[Doc59]

Tell you what... You pay for shipping to AUS, you can have it for free!

Thanks for the kind offer Tony. Sorry but I should have looked into it more before I said anything, Checked shipping prices from US to here and they are bloody expensive, especially combined with our lousy dollar at the moment. Works out more than I'm prepared to spend for something I don't really need. Sort of a pity because it would have been interesting to see if there was a different feel between the shocks as Stavely said. Shouldn't be really as they probably all come from the same factory.

 

[iconography]

I disagree. I've said it before and I'll say it again.......coming from riding sports bikes all my life and the latest one which I also have being the Panigale, I've ridden the Scrambler hard and fast (not that I'm Valentino Rossi or anything but a half decent sports bike rider) and slow and smooth and everything in between. I've ridden it on smooth roads and really rutted, potholed, raised and sunken man hole covered roads. gravel roads and proper gnarly and nadgery roads. And its been fine.

Maybe it's because I am "average" build (just under 11 stone/150lbs/68kgs) that it performs well. But broke from the "get go" it most certainly isn't.

May be, there is some inconsistency between bikes?

I am a bit heavier than you and find the suspension can go potty over a serious of bumps or ripples (of which there are many on our delightful UK roads). I do have the rear on the next softest down (tried std and one-up on the preload). Funnily enough, I went out this weekend and everything felt bumpy. Tyres pressures are perfect, bike has few thousands miles on it now so wondering what has changed. I don't think the steering head bearings are loose - there is a sort of knock but it's not like other bikes where they have been loose or notchy. Plus my throttle is a pig and the bike felt really snatchy at that moment just on-off the throttle, so combine that with bumps mid- and exiting the corner and sometimes I feel like the bike is not going to continue heading where I want it to go. Riding more manically, with the revs up and more aggressive use of the throttle can be easier.