[gier]

Hello guys.

I'm from Malaysia and only yesterday took ownership of a 2018 Scrambler 1100 Special with only 2,800km on the clock. Prior to taking it home, I had only had a quick 5-minute ride on it and before that a 5-minute on a demo Sport. So these are my observations of my new ride after 2 days of pootling around in it.

1. The power is ... adequate. And I think that is just about the right thing for the bike too.
2. The gearing is too tall for me, but I think I just need to adjust my riding style. E.g. at ~120km/h I'm still in 5th and still wanting to eke some more oomph out of the bike before shifting to 6th, because once I shift it'll feel too tall again.
3. The infamous false neutral that I experienced in a Monster 796 all those years ago is still here. Haha. Mostly between 4 and 5 for me.
4. Gear shifter position is strange, but I'm adjusting it and once it gets to my "normal", I suspect 3 above will go away (mostly).
5. The exhaust note is very pleasing to my ears. And I suspect the exhaust note of a set of Arrow cans would be even more pleasing.
6. But the catalytic converter under the seat slow roasts my arse and inner thighs! 2 options for this, kevlar lined jeans all the time or a decat pipe. Being in Malaysia where an ambient temperature of at least 32C is average in some months, this really needs addressing.
7. I'm 100+kg and the rear suspension is struggling to keep me happy. I've adjusted the preload to reduce some of the sag when I plop my fat arse on the bike and will adjust the rebound damping a few clicks later to see if that'll help but I suspect an Ohlins or Hyperpro or K-Tech or whichever other (money sink) suspension maker would have to replace the stock Kayaba.
8. The seat ... hurts my tailbone. Sending it to an upholsterer to flatten out that kink and add an inch or more to the height. I think that'll solve that.

I know it sounds like a list of moans but in spite of all that, I really do like the bike. But I think I can make it even better...

Anyway, thanks for reading this far. And here's the machine:

 

[Gasman]

I’ve spent around £5k making mine better. Complete Akrapovic system, full Ohlins, leather remodelled seat, Scottoiler E system, ceramic coated exhaust and push button quickshifter. Those are the major alterations there are also some smaller ones. Tail tidy, special alloy guards, TPMS, adjustable levers, modulating brake light, Denali DRL’s, handguards, Italian screen, Evotech crash bobbins, rear carrier, engine guard, front and rear crash bobbins, 14 tooth front sprocket, alloy headlight ring, Touratech front caliper covers, bar end weights, brake and clutch master cylinder covers, repainted tank. Come to think about it it’s probably a lot more than £5k.
Has anyone done moe than me? As an excuse I can say I haven’t been able to ride for a while so have spent time and money playing with my bike. This is my last bike, but I have said that about 6 times already.

 

[Skippy'73]

I'm also a big/fat guy around 120 kg and I ended up with this setting. The stock suspension is pretty damn good and with the following settings the bike rides fine.
I set the back up to a smidge over 20mm of thread showing(this way the spring was in a nicer looking position). As I carry a lot more weight then Gasman and yourself I can't go wrong here. I also gave it one click more rebound damping as this should be the way to go when you increase preload. When I rode it this is easely adjusted if I don't like this setting.
At the front I went to max preload and then backed it off half a turn. For rebound and compression damping I turned both screws all the way in clockwise and then turned them back a full turn. The manual states 2 clicks back from maximum but the screws in the front don't click so I'm guessing it should say turns(if yours do click please let me know).
Also read this thread for even more info on suspension settings. Your bike looks pretty cool btw!

Suspension Setup

As previously posted had my suspension set up professionally today. It cost me £40 but it’s far better than messing about myself. It needed far more preload on both the front and back apart from screwdriver twiddling on the compression and rebounds. Result chalk and cheese. I personally felt...

www.scramblerforum.com

 

[mau]

Ohlins oh the rear works Great imo. The Front work fine. Seat is a little slippery and I just got a cover from volcano industries. Ah and an higher bar from cnc racing...and tail tidy From evotech performance.. and Still working on exhaust....

 

[gier]

I'm also a big/fat guy around 120 kg and I ended up with this setting. The stock suspension is pretty damn good and with the following settings the bike rides fine.
I set the back up to a smidge over 20mm of thread showing(this way the spring was in a nicer looking position). As I carry a lot more weight then Gasman and yourself I can't go wrong here. I also gave it one click more rebound damping as this should be the way to go when you increase preload. When I rode it this is easely adjusted if I don't like this setting.
At the front I went to max preload and then backed it off half a turn. For rebound and compression damping I turned both screws all the way in clockwise and then turned them back a full turn. The manual states 2 clicks back from maximum but the screws in the front don't click so I'm guessing it should say turns(if yours do click please let me know).
Also read this thread for even more info on suspension settings. Your bike looks pretty cool btw!

Suspension Setup

As previously posted had my suspension set up professionally today. It cost me £40 but it’s far better than messing about myself. It needed far more preload on both the front and back apart from screwdriver twiddling on the compression and rebounds. Result chalk and cheese. I personally felt...

www.scramblerforum.com

Thanks for the settings suggestions, Skippy73! I think I shall try what you've done first and see what that's like.

 

[Skippy'73]

Thanks for the settings suggestions, Skippy73! I think I shall try what you've done first and see what that's like.

Your welcome, as you might have read already the settings are based on settings made by a professional suspension company. I hope it will work out for you as well.Good luck. This will make the 1100 handle much quicker. You can use rebound and compression to tune the ride to suit your preference.