Heated gear installed and suspension dialed in

[JohnnyS999]

Took the bike out to test my recently installed heated gear wiring install. Wore the Gerbing heated jacket with an Olympia textile (no liner) jacket. Fantastic upgrade and the reostat was within easy reach in order to adjust on the fly. It was cool while riding so I simply turned it up and I was super comfortable without having to wear multi layers of clothing which makes me feel confined. I strongly suggest going the heated gear route, even if your on a sportbike. I don't have heated grips because I have heated gloves, they plug into the jacket.

The second reason for the ride was to test the final adjustments I made to the suspension based on the specs provided by Sport Rider magazine. These were the adjustments used in the comparison tests between our Buell 1125CR and the Ducati Streetfighter. You all should get the issue, very interesting remarks and very favorable about our bike and of course to get the suspension specs. I'll tell you what, after softening the spring preload on the rear shock one click or one knock, the bike handled like a dream, I kid you not. I took it up my local twisty road and back on the slab, the bike performed flawlessly on both pavements. I'm in heaven, I didn't think the suspension could be that good. The stock set up sucked. The first picture shows the adjustable reostat sticking out of that opening under the seat. Got lucky having that there. The second picture shows the connector and wiring. After use you can hide the wiring between the seat and plastic panel, no problem and its a tidy fit.

 

[Paloma1974]

What is your height and weight? Just wondering if the setup is for someone like me, 5'7 at 150lbs?

 

[stopie20]

I ended up having to "stiffen up" quite a bit front and rear to fit my riding style....??
Love the heated gear idea thoug... Just wondering, if the rehostat goes bad do you burst into flames?? JK [smirk]

 

[dave_xb12r]

I would LOVE to have heated gear. I'm jealous.

 

[Paloma1974]

Love the heated gear idea thoug... Just wondering, if the rehostat goes bad do you burst into flames?? JK

Gives new meaning to "what's that smell?"

 

[Midnight82]

Dude, I need heated gear. I'm just too poor to make that dream happen.

 

[dave_xb12r]

Seriously. My last ride was a 150 mile trip at night. I was wearing a long sleeve, a sweater, a hoodie and my A* jacket. I was warm, but I could hardly move.

 

[kajer]

heated gloves would be sweet

 

[JohnnyS999]

Paloma174 quote
What is your height and weight? Just wondering if the setup is for someone like me, 5'7 at 150lbs?
I'm 5'11 1/2" at 167lbs, without gear. Based on comparing the Sport Rider specs and the user manual specs, I think the Sport Rider figures might be too stiff for your weight. Below 170lbs with the factory suggested settings there are adjustment changes in every category. In the SR specs they recommend setting the fork preload to 7. Its also 7 in the manual for riders weighing between 170 and 230lbs, thats a wide range of weight. This tells me the SR magazine rider was likely over 170 lbs and under 230lbs. Bare in mind, these weights included rider and gear so being 150lbs without gear may put you in the 7 category when you factor in gear, especially full leathers. So your borderline and another thing to consider is the testing was conducted under more aggressive riding conditions, I believe.

As a couple others have said, the Sport Rider settings is a good start point, for that matter so is the factory suggested settings. However, I think the SR figures are a step closer to where you really want to be, in real life conditions. You can always start adjusting in small increments from there. For example, the day after I duplicated the Sport Rider settings I took the bike out for a casual ride since I was still getting used to it. The bike handled well under those conditions and much improved over the settings when I bought the bike. On the following day I took the bike out and throttled up and rode more aggressively in the hills. At that time I discovered the bike was "wallowing" in the turns, especially if the turns were at all bumpy. When I got home I increased fork rebound by one turn and took it out for a short slab ride. The ride comfort was more jarring than I recall and instead of doing something with compression damping I decided to back off rebound damping by 1/2 turn. I took the bike out today for an aggressive ride and discovered the wallowing had dissapeared, that made my day. I learned some time ago not to make big adjustments, but very small ones and not to make more than one category suspension adjustment. I can't remember all of the adjustments and I'll soon get them mixed up. Best to take notes. I got myself and my suspension totally messed up on my Ducati Multistrada earlier this summer when I decided to adjust the suspension myself. Eventually I settled down and took it slow, adjusting the suspension back to stock specs. Eventually I returned the suspension to settings best suited for me and everything worked out well. At this time I can confidently state my suspension is "dialed in" thanks to Sport Rider magazine.

 

[JohnnyS999]

Forgot to mention, if you can get someone to buy you a heated jacket for Xmas, do it!

Its a great upgrade, especially for us with full exposure to the elements. Heated gloves or grips are great too. I would rather have heated grips, but I'm not complaining. My next buy will be the heated pants, then I'm good to go. The 1125CR has a perfect spot to position the reostat under the seat. Its within reach and you can adjust while on the fly.

I don't know how I did it all these years without heated gear, OMG, how sweet it is!