News archive: July 2008

Preparing your suspension and Tyre Pressure for Riding off Road

This month’s off road tip takes a look at how to prepare your BMW GS’s tire pressure and suspension for going off-road where you may encounter thick sand, loose gravel or mud. These tips are easy enough to apply to your own motorcycle at home and you will find that together with good riding techniques you will have an all round smoother ride.

Tire Pressure:

When going off road, make sure that your tire pressure is slightly deflated to approximately 1.8 Bars (rear tire) and 1.4 Bars (front tire). This adjustment will ensure that your tires have more grip to the road. I usually carry a tire pressure gage with me on all our trips and when we get to an off-road section- I slowly deflate the tires and ensure that they are at the right pressure for the ride. I also carry a small air compressor with me (that fits into my tank bag) once we reach the tar road again- I plug it into the electric supply of the motorcycle and inflate my tires back to the correct pressure for Tarmac roads. This will ensure that your tires have a longer life span.

Carrying a tire pressure gage will ensure that you can adjust your
tires to the right pressure

Suspension

You must always adjust your suspension according to the terrain you encounter. If you are expecting to drive through thick sand, loose gravel or mud- it is a good idea to adjust your suspension to a hard setting.

How do I do this? You may ask:

Front Suspension (Only R1200GS and R1150GS)

The front suspension (suspension spring preload) is located just above the front tire under the tank. Use a spanner/hook wrench (found in toolkit under the seat) to adjust preload of spring two to three clicks tighter than the standard factory setting to a harder position.

 

Rear Suspension (R1200GS, R1150GS and F650GS)

A good way of adjusting your back suspension to the correct hardness is to turn the knob (located on the left hand side of the BMW GS- called the rear suspension spring preload) fully clockwise until it won’t go anymore and then turn it three clicks back (anti clockwise). This will give the motorcycle more stability and give you the feeling of having more control.

Turn this suspension knob to adjust the rear suspension

Shock absorber adjustment

The rear shock absorber is located on the left hand side of the bike just above the rear tyre (Behind the rear suspension knob). Turn the adjusting screw clockwise towards “H” (hard setting) as far as it will go and then turn it back (anti clockwise) for half a turn. This is now set to the hard setting- which is perfect for off-road.

Adjust the shock absorber to H to ensure a hard setting for off road.

If you have any questions or queries- please do not hesitate to email me at Darryl@samatours.co.za

Good luck and enjoy the riding!

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*Please note that we cannot accept responisbility for your off-road riding skills- we highly recommend attending an off-road course with proffesional riding instructors before attempting any off- road riding teqniques or motorcycle adjustments.Please see these teqniques as a guideline only and ensure that you know what you are doing when you attempt to adjust your motorcyle.*

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