[steve]

I`ve had my new nomad for 6 weeks and I love it, but am finding the suspension bottoms out very easily on expansion joints. I`ve not ridden bikes for a long time and expected the ride to be more civilized after all these years. Is this common on all nomads or am I expecting to much ?

 

[x-wing]

Can't say for sure, Steve, as my Nomad is only 185 miles old. I guess I did notice it bottom on a bump (2 up) that didn't look that big... It will be interesting to see what turns up on this post.
By the way, welcome to the forum.

 

[bjones]

I have the Drifter and have noticed the same thing. I went to the dealer and they added air with their little pump. He also adjusted the rebound of the shocks to two. Seemed to help but the bigger bumps are still felt when two up.

 

[bikeaholic]

re

for solo ridin the guys i ride with set the shocks at about 20psi (200lb rider)
for 2up they bump it up to 30-34 psi (200lb+140lb pass with gear)

shock pre-load is usuallly set to 3 for 2up rides-sometimes preload at 2 will do

don't air the shocks with air hose-you could damage the seals -they won't take high
pressure air - and have the back wheel off the ground to air them up

hope this helps :wink:

 

[Greg]

rear suspension

I'm shocked at the lack of response to this thread.
My wife and I ride 2 up a lot (4,000 miles so far this year) and our 1500 bottoms out on most railway crossings and sometimes on less severe road imperfections.
Last week I set the air shocks to 40 lbs and the suspension to 4 but it still bottomed out and the ride was noticeably stiff during the whole ride.
Today I set the air to 25 lbs and the suspension to 2. Of course it still bottomed out a few times but the ride was fars better than last week.

I've noticed on a honda forum that I used to frequent, they talked a lot about the Hondas bottoming out as well so maybe it's common........dunno.

Greg

 

[Frankt07]

greg you got it about as close as its gonna get. you can go as high as 71psi without busting the seals. might be less on different bikes. check your owners manual. set the suspension to 2 when solo, 4 when 2-up.
thats been the common concensus on the board here

 

[NY_Guy]

I`ve had my new nomad for 6 weeks and I love it, but am finding the suspension bottoms out very easily on expansion joints. I`ve not ridden bikes for a long time and expected the ride to be more civilized after all these years. Is this common on all nomads or am I expecting to much ?

The only time I've bottomed out with either my 2000 or 2006 Nads was when the rear air shocks were too low. I keep mine at 20 psi and rebound at 3 or 4-- mostly riding by myself (but sometimes, like today, with my wife-- 105lbs wet). I could go higher to about 30psi, but it starts to hurt my neck. If you put 40lbs in the rear shocks and dampen to #4, you should not bottom out unless jumping! lol

Also, you don't have to raise the rear tire to add air, but with the rear wheel on the ground, it reads 4-5psi lower than it actually is (if it says 20, it's actually 16 in the tire). It also doesn't make any discernable difference to level the bike-- I took readings with rear wheel up and down and the only difference was weight on rear wheel, which accounts for the 4-5 lbs. But as noted, make sure you use a small hand pump (like Progressive), lest you blow seals.

 

[BigJohn]

Steve - I run my '00 Nad at about 20 pounds of pressure and preloaded to 4. I still consistantly bottom out when going over speed bumps and occasional rail road crossings. Just the nature of the beast.

 

[brother]

Go down.

 

[brother]

I have a 01-Nomad and ride alot double,I weigh 225 and my wife 150 I had to put 35lbs in rear shocks and #4. But it rides rough,so I droped down to #3 but it will still bottom out. Am not impressed with suspension set up. I guess it's set up for stick people.