Hey, how’s it going people, BrownBrady here
and thank you for tuning into my channel.
And in this episode, I’m going to show you
how to adjust the Rear Suspension on a Honda CBR 250R
and why anyone would want to do this.
A subscriber member requested this video a while back
and at first I thought it was going to be a challenge
because I’ve never done it before,
I didn’t have the tools, and I did not completely
understand why anyone would want to do it.
But eventually, I found out that it was very easy to do
and my bike came with the tools to make this job possible.
The rear suspension is located here.
It’s a little tight but you should be able to make
the adjustment from either side of the bike.
I prefer to adjust it from the muffler side because
I don’t want to damage the chain in case the pin spanner
slips.
But if you want to do it this way, just be careful
not to burn yourself if the muffler is still hot.
First let me show you how the pin spanner works on my
Nighthawk where it’s more visible.
Because it is very tight and dark where the
rear suspension is located on my CBR.
It is basically a special wrench that has
a tooth on one end.
And that tooth hooks on to one of the grooves
which provide the necessary grip to allow you to turn
and adjust the spring.
Like this.
And I didn’t know this until I made this video but
the word “spanner” is the British English standard term
for what we call “wrench” here in North America.
Anyway, now let’s try it on Bobcat.
The adjuster has 5 settings, from 1 to 5 where
position one is soft and it progressively gets harder
to position 5.
According to the manual, adjusting directly from 1 to 5
can damage the shock absorber but
it does not explain what you should do.
I interpret this as it is okay to adjust it
from 1 to 2,
1 to 3,
and 1 to 4.
I think it’s just to give the shock absorber time
to gradually expand and contract.
So why would you want to change the suspension settings
in the first place?
Well to keep it simple, a softer setting
increases riding comfort so that your spine absorbs less
of the energy transfer from bumps, but takes less
additional load for the suspension to bottom out.
On the other hand, a stiffer setting will be capable of
taking on a heavier load
before the suspension bottoms out
but will provide a less comfortable ride.
There are other factors to consider
including the effects on traction, ride height
and geometry, but
that would be beyond the scope of this video.
But I found this helpful article that
explains the effects of preload and sag.
Personally, I just leave it at Position 2.
Anyway, that just about does it for this episode.
I’m sure there will be some of you who are more
knowledgeable with regards to spring preload and sag,
so if you have anything to contribute,
please share them in the comments section.
And if you liked this video, please
hit that like button, or better yet,
hit that subscribe button,
and I’ll see you in my next video.
As always, ride safe and thanks for watching.
You look like a bobble head.