NEW TIRES (take to shop or do it yourself)

[Nails]

I base my suspension performance strictly upon feel.

As a new rider, I put too much emphasis on parking-lot "feel". This can lead to over-inflating the tires. The "feel" in the twisties is more important, which is mostly a matter of suspension feedback that inspires confidence as opposed to the kind that tightens the sphincter. (Of course, the latter shows up with over-confidence regardless of the tire pressure.)

In this regard, Progressives out-perform stock springs, whether sagging or not. Air caps are an 80's technology that I'm happy to dump. It was originally borrowed from motocross, where it still crops up from time to time. (A few years ago, it cost Marvin Musquin an AMA championship.)

Progressives perform better when you periodically bleed off the head-space pressure, especially when getting frisky on hot days. I'm sure cartridge emulators are better yet, but I'm likely not a good enough rider to realize it even if they aren't overkill on an XII. These further manage compression and rebound damping -- I understand that they can be a PITA to dial in. I mean, suspension tuning is a black art beyond just keeping the suspension off the bumpers and beyond just fussing with the headspace air pressure.

For a piggly touring bike? Yeah, I'm sure the OE forks can work plenty good-enough. I highly recommend Progressives in the forks as a cheap and effective upgrade, especially since you probably need new springs anyway. For the back, I'm amazed at how well the stock shocks perform with fresh oil. I'm all-in with keeping those until they leak -- they aren't rebuildable in any practical sense. I could see dumping the stock shocks, but that usually means having to get new shocks just to change the oil.

For tires, I'm a big fan of Pirelli MT66, which are also old technology that I think compliments the XII suspension nicely. But I'm running Shinko 777, which seem to perform almost as well and last longer. New tire technology also is a black art that might not play well with old-tech XII suspension.

YMMV

[GrandpaDenny]

I base my suspension performance strictly upon feel.

As a new rider, I put too much emphasis on parking-lot "feel". This can lead to over-inflating the tires. The "feel" in the twisties is more important, which is mostly a matter of suspension feedback that inspires confidence as opposed to the kind that tightens the sphincter. (Of course, the latter shows up with over-confidence regardless of the tire pressure.)

I'm not talking about parking lot feel, I'm talking about whether potholes make me eat the handlebars, so to speak. It's a black art, suspension tuning, especially on a basically non-tunable or shall we say limited-tunable suspension. Preload is only adjustable via air, and damping via changing the fork oil viscosity and level. For the rear, preload via air, and damping is adjustable via the knob on the shocks. With Progressives, indeed, gotta bleed the air our of the forks occasionally. For the rear, damping isn't adjustable at all, only preload via turning the base of the spring.

So rear is pretty easy to figure out. If the bike is bottoming out a lot, or is wiggly on turns, it needs more preload. If it feels like you're sitting on a brick, it needs less preload. Easy.

The front is a little (did I say "little"?) harder to dial in, at least for me, due to the roads around here and my size and style of riding. Well, the bike is designed for my style of riding (it's pretty much just an extra-luxurious sport-tourer, after all) and also my size (about 300 pounds in full gear), but what it ISN"T designed to handle is the roads in and around Philadelphia. The roads here are unbelievable. There are main roads, highways, that are painful to ride. There were a couple of motorcyclists KILLED by hitting a pothole in Center City (downtown) Philadelphia.

One of the (many) advantages of taking an MSF course is that they teach you how to avoid things like potholes.

So I've got the bike pretty well dialed in, suspension-wise. I've got 15wt. Bel-Ray synthetic fork oil, started out at 145mm and have pushed the bars down to pump oil out (thereby softening the ride) I think three or four times. So I'm gonna guess that each time I pushed out a teaspoon (if that much) of oil, so let's guess I'm at about 155mm level (one teaspoon = 5 mm of fork oil level change). We won't know what the level actually is until next time I change the fork oil. Unfortunately my favorite mechanic and Concours 14-riding riding buddy is moving to Connecticut soon :(

[GrandpaDenny]

Regarding tire pressures:

[glvnthedream]

I got Shinko White walls. They look great and handle way better that the year old Dunlop 404’s that were on it. What a friggin difference.

New tires going on today

Not chancing a blow out riding down the highway. I’m allergic to pain.

Good idea. Hope you're not putting another set of 404's on there. They really aren't up to the VXIIs weight and performance. What tires are you putting on?

[glvnthedream]

Thanks, @GranpaDenny The bike feels fine and even better after the new tire in front. I will swap the back out soon.

I actually put Progrssives in the back as the stock shocks were leaking when I got the bike. That was the first thing I did. I have them dialed in to MAX and I have the front at 8.5 psi now. After my first test run with the new front tire, it handles so much better. Obviously is was in dire need of a fresh tire. I had a 10-year-old Dunlop 404 on the front until today.

I appreciate the detailed info and I do have all the manuals.

Thanks again.

Regarding the front springs. When I take the bike off the side stand I get this amount drop in front. Is that normal??

I weigh in around 215. Should I be concerned about riding with a passenger around the same weight?

4-5 month newbie here.

I base my suspension performance strictly upon feel. If you have the stock suspension, and have fresh oil in it (I think you said you'd put new fork seals in) both front and rear, then go by the recommended air pressures, and you'll be fine. If you find you need to put excessive amounts of air in (like some guys on here do) then you need to think about replacement and the springs are worn out. I only replaced mine with Progressive because of wear (fronts were like slinkies) and damage (elevated unmarked railroad crossing in Georgia at 50 mph blew out my rear shocks, and it was cheaper, easier, and faster to replace than rebuild).

Which reminds me... we've had a few discussion about tire pressures on here, and I discovered the factory tire pressure sticker inside the left side cover day before yesterday. Never really noticed it (as in bothered to read it).

Front tire under all load conditions: 32psi
Rear tire under 265lbs load: 32psi
Rear tire over 265lbs load: 40psi

Total load capacity of the VXII is, IIRC, 465lbs. So with two 215lb passengers (don't forget the weight of gear and anything you've got in the saddlebags or added to the bike) you're fine, but you will want to bring everything up to max (fork air pressure, rear shock air pressure, damping setting, rear tire air pressure) as in max recommended, not what it says on the tires.

If you don't have them (or even if you do as they're very handy IMO), the VXII manuals are all available here on the AVA site. Link in my .sig.

[GrandpaDenny]

I got Shinko White walls. They look great and handle way better that the year old Dunlop 404’s that were on it. What a friggin difference.

Probably anything would have felt better than those 404s. I recently put Shinko 777s on Gertrude and love 'em. Not going to do the whitewall thing again,, though!