[nr07]

Originally Posted by ebonho

All you threads and posts are about discomfort. You have an accident and injury history. That is yet unhealed. This against the backdrop of drastic weight loss. 20 kilos on a small frame is a LOT. I have no clue how you lost that weight. But I do know that a near 24% loss of body weight is not normal nor can it be easily achieved without drastic measures. Like starving yourself. Depriving your body (and skeleton) of vital nutrients. The problem may not lie in the bikes. Simple BMI numbers from an online calculator mean nothing.

Cheers, Doc

I lost that weight 2-2.5 years ago over a period of 6 months with dieting and gym. I broke my wrist 1.5years ago. The tailbone injury only happened last November. Has nothing to do with a bike tossing me off the saddle but scrutiny is welcome.

[ranjitnair77]

Originally Posted by nr07

When I bought my first bike 4 years back and my second 2 years back, I had not thought much about any of them. In fact, I did not even do a test ride. This is the first time I am just depressed after a motorcycle purchase. I wish someone from Triumph saw my plight and was able to help. I just want my suspension issues sorted and I won't complain about anything else.

nr07, this isssue is probably quite easy to fix and the clue is in your first post itself where you said that the suspension felt great with a pillion. You probably just need to adjust the preload. Please don't despair.


Take a look at the Speed 400 manual, page 129
https://www.manualpdf.in/triumph/spe...4/manual?p=129

The manual says this:
When delivered from the factory, the preload adjuster will be set at position one.


Set it to 5 and go for a ride. Still soft? Take it a couple of notches higher. Too stiff? A couple of notches lower till you find the right setting. Do make sure that the tyre pressure is at the recommended level and not lower or higher. If that still doesn't work, try this exercise on a friend's Speed 400 to see if this is an issue with your bike.

I'm a couple of kilos heavier than you and I found the Speed 400's suspension to be fantastic when I rode it.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by nr07

I lost that weight 2-2.5 years ago over a period of 6 months with dieting and gym. I broke my wrist 1.5years ago. The tailbone injury only happened last November. Has nothing to do with a bike tossing me off the saddle but scrutiny is welcome.

I would suggest a normal full body workup which includes essential mineral (calcium) and vitamin levels. Maybe a bone densitometry test as well.

Cheers, Doc

[sagarpadaki]

If I understand preload correctly, the higher the weight on the motorcycle, the stiffer must be the pre-load. Here the OP is 65kg(Being on the wrong side of 90 with the exact same height as yours, I envy your weight ), so the motorcycle suspension should work well with the softest setting. I do not understand how increasing the preload resulted in a better suspension response.

Also, let the springs settle down. They need at least a 1000 kms of riding to break in. You will be able to evaluate the suspension compression and rebound better after the break in. Until then, I suggest you ride with the softest preload setting.

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by nr07

I lost that weight 2-2.5 years ago over a period of 6 months with dieting and gym. I broke my wrist 1.5years ago. The tailbone injury only happened last November. Has nothing to do with a bike tossing me off the saddle but scrutiny is welcome.

I can somewhat relate to your experience. This is what I felt like last year when I picked up my used Gixxer 250 after selling the 390. The rear shock had strong kick back (probably average rebound damping). But I was only recovering from my tailbone injury back then so my lower back was ultra sensitive to suspension movements. So I dialled back the preload to the lowest and went one up from there. It was much better but still my back would complain after 10kms. Now after one year, things are much better and I have jacked up the preload two notches again, to work with my weight range and the back doesn't complain much. Give enough time for the injury to heal completely. Tailbone injuries take forever to recover. Also give some time for the rear spring to settle in as others have said.

[anilp]

Originally Posted by nr07

Reality: The bike is VERY bouncy and unsettling on uneven roads even at low speeds. The feeling is like riding a bus jumping up and down. With a pillion, the suspension is GREAT. Two other owners have said the same thing.

I bought this bike for good suspension on a non-ADV bike, but every time I see bad roads, my mind says, "God help!"

I need to work on the preload. I am 65 kg, and the setting is at the softest. I would love to hear recommendations.

Hi, fellow Speed 400 and Duke 390 (first gen) owner here. I faced the same bounciness issues too, especially when you hit sudden undulations at 80+ while riding single (with pillion it was okay). These vanished after I dialed to the preload which was its softest setting (it comes as setting 1 from the showroom as default) to 3. It completely transformed the ride in a very enjoyable manner. For reference, I weigh 75 kgs. So do try changing the preload to 3 first or 4 if that doesn't work. That should do the trick.

[nr07]

Originally Posted by anilp

Hi, fellow Speed 400 and Duke 390 (first gen) owner here. I faced the same bounciness issues too, especially when you hit sudden undulations at 80+ while riding single (with pillion it was okay). These vanished after I dialed to the preload which was its softest setting (it comes as setting 1 from the showroom as default) to 3. It completely transformed the ride in a very enjoyable manner. For reference, I weigh 75 kgs. So do try changing the preload to 3 first or 4 if that doesn't work. That should do the trick.

Hey, what do you feel when riding slower on bad roads on same settings?

[anilp]

Originally Posted by nr07

Hey, what do you feel when riding slower on bad roads on same settings?

Not as plush as earlier, but not uncomfortable either while riding solo. The ride becomes plusher when there's a pillion on board. For me, the biggest benefit has been the confidence gain around bumpy corners. When I first got the bike, that was a major issue.

[RD410]

Congratulations on your new ride! Your post reminded me of something that I wanted to discuss. This maybe off topic, but I believe that there are two kinds of single cylinder street motorcycles available in our market -

Cat A - the 'Sporty' ones -

The engines of these bikes are designed to be revved hard. These have power band spread from mid to top rpms. These are high and quick revving and have agile handling. These usually have oversquare engine configuration and lack torque at very low rpms. KTM's, Pulsar RS/NS, Apache 200, CB300R etc. fall in this category.

Cat B - the 'Torquey' ones -

These bikes mostly have square or undersquare engines which are designed with focuss on useable low end torque and midrange power. These engines are not usually revv happy, though there are some exceptions. The chassis, suspension and steering geometry of these bikes are also tuned for comfort rather than agility or cornering. FZ25, Pulsar 250, CB300F, Triumph 400, etc fall in this category.

Cat A bikes need more effort, concentration and involvement from the rider to ride, but these are more thrilling when you ride them hard.

Cat B bikes are more easier and effortless to ride. They are just as quick as well. But they are more like commuters and will not feel good when we push them hard. Their power/torque band ends post midrange and after that, their engines will protest in the form of harshness and vibrations.

Everything I said, is just common knowledge. Both Cat A and Cat B bikes are good. What I intend to say is that the rider/customer should know what kind of character he/she truly wants. If a rider likes Cat A but buys Cat B, then it will never satisfy him and vice versa.

It's just like the flavours of ice cream. We all have that one flavour that we really, really like.There maybe a thousand other flavours available, but still they won't be as satisfactory as the one we like.

[nr07]

Originally Posted by RD410

Congratulations on your new ride! Your post reminded me of something that I wanted to discuss. This maybe off topic, but I believe that there are two kinds of single cylinder street motorcycles available in our market -

Cat A - the 'Sporty' ones -

The engines of these bikes are designed to be revved hard. These have power band spread from mid to top rpms. These are high and quick revving and have agile handling. These usually have oversquare engine configuration and lack torque at very low rpms. KTM's, Pulsar RS/NS, Apache 200, CB300R etc. fall in this category.

Cat B - the 'Torquey' ones -

These bikes mostly have square or undersquare engines which are designed with focuss on useable low end torque and midrange power. These engines are not usually revv happy, though there are some exceptions. The chassis, suspension and steering geometry of these bikes are also tuned for comfort rather than agility or cornering. FZ25, Pulsar 250, CB300F, Triumph 400, etc fall in this category.

Cat A bikes need more effort, concentration and involvement from the rider to ride, but these are more thrilling when you ride them hard.

Cat B bikes are more easier and effortless to ride. They are just as quick as well. But they are more like commuters and will not feel good when we push them hard. Their power/torque band ends post midrange and after that, their engines will protest in the form of harshness and vibrations.

Everything I said, is just common knowledge. Both Cat A and Cat B bikes are good. What I intend to say is that the rider/customer should know what kind of character he/she truly wants. If a rider likes Cat A but buys Cat B, then it will never satisfy him and vice versa.

It's just like the flavours of ice cream. We all have that one flavour that we really, really like.There maybe a thousand other flavours available, but still they won't be as satisfactory as the one we like.

Hi, regarding this aspect, I will disagree for now. However, I could be wrong because I was riding Duke 200. What I felt (as explained in point 2) is that the bike reaches 80-100 without 1 bit of effort. After that, your ride is not confidence inspiring because of the bouncy suspension (solo, also said by Shumi) and the vibrations start to creep in. Do you see what I mean? There's no doing hard work to get a thrill out of the bike unless you want to force the bike to high speeds despite it not wanting to be there.

You are missing a key point here. This one on spec sheet is like Cat A and on high speed stability is like Cat B. It excels at neither.

TLDR; Small blip of throttle, you go to 80-100KMPH. Further speeds are not confidence inspiring or comfortable because of bouncy ride and vibrations. This is what I feel. The long strokes are made for low-speed enjoyment, the short strokes are for high speeds. This is neither gharka nor ghatka. Will give you some quick burst of accelerations and that is it. I knew about this characteristic (on paper) so I am not complaining. Just letting people know.

[ebonho]

The Speed definitely leaves you searching for an absent n+1 top gear. I've mentioned this in my short ride first impressions review. Of course that was a brand new bike, with no straight after a tight corner more than 400 metres ... so I do not know how it would fare on sustained WOT. There is no surge and after surge wave that picks you up like with a KTM motor.

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by ebonho

The Speed definitely leaves you searching for an absent n+1 top gear. I've mentioned this in my short ride first impressions review. Of course that was a brand new bike, with no straight after a tight corner more than 400 metres ... so I do not know how it would fare on sustained WOT. There is no surge and after surge wave that picks you up like with a KTM motor.

Speed from what I've seen at least from the reviews and ownership experiences is a little short geared to work well in the city. It might really benefit from sprocketing. Recently watched a US based video where the owner used a one tooth bigger sprocket in front and it was a much better ride on the highway.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by b16h22

Speed from what I've seen at least from the reviews and ownership experiences is a little short geared to work well in the city. It might really benefit from sprocketing. Recently watched a US based video where the owner used a one tooth bigger sprocket in front and it was a much better ride on the highway.

As I always say about sprocketing, its robbing Peter to pay Paul. The Speed does not have much in the way of a kick or snap to its acceleration either. Its nice. But not spectacular. So if you up sprocket in front, that nice could become boring quite quickly.

Cheers, Doc

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by ebonho

As I always say about sprocketing, its robbing Peter to pay Paul. The Speed does not have much in the way of a kick or snap to its acceleration either. Its nice. But not spectacular. So if you up sprocket in front, that nice could become boring quite quickly.

Cheers, Doc

Yeah, you gain something but you also also sacrifice the grunt a bit. So it should be entirely based on the use case and preference. For someone who camps on the highway, it's a good compromise to have. And I think the speed not for the speed junkies as the name suggests . It's more of a middle way between a full on sports naked and an RE but closer to the former. For someone who want to tone down a bit but still don't want to go the full cruiser route.

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by b16h22

Yeah, you gain something but you also also sacrifice the grunt a bit. So it should be entirely based on the use case and preference. For someone who camps on the highway, it's a good compromise to have. And I think the speed not for the speed junkies as the name suggests . It's more of a middle way between a full on sports naked and an RE but closer to the former. For someone who want to tone down a bit but still don't want to go the full cruiser route.

I think the Speed is a brilliant looker. Not so much the Scrambler. And the Speed is a nice friendly spirited bike to fool around with in the city, leg out. And it has a brilliant suspension. Its definitely a top option for those who do not want to or cannot live with a KTM.

P.S. I have noted with satisfaction that no other incident of swingarm breaking has come to light after that one case. Really reassuring.