Hello. I have a 2011 sg with the 13" jri b shocks. 1600 miles on the shocks. I can not get a decent ride, and am very dissatisfied. When you say 19 clicks, do you go all the way clockwise, and then back 19 clicks counterclockwise, or the opposite? I am looking for any help to make these shocks better than my stock air shocks which hasn't happened yet.

 

At 1600 miles, they're broken in. Make sure you've got 30mm of sag, then adjust the sweep valve by gently turning it all the way clockwise, then back it off counterclockwise 20 clicks. Start from there, and watch your tie wrap. You want the wrap on the bump stop on moderate bumps.

If you still are unhappy with them, call Howard back and pick his brain. If you haven't already spoken to him, get off the forum and call him.

 

Thank you for the quick response. I have talked to howard 13 times in the last month trying to figure it out. He is at a loss, and suggested I come on here and ask around. I have 30 mm sag on the nuts. Shocks are aligned to the swingarm within .01". I have valves 5 from counter clockwise, the softest, and the tie wrap is still and inch away from the top of the bumpstop, and the ride is very harsh. I will try 16 to 20 clicks from clockwise, and see if any change. Thanks again! Howard seems amazingly knowledgeble, and I believe they work, just very frustrated with no results. Thanks again!

 

Tyler, I did not ask you to come here to ask how to do it but I did ask you to PM many of the (included screen name) members (Included in the e-Mail today @ 10:38 am today) who ride the same or near same bike as you do with their weights ranging below to more than your exact weight of 230# and riding a FLHX. By PM'ing the members (included screen name) here, (if they wish to respond) they will assure you that your shocks will work as promised and there is no reason why your shocks would not be any different than those members I included. Either I have met them in person or have known them, as stated, they will be helpful to you and are top quality people. They are just not customers, just like you, & it is important to them as well as me to get your ride exactly as expected.

As stated in your e-Mail:
Remember that your shocks are Dyno'd and run for a while to check for leaks and heat cycle them before you receive than so we know how they work. The answer is installation and/or settings. I know before ever sending them out that they will work exactly as promised. No other shock company (JRI) does this, none.

When you turned the red **** all of the way down, you opened the needle valve all of the way open and turned your expensive JRI B 13" into a spring on a stick. You removed the shocks from the equation. That is not included in the instructions. Please go to page # 5 (unofficial Installation Guide) and there is an arrow (blue) on the **** indicating which way is clockwise. This will close the needle valve (clockwise) than open them up (counter-clockwise) looking up from the bottom 20 clicks. These shocks do not need to bottom out to work and that is not the working range. If they do bottom out than you need to either add more spring pre-load or decreasing the piston by-pass oil by reducing the clicks from 20 to maybe 18 or maybe 16, your call and use your ***-0-Meter & head (Think & Feel).

When leaving Sturgis, I told you that I would (as well as the JRI van w/trailer) take I-90 across your state and all that you had to do is meet me along that route off of an exit. Yes, it is somewhere around 300 ~ 400 miles added to my trip as I would than have to travel across and down to I-75 to home in Fort Lauderdale and also JRI to N. Carolina. I was really sorry that you did not have the time as I would have just did the install/settings myself to suite your preferences.

As per e-Mail today:
I think at this point that it would be better to take pictures and e-Mail while both of us are on the line and get it done. I do these installations from the beginning to end in 15 ~ 25 min. when I am actually spinning the wrenches. Talking over the phone usually takes 1 1/2 to 2 or so hours.

As per Pete6114 post #69 it took us 3 try's at tuning to get the shock adjusted exactly to his taste at that point in time. Nothing you can not do. No specialized tools, nothing but understanding how to fix what you do not like concerning your rear suspension.

Set the sag to 31mm Use this Base: 350mm Aprox., sit on the bike, and subtract 31mm = 319mm flat to flat (you know what I mean). Adjust the needle valve 20 clicks out from fully closed. Fine tune from there. This procedure is very easy and you can do it. I expected you to call me today, Sunday as per your e-Mail with your computer on and a camera handy. I do not know what else I can do for you other than for you to go to our next show which will be Biketoberfest at the track. This is expensive and we loose lots of money coming to support our customers.

 

I put a bit over 800 miles on my b 13" over the weekend, about half of that on The Blue Ridge Parkway.. My buddy who was loaded down like me (streetglide) couldn't keep up in the corners and kept telling me that I was flying and he could only catch up on the straights, the bike just felt natural and I was no where near pushing the limits

The bike handles so much better, it holds a line without issue even when there are bumps. My back/bum doesn't feel nearly as sore as rides in the past.

Best yet, my wife noticed the difference within the first 30 miles by saying how its a smoother ride...money well spent

 

We had the same experience with a set of Howard's Ohlins. Not only do we not bottom out any more, but the ride is smoother, ironing out even the smallest little bumps and jiggles. We enjoy the ride better, but we can also ride further each day and ride for more days in greatly improved comfort. From what I've read the JRIs work as well.

 

Howard, I wonder if you could clarify something for me so that I'm not talking out of school.

It was my understanding that you wanted the tie wrap to just about contact the bump stop on moderately rough roads, and that it was OK for the tie wrap to contact the bump stop (shocks bottoming out) on really harsh bumps.

On the rough farm roads around my house, 18 clicks keeps the tie wrap 1/4-3/8" above the stop, on "normal" roads, 20-21 clicks seems to be the magic number.

Thanks.

 

woodsmith85,
in your post above it reads "I have 30mm sag on the nuts", just checking to make sure you mean from shock full extension (rear wheel off the ground) to loaded with you and gear the shock is compressed 30mm.
Just want to make sure you are not measuring how far the adjustment nuts have travelled cuz that'd be incorrect.

BTW... I have an 11 SG with the JRI B 13" and they are wonderful!
180 lbs 1up, 315 2up plus gear.

 

1) The needle valve is closed and you have as much dampening or resistance to change as possible that the shocks can provide.
*This is correct

If you open (up) the (needle valve)<up some> Remove these two words ..as to have SOME of the oil bypass the shim stacks, you are now using less available dampening thus making your shocks less resistant to change or weaker.

* added words that should have been there.


Depending on the user and riders/bike weight somewhere around 16 clicks out from fully closed is starting to let too much oil bypass the piston. (that is my preference but that setting is up to your preference only). Adjust to your feel only.

* '05Train; Here is a Dyno sheet that is done on every shock hat JRI sends out. They run them to make sure they will not leak and to check them out. When the shocks are built they are "matched" to make sure they will work together similar. The top part is the compression and the bottom part is rebound. This Dyno works on a crank. The graph is folded over on itself to really form a sort of a "circle". It is somewhat misleading unless you know what you are reading. You may research it further on all of the available information available. This is a plot/graph that is representing (Force V/S Velocity Curve):

X Axis Force (amount produced to resist change)
Y Axis Velocity Curve (how fast the damper is moved on a cycle)

1) The faster the wheel/swing arm moves (up or down) the more force is produced by the shock. The steeper the bump the higher the speed & has little to do with MPH but the length V/S time does.

2) the beginning of the stroke produces less resistance force than the deep stroke so for a smoother ride stay on the "Top" portion of the stroke in place of trying to use the whole stroke. More compression (less clicks out) may produce a smoother ride and definitely be more controlled. That determination can only be made by you.

There is no other way to do it other than take a notebook and write down your findings and feel how the bike rides. Ride over the same exact piece of the road at the same speed. Write it down after each pass. You can not screw this up as you can always go back to where you were.

These shocks were installed at Leesburg, FL. The serial #'s are entered and both shocks are run and their results are overlaid over each other. Think of this graph as a circle and unfold it. A dyno is made with a crank with the fastest part 90ş from T.D.C to B.D.C. Look at the force V/S speed.
Two different types but look at the top one only:

And now the dyno sheet of two shocks (reason why there are 2 lines). Remember to "unfold" the circle/ellipse and when the crank pin is reaching its highest/fastest point of speed (90ş & 270ş) that is either the right top (270ş)/compression or the right bottom (90ş)/rebound extreme points (where you unfold the ellipse). Orientation: 0ş is on the top & 180ş is on the bottom of the crank circle.

*The top left hand of the graph/X&Y is the beginning (compression/180ş crank point) point and the shock is (pushed in) cycles up to the extreme (140# @ 9.73 In/sec) upper graph left (270ş) than the crank continues up to 0ş (graph shows it unfolded) to the left @ 0 velocity.

* The bottom left hand is the beginning (rebound/0ş) crank position point and the shock shaft is pulled out, the crank cycles down and the graph plots the shock to the extreme left (90ş crank position/Y(-) axis 180# @ 9.73 In/sec) than the crank continues turning clockwise (90ş ~ 180ş but the graph shows it/unfolded) traveling from right to the left back up to 0 velocity (X axes).

I hope I did a satisfactory job in explaining mechanical motion as it relates to this testing.

This is how a shock is tested and if the shock is not working properly the results are immediately known. If the external settings are wrong and the shocks will not get the desired results, go over your check list of things that are overlooked.

These shocks (JRI B 13") will produce the same results over and over again for the user in Alaska and for the user in Key West. All FL's with a similar range of weight will produce the same ride/results as all of the above aforementioned JRI B 13" which are adjustable within the range they were built for.

 

Howard, thank you so much for the comprehensive answer. I was wondering why the wire tie was showing me one thing, and my butt was telling me something different. I spent some time yesterday afternoon running up and down the same roads and varying the sweep valve settings. At 21 clicks, the tie wrap was just above the bump stop, but the ride, as you've aptly described, was a "spring on a stick". Not bad at all on smooth roads, but big imperfections were harsh. By adding compression (fewer clicks) the ride smoothed out, and there was far more wheel control and less wallowing in corners.

One of these days I'm going to make it to a rally and buy you a beverage of your choice.