KymcoForum.com
Scooters - 125 to 300 => LIKE 200i => Topic started by: donandrews on April 28, 2013, 04:11:16 AM
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How to I adjust the rear shocks on my Like 200i? There is nothing in the manual. I know I must twist them, but what do I use to do so and which way softens them?
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The rear shocks may be adjusted in three ways. You can use a strap wrench,or a pair of channel lock pliers with a rag wrapped around the shock to protect the chrome finish. You can also purchase a spanner wrench made for this purpose at most motorcycle shops but it must be the right size for your particular shock circumference. When adjusting you will see that there are three levels on the adjuster. Turn the adjuster ring on the shock(just below the spring) to to select the detent on the adjuster to the level you want. The lower the "bump" the lower the setting. Hint- the Likes usually come from the factory set at high. Hope this helps...Len ;)
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From a newby - I turned mine as well, one setting to look for a little more forgiving ride - used a rag and a pair of large pliers - turns pretty easy. Mine was set at 'hard' as well from the factory. The spring is compressed - turning it one direction lengthens the assembly & takes some pressure off the spring (softer ride) , the other stiffens the spring (harder ride) . By looking at the collar holding the bottom of the spring, you can see the detents, turn collar to change the pressure on the spring.
Also, when I checked my tire pressure - found both tires running 10 lbs too much air - fixed that and rides considerably better!
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Hey Old Schoot, My dealer's mechanic told me that pumping to tires up to 35lbs makes them last longer. I've always gone by the factory's recommendation which is 24lbs. front and 29lbs. rear. At 35 lbs. it was like riding a motocrosser set up for dirt track,especially with the shocks at full hard!
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Hey Old Schoot, My dealer's mechanic told me that pumping to tires up to 35lbs makes them last longer. I've always gone by the factory's recommendation which is 24lbs. front and 29lbs. rear. At 35 lbs. it was like riding a motocrosser set up for dirt track,especially with the shocks at full hard!
Yes, tires last longer, better fuel economy, and scoot runs faster.... ;)
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If you combine my weight along with the weight of all the stuff I always carry in my Like, it comes out to about 170 pounds. I tried all 3 settings on the shock and found the middle setting to be the best comprimise of smoothness and control.
The light setting seemed to be bottoming out the suspension too much on bumps and the high setting seemed to transmit every bump in the road giving a harsh ride.
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Hey Old Schoot, My dealer's mechanic told me that pumping to tires up to 35lbs makes them last longer. I've always gone by the factory's recommendation which is 24lbs. front and 29lbs. rear. At 35 lbs. it was like riding a motocrosser set up for dirt track,especially with the shocks at full hard!
Factory recommendation here as well. A simple bicycle pumps is all that's needed to do the job. I find the rims and the stock tires of the Kymco hold the pressure steady and I have yet to have to fill the tires because they leek out over time. I only fill because the low column of air these tires hold loose a little with each pressure test I make.
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Many thanks for the tips. I (and my butt) thank you!
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Under or over inflating tires can cause damage to the tires. It is not safe.
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In general, if the weight is greater (bigger person or more stuff), a firmer the shock will give you a smoother ride because it doesn't bottom out as badly. If there's less weight on a firm shock it can feel like you're riding a hardtail because it doesn't compress to absorb the bumps. I'm 225lbs & my Like came set at the firmest setting. It rides fine so I haven't priced the spanners for this scooter, but when I had my Sportster bought one for about $15-$20. Channel locks & a rag will work, but be careful not to hurt yourself or the bike.
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Thanks for all the info. Got a strap wrench from our friendly local hardware store ($17.95 - should have been about half that) and both shocks just popped right into the second detent. Left side was a bit of a challenge because is not much room. Ride is much better now (185 lbs, 5"10')
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What size spanner/wrench is needed for the 200i?
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Usually the spanner is in your tool set under the seat.
If you are of medium hand strength, you can easily turn it by hand (in a leather working glove).
The only problem is to position the hand properly to benefit from torque/lever, when the scoot is on the ground. When it is hoisted up (on a table), it is done very easily.
Don't forget to adjust both shocks to the same setting if there are two.
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What size spanner/wrench is needed for the 200i?
Yeah, no wrench in the LIKE200I tool bag, so...
A set of large channel locks after wrapping the shock in old leather work glove....or heavy rag on the right shock.
Left shock I used leather glove on hand to turn it.
A little oil or WD40 to lube it first maybe.
Or choose a shock wrench off of ebay.
Block of wood tapping cog with a hammer to spin it?
Lots of ways to turn 'em.
(I now use a shock wrench from a Honda Forza)
Stig
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Thanks! I clicked them down one position with channel-lock pliers. Haven't yet tried turning them up a notch.
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Not sure if the Like has has a both side and a center stand -but be sure it's on the center stand when adjusting the shocks. I tried adjusting my Xciting 500 one time while on its side stand and just couldn't figure out why it was so hard to turn - duh :-[- putting it on the center stand lets the wheel assembly hang down and takes weight off the springs.
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Sorry to disappoint you but turning that collar will not affect the spring rate, that is fixed by the length of the spring and the diameter of the wire. That collar is just a spring platform and will only change the ride height, and even then only by a few mm, but that's good if you are a bit on the heavy side or wish to carry a pillion passenger best to leave it on the high setting, otherwise it's worth dropping it down a bit to lower the centre of gravity which will aid stability. If you think you can feel a difference it's probably psychological because the change is so small, I dropped mine down and I can't say it feels any different at all but it was worth doing because I am only 70kg and I doubt that I will ever carry a pillion.
I made a c-spanner to do the job:
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Sorry to disappoint you but turning that collar will not affect the spring rate, that is fixed by the length of the spring and the diameter of the wire. That collar is just a spring platform and will only change the ride height, and even then only by a few mm, but that's good if you are a bit on the heavy side or wish to carry a pillion passenger best to leave it on the high setting, otherwise it's worth dropping it down a bit to lower the centre of gravity which will aid stability. If you think you can feel a difference it's probably psychological because the change is so small, I dropped mine down and I can't say it feels any different at all but it was worth doing because I am only 70kg and I doubt that I will ever carry a pillion.
I made a c-spanner to do the job:
(http://C:\Users\ow502\Pictures\03.jpg)
No, sorry kymi, can't go along with you on this.
Turning the collar to adjust the preload on the rear shocks is directly related to the load on the scooter. Kymco and Piaggio owner's manuals advise you to set the preload position of the collar to match the load you will be riding with.
Light rider typically = lowest setting.
Rider + passenger + cargo = highest, stiffest setting - spring is more compressed.
Light rider riding on this stiffest, highest, setting will expsrience a rougher ride. It is not one's imagination. Stiffer shock setting equals rougher ride for a lone rider. Some manuals caution that you can lessen control and increase likelihood of damage to the scooter if preload setting is grossly incorrect for the load weight and /or road conditions.
I have never heard of "changed center of gravity" discussed in connection with shock preload settings....but I reckon it is occurring.
Ride comfort and rider control are the reasons for adjustable shock preloads. I recall that PCX does not offer adjustable shocks, while the Forza and Silver Wing do.
Stig
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Sorry again, and I'm apologizing because I've only just joined this forum and don't want to be seen as a stirrer but I come from an engineering background and learnt a lot about suspension from my time building and racing Westfield Sports Cars.
The information in the owner's manual is correct and good advice, a higher load should be compensated for by increasing the ride height and that's exactly what the adjustable spring platform does, it's a great feature because a scooter may have to deal with a huge variation in load especially if carrying a passenger, however the spring is not 'more compressed' at the higher setting, that would only happen if the spring is topping out the damper unit and that's a bad thing, or to put it another way when you raise the collar you are lifting the whole spring, the top of the spring raises by the same amount as the base so all that changes is the ride height and consequently the centre of gravity.
As I said previously the spring rate is set by the wire size and length of the spring, you can't change that. Racing suspension usually has adjustable damping, that is what controls the stiffness of the suspension and is usually set with a screw or knob on the body of the damper (shock absorber) or sometimes 2 screws for separate bump and rebound adjustment, some high end motorcycles feature this type of suspension.
I find suspension a fascinating subject and nowadays there is a lot of good information available at the click of a mouse, sorry again if I'm coming across as a bit of a smarty pants, that's not my intention, just trying to help.
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OK, in spite of what my teenager thinks - I feel that I am still trainable.
So, using the new set of shocks which I have - I measure the distance between the upper and lower mounting holes and get 13".
This distance cannot change on an unmounted shock - because the spring is under tension and has pushed the shock to its full length.
I can change the pre-set on the spring to 5 different notches - but the unmounted shock will always remain at 13"....Correct?
But if I mount the shock and put the scooter's weight on it - the measured distance between the upper & lower mount points will lengthen if pre-loaded to collar notch (#5)....and shorten if set to pre-load notch #1. But the distance between the mount points will never be greater than the orig. 13".
Correct?
The shock hasn't lengthened, right?, it can't - so what is allowing the scooter to raise or lower as it sits there - if we haven't effectively changed the stiffness of the spring?
Does not the spring 'feel' stiffer as it is compressed from its unloaded 5" (of course it is not truly 'unloaded' in the shock until disassembled) > to a pre-load of 4" ? I thought these shock springs increased their resistance to weight the more they were forced to shorten by that weight?
I don't know.....I'm gonna make a cup of joe before I get a headache.
Appreicate your input.....
Let's have a scooter picture...
(https://s17.postimg.org/8j796t7r3/20150124_123038_2.jpg)
Stig
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You're quite right, a suspension unit is designed to work within a certain range and not top or bottom out. In most vehicles this isn't an issue but adding a passenger to a scooter massively increases the downward force and runs the risk of running out of travel (bottoming out). The spring is just like a battery but for storing energy instead of electricity. The springs on the scooter are constant rate so they will compress the same distance for every kg of force so for example a spring may compress 1cm for every 10kg applied, for every cm thereafter it takes another 10kg of force which is being stored as energy that is pushing back at the same force as that applied, so as that energy increases so does the force and it feels like the spring is getting stiffer. So again, you are correct, the spring does 'feel' stiffer because it contains more energy, and it is this energy that pushes the tyre back down on the ground after hitting a bump, it can't do this if the damper is bottoming out, hence the need to adjust the ride height.
Now that we have a load applied to the spring (the weight of the scooter), and we apply an additional force (the weight of a passenger) the spring is forced to compress because it is pushing against the ground, basically. When you raise the spring platform, however, the weight loading on it is constant so there is no additional force over the length of the spring and it just moves upwards. Once again you are correct, it can only do so until the damper runs out of travel.
Just to confuse the issue there are also variable rate springs which are made from tapered wire, kind of like a fishing rod that's been coiled up. These are typically fitted to high performance road cars which still require a soft ride over rough roads but as the coils close up the spring actually does become stiffer and stop the car leaning over too much in corners. Clever stuff.
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I just set my shocks to the middle setting. I couldnt figure out which way was best, so I compromised.
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Does anyone know of any recalls on the 2015-2017 likes?
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Does anyone know of any recalls on the 2015-2017 likes?
There have been NO recalls of any LIKE model to date.
(source the info from the KYMCO USA home page, "RECALLS")
Are you having an issue?
Stig