Hi Guys, I’m just in the process of adjusting my suspension. The last owner was a slightly built 5ft 2 chap and I’m 6ft and well built. Currently when I sit on the bike there’s only 20mm front sag so I know I need to adjust the preload. However I was wondering if I can make the bike more comfortable first. My wrists kill after 30 mins so was looking into raising the front. I notice there’s 3 rings exposed above the yoke. I don’t ride the bike on track, just A-roads. How do I raise the yoke and how would this affect the handling?
You’d need to raise the rear as well. If it’s std 848 tie rod, it’s not adjustable. eBay often has 1098 ones and others that are.
“Raising the yoke” - I assume you mean moving the forks down so that the tops are flush with the top of the yoke - this will not change the ergonomics of the bar/seat/pegs but merely change the attitude of the bike with consequent increase of trail, resulting in slower steering. I believe what you are after is to have raised handlebars compared to the current seat height - in which case you need bars with different geometry. In my opinion.
I had a ride height adjuster in my rear suspension and on the advice of MCT I lowered the rear ride height by 5mm as they said the 848 badly overloads the front tyre. I also had the suspension set up and he put +3 turns of preload into the forks for my 15.5 stone frame to stop the bike riding low in the stroke and it did make it a bit less physical. I went through a series of things to try and make mine possible to ride for longer blasts and never quite got there. I tried helibars but despite what others say, if you want to use the steering lock you have to set them almost straight like motorcross bars which feels weird, and I tried a speedymoto top clamp which was the best option as it raised the bars by 10mm but kept the positioning the same. It’s expensive but I’d say the best option on the 848, here is the pics First pic is how much you can raise the bar height by Second is when fitted
