Rear air suspension questions

[Venturelowrider]

1983 venture. It has 4 suspension settings and also a Schrader valve. What pressures can you run and is there a good pressure to start out at? I'm new to the ventures. I also read where people adjusted front pressure. Not having a Royale and having a standard one, am I able to adjust the front?

Edited June 5, 2017 by Venturelowrider

[CaseyJ955]

1983 venture. It has 4 suspension settings and also a Schrader valve. What pressures can you run and is there a good pressure to start out at? I'm new to the ventures. I also read where people adjusted front pressure. Not having a Royale and having a standard one, am I able to adjust the front?

 

Im going off memory, but I think what I read in the owners manual was high teens one up, and mid 20s 2-up, more for 2up with gear. Im not home so cant check it so hopefuly someone else can be more specific. I think I was at about 18-19 on my last 1000 mile road trip, just 210 lb me with light/moderate luggage. It seemed to work best that way with the more composed progressive forks. I havnt played with the other setting, it seems frozen in place.

 

Maybe easiest to put more air in and let little bits out until you have the right firmness.

 

Welcome to Venturehood!

 

Edit: I jave a royale so not sure where to manually add air to the front but those max out not much more than 12 lbs or so. The rear I believe will tolerate 40, maybe more.

Edited June 5, 2017 by CaseyJ955

[Grez007]

1983 venture. It has 4 suspension settings and also a Schrader valve. What pressures can you run and is there a good pressure to start out at? I'm new to the ventures. I also read where people adjusted front pressure. Not having a Royale and having a standard one, am I able to adjust the front?

 

Welcome to the forum, yes you should be able to air up the front forks, there should be a shraeder valve up in the black trim piece that surrounds the bottom of the handlebars and the ignition key hole. The 4 settings you refer to on the rear are for rear shock damping, 1being the softest and 4 being the hardest. According to my manual you want to set the damping knob on 1or 2 for solo riding. The manual also reads that the "LOW" setting is 11psi for the front and 14psi for the rear. The "MID" setting for the front is 14psi and 43psi for the rear. The "HIGH" setting is 17psi for the front and 71psi for the rear. I personally run front and back in the mid range for solo riding as I am a fairly heavy individual (250LBS). Just start at the low settings and work your way up if it feels too squishy. Good luck,safe riding. Paul

[CaseyJ955]

Oh, when you add air do not use an air compressor. It can over pressurize super quick and eff up seals. There are some neat little hand pumps on the market for just this thing.

[Grez007]

Here's a crappie pic of my manual that puts it all in one place for ya. And yes what CASEYJ955 Said. A bicycle tire pump or something of that sort will do and not overwhelm the seals too quickly

Edited June 5, 2017 by Grez007

[Yammer Dan]

Carefull and don't blow those seals in the front!!! Progressive Springs is a great improvement. Ends the need for air in the front. About 40 lb in the rear is a good starting point.

[Venturelowrider]

Thank all of you for your responses. I appreciate it!

[bongobobny]

As far as the 4 position "Dampening" switch, it is all up to personal comfort level. A setting of 1 is the mushiest, and a setting of 4 is the firmest from what I remember. That control is all about the "response time" of the rear shock, not the shock air pressure control. There is only a slight and almost undetectable difference in the settings with the same shock air pressure and is entirely up to your own riding style and preferences. I kept mine at a 2.

 

Rear air pressure is going to do two things, make the rear shock either sluggish with low pressure or really stiff with a lot of pressure I recommend at least 40 lbs but you may be happier closer to 60 lbs. I ran my fronts around 12 lbs, and the front pressure will also make the bike taller with increased pressure. Do not exceed 17 lbs as you will most likely blow out a fork seal!! Once again it is all up to your personal riding style and preferences.

 

Most important, as already pointed out, used only a hand pump for adjusting your pressures, it is all about the volume, not the pressure when pumping them up.You want to use a small hand pump so you do not deliver a huge volume of air at once into the relatively small area that actually gets air...