Spring Pre-Load - What a Difference

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Changing the preload, (a very misleading word), doesn't make the suspension either harder or softer, it only changes where you are in the suspension's available travel.

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

‘One thing to remember peeps, increasing the preload doesn’t make the suspension stiffer per-say, all it does is increase the force needed to start moving the spring and consequently the front wheel.

Whilst true in a technical sense, this may be a slightly confusing statement. Your suspension is a dynamic system, thus there will not be any extra weight needed to get the suspension moving as it's already in it's moving range, the preload, as above, decides the position in that range under any given load, ie bumps, the pies you ate etc etc.