[bergs]

Disclaimer - First off, before you go on reading the bible I'm about to type, let it be known that, unless I do it myself, I will question it. It's how my personality is wired....I cannot change that, nor do I want to. Please accept that as you read this post.



I keep hearing about the supreme awesomeness that is GMD. I'm aware of the chassis equipment for checking a given bike's straightness. I'm also aware of the "Sweet numbers" that GMD has archived (and continues to do archive) over many years of development through hardware and software...and that's all good and dandy but one question I have that has never been answered is "What about rider preferences?"

I'm not saying the good folks at GMD are anything less than amazing from everything I've been reading, be it testimonies, the equipment or even the company's history.

But, even after reading all this information I have always wondered how much of said "Sweet numbers" really makes that much of a difference.

My history has always been to set my motorcycle up with the way I like it to feel. Admittedly, even after all the books I've read (and am currently reading), I've never done the static sag measurements, I've never done the zip-ties on the forks and yet, with minor tweaks here and there, I manage to acheive what I percieve to be excellent suspension performance throughout many surface conditions.

Is this possible? Can a given rider prefer a certain type of ride feel over what a computer recommends?

Furthermore, does a given rider have the ability to diagnose the chassis' reactions on the fly and know enough to make the applicable adjustments to correct that?

It has been my experience that the adjustments I make to the motorcycle I'm riding are done through what I can feel in the chassis' reactions and feedback and the type of ride I'm looking for (aka "preference").

I've done a good bit of reading, tried many different suspension settings of all kinds and yet I still have the burning question of "rider preference vs computer preference".

Please don't come back with "well, if you spent the money you wouldn't have wasted all that time." That is exactly what I'm NOT after for answers. To me, I learned a hell of alot by "wasting" all that time. The only thing left is the question of possibility...