The Montesa '98 315R Manual doesn't appear to publish the 'standard position' or 'factory' settings for the Paioli front fork.   Does anyone have a recommendation for a good place to start for (1) Left fork tube Preload setting and the (2) Right fork tube Rebound Damping setting.   Currently using the recommended 5W Fork Oil.  The rear shock is published at 6 turns out from full hard down.   Thanks in advance for your help.   Always appreciated

Spring pre-load depends on your rider weight and shock absorption settings are dependent on how lively you want your suspension to react.  User adjustable factory settings are normally set to the mid point of the overall operating range so the owner can adjust in either direction to suit the individuals needs.  We could probably tell more by watching you ride if your suspension is close, otherwise at this point we don't know how much you weigh, we don't know if the spring rates are stock original, or if your 26 year old fork spring is bagged out.  The manual will tell you the minimum service length of the front fork spring to determine when it needs replacement (chapter 2 page 3) , that's where I would start.  As a lightweight rider I would normally need to lower the rear spring pre-load and keep shock dampening settings on the low side so that my suspension is more lively, springy, bouncy etc.  First question would be are you a light-weight, mid-weight or ample-weight rider.  Then I would watch you ride over a log or concrete block a few dozen times to experiment with altered adjustments.  Hope that helps some 👍

Thanks very much for the response.   I'm in at 75kg / 165 lbs and both front and rear suspension have been overhauled in the past 50 hours.  Just changed fluids in the front forks and am using a quality 5W dedicated fork oil.   I will take your advice and start off about mid-point and adjust from there.   So I take it that springy/lively is what we're looking for...will do.   Thanks again

Update:  Took Lemur's suggestion and started at mid point setting for both left and right fork.   On my 98 315 it was 5 full turns out from full hard down on the left and 4 full turns out from full hard down on the right.   Great suggestion..... I was within a click or two for a 75 kg/165 lb rider.  Nice springy suspension.   Thanks Lemur !   The rear shock adjustment is published in the manual.

Edited May 22, 20242 yr by tjcarr
Update