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Adjusting Koni Shocks

Yahoo Message Number: 20860
Greetings fellow bus drivers,

At the Ft. Myers rally I learned that the front Koni shocks are set to "medium" (or whatever adjective describes 50%) and that the ride is better with "firm" (100%?).

Has anyone adjusted their shocks and does it make a difference?

How did you do it? Is it a DIY operation or take it to the shop?

I hope this finds all of you well.

Jay in St Augustine

05 Inspire daVinci 51457

Re: Adjusting Koni Shocks

Reply #1
Yahoo Message Number: 20863
Jay, last year I posted the 2 page adjusting instructions for the Koni Shocks in the File area. Good Luck. John 2002 Allure
#30702

Re: Adjusting Koni Shocks

Reply #2
Yahoo Message Number: 20866
Jay,

I am interested in knowing why your interest in in the need to adjust the shocks on your coach. I have a 2005 Da Vinci I just purchased and I have had it back to the CC shop in Gilroy, CA for the second time with the front end which seems to bottom out when I encounter some rough payment.
Guaranty has adjusted the ride height for the second time and has verified the air pressure in the airbags. The coach would bottom even when at very low speeds run over a pot hole or a man hole cover on the street.
I will be meeting with them and driving the coach with one of their service techs to verify the problem has been resolved.
Before I had them work on the suspension, the front end would bottom out so hard, and the coach would wallow front to back you would have to apply the brakes and slow down to stop the bouncing.
I have driven several 2006's when looking to purchase and the 2005 seems to have the same suspension.
I 'm interested in knowing if you are having a simular problem as my 2005 Inspire DaVinci is 51428 only several number away from yours.

Re: Adjusting Koni Shocks

Reply #3
Yahoo Message Number: 20867
Made all the diffence on my 36' 98 Allure and 42' 2004 Intrigue. Did the rears on the 98 also. TWI 11731

Re: Adjusting Koni Shocks

Reply #4
Yahoo Message Number: 20873
My '05 Inspire did the same thing - bottom out very easily. The Konis are adjustable so I pulled them and found the factory had left/adjusted them to the least resistance.
They are now set about mid-way but it will still bottom out once in a while. I plan to stiffen them up a bit more; just haven't gotten around to it.
Fix it soon, because after bottoming out once too often the bushing retaining bracket on the chassis mounted antisway bar broke and took out the ride height control valve. The front end air bags dumped and resulting bumpy ride was not fun.

Bob Handren

'05 Inspire 51178
'00 JJC Limited towed

jockvargo@... wrote:

Re: Adjusting Koni Shocks

Reply #5
Yahoo Message Number: 20874
After taking delivery of my coach in JC (I actually bought it from Guaranty Gilroy) and while enroute back to Florida, I noticed a slight to moderate tendency to porpoise on the interstate at 60 mph. It wasn't anything like jockvargo's bottoming out, but it was just obnoxious. My Toyos are 110# all around.

I think it was during the tire seminar at the East Coast Rally that one of the CC factory reps said that the default position for the Konis was medium, and claimed that firm would give a better ride.
(If anyone else attended the same presentation and heard something different, please jump into this discussion!!)

If the operation is easy, I thought I'd just monkey around with the settings to see if it made any difference on my coach. John's posting last year with the diagrams will be helpful. But I received an offline reply from Jim Green saying that he had removed (!) his Konis last year only to find that they were already set to firm. He drives Intrigue 11021.

If I have to remove the suckers to find out the setting, I may pass.

I was hoping someone would tell me it is just a twist of a knob and it will give me a magic carpet ride.

Sigh.
Jay

05 Inspire daVinci 51457

Quote from: Robert Handren\[br\
] >

My '05 Inspire did the same thing - bottom out very easily.
Quote
>

Bob Handren

'05 Inspire 51178
 '00 JJC Limited towed

jockvargo@... wrote:
 Jay,

I am interested in knowing why your interest in in the need to
adjust the shocks on your coach.

Quote
>

Before I had them work on the suspension, the front end would
bottom out so hard, and the coach would wallow front to back you would have to apply the brakes and slow down to stop the bouncing.

Quote
>

I have driven several 2006's when looking to purchase and the
2005 seems to have the same suspension.

Quote
>

I 'm interested in knowing if you are having a simular problem
as my 2005 Inspire DaVinci is 51428 only several number away from yours.

Quote
>

---------

Re: Adjusting Koni Shocks

Reply #6
Yahoo Message Number: 20875
Quote from: pelicanreef120"
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Koni owners,

Yep, my 04 Intrigue bottomed out and porpoised after hitting a bump in the road and such. Had them reset to firm and found the ride much improved. I still have a very occasional bottom out on a bad bump but very little bouncing down the road.

Lyle Wetherholt
04 Intrigue 11740

Re: Adjusting Koni Shocks

Reply #7
Yahoo Message Number: 20877
Jay:

The Alaska trip persuaded me to "stiffen up" the Koni's. I had it done at the last rally in Eugene by CC.
With the air suspension/leveling system bottomed out, they crawled underneath, removed the bottom bolt on the shocks and twisted them (I believe a couple of turns) to the firm position. I didn't do it myself, I was the supervisor.
I think your procedure for the Inspire would be similar in that you would probably have to retract your jacks so the coach is resting on the frame.
If you go to the Koni website it describes the adjusting. You can also call CC, they have always found them willing to help.

Chuck

03 Intrigue 11673

Re: Adjusting Koni Shocks

Reply #8
Yahoo Message Number: 20888
I retrofitted my '98 Allure shortly after buying it in 2003, with Konis. At that time the factory told me to set them to FIRM, the stiffest setting. Has worked very well.

Dan & Ann
Allure #30180