The ES 500 is a tall bike. Stock, I was tiptoeing at every stop, which is not where you want to be on a loose desert trail. My buddy Arthur came over and we backed off the preload on the rear shock to bring the seat down. No new parts, about 15 minutes, and now I can plant a foot.
Preload vs sag, real quick
If you’re racing single track or riding a moto track, the right way to set up the rear shock is to set your sag: get your weight on the bike and measure from the fender down to the center of the axle, then adjust preload until you hit the number. That’s not what we were doing here. The goal was simple: lower the seat so I can get my feet on the ground. Backing off preload lets the bike sit lower in its travel, which drops the seat height.
What you need
- A ball-end Allen key. The pinch bolt on the collar is tucked conveniently behind the exhaust, so a straight key won’t reach.
- A long flathead screwdriver and a hammer to tap the collar around
- A friend to hold the bike and tell you when you’re being too aggressive
Step 1: Loosen the pinch bolt
Reach in behind the exhaust with the ball-end Allen and loosen the pinch bolt on the preload collar. Just enough so the collar can turn.
Step 2: Back the collar off
Put the screwdriver against the collar and tap it around with the hammer to unthread it. Don’t go crazy here, the collars are plastic. If you can get enough leverage you can just thread it down by hand. A longer screwdriver helped us a lot.
Keep going until the spring almost has free play, then stop and sit on the bike to check. One thing that tripped us up: the collar rotated into a spot where it jammed against the shock reservoir. If yours binds up, spin it back around so it clears.
Step 3: Check the height and lock it down
Sit on it in your boots. Once you’re happy with how your feet land, retighten the pinch bolt so the collar can’t walk.
The result
Took it straight out to the desert. I can now plant one foot down instead of tiptoeing, which makes slow, technical stuff and stopping on off-camber dirt way less sketchy.
What I’d keep in mind
- Less preload means the bike sits deeper in its travel. Great for seat height, but if you start riding harder you’ll want to set sag properly for your weight.
- Make small changes and test. Going all the way to a loose spring isn’t the move.
- If you need to go lower than preload allows, a lowering link or a cut-down seat are the next steps.
New to the bike? Here’s my 2024 GasGas ES 500 first impressions, pros, cons and the mods list.
