i was putting air in my tires today (42 PSI in the front, HOLEY JEBUS ) and i noticed there are adjustments on my suspention parts.
harder, softer, and they all pretty much seem to be sitting in the middle somewhere.
i get a feeling these were the stock settings. what do they do? i am fairly new in the bike world, i know in cars a stiffer ride is better for handling but sucks for comfort. is it safe to assume bikes are the same way?

or am i better off changing it based on my driving, city, highway, long distance, ext...

 

I would strongly suggest learning as much as possible about your bike and its suspension before adjusting anything. Even minor adjustments can make big differences. I reference sportrider.com quite often and they have quite the extensive online data base for a lot of models. They also have tech setup advice as well.

As far as harder being better, its not always the case. It all depends on your riding style and what the roads are like where your riding. Keep in mind, if the suspension is too stiff, it could cause your tires to loose contact with the road. thats not a huge deal in a car where you have 4 wheels to rely on. When you only have two, its a big deal. Allowing the bikes suspension to work and keep the tires in full contact is the ideal set up.

A hard suspension makes sense with a car where your trying to get it corner as flat as possible. On a bike, your weight is already leaning into the corner, so having your suspension too stiff will only make it harder for the tires to keep contact over bumpy roads.

You should be able to get one set up that does everything well for your weight. Once its set, you should be good. Unless your track riding, then its a whole different ball game.

 

thanks
i found this
and it seems to explain a lot, its a good read. i have to check a few things before i can start playing with numbers but its def a good start.