Monster 1100 (Showa) suspension settings

Found my new (2009) Monster 1100 (not S so Showa suspension) to be quite harsh on even normally bumpy roads and over man hole covers and the usual lumps and bumps. I decided to take a look at the suspension and tyre settings and check the recommended and current settings before softening things off a bit. I have put together a spreadsheet and would be happy to post it and compare settings with other Monster 1100 users. I am 12 stone and usually riding on my own without much luggage (a back pack perhaps).

The manual is quite helpful in saying what the settings should be and showing how to measure/read them, apart from the rear shocks preload, where it just says the recommended setting is 18mm but doesn't say where to mesure it from. Does anyone know where this 18mm should be measured from?

The obvious measurement is from the start of the thread to the top of the last adjuster, where the spring sits against it, which on my 1100 is 23mm. Does this sound right? I have softened all the rebound and compression and let a bit of air out of the rear tyre (which seemed high at 40 psi) but it still seems very hard.

My brother, who used to have a S4R, had a long ride on it after I had softened it a bit and although he is 2.5 stone more than me he described it as definitely as hard as he would want it. I think I have plenty more room to soften it up without spoiling the handling.

Once I know how to measure the rear preload I'll post all my settings.

Thanks,

Geoff