JMEMGC
Well-Known Member
I know this has been covered here and on the other forum but I just wanted to add my 2 cents as I am late to an FZ1N
A few months ago I had the opportunity to pick up a used R1 Rear and Satan adaptor off a member who had upgraded to Penske. 2Stang was happy to ship to me here in Australia and had previously had the shock setup for roughly my weight. So the shock arrived and being lazy/busy it just sat on the shelf in my workshop for months. Weekend before last I had the motivation to fit my recently purchased Rizoma rearsets and while I had the tools out I figured I may as well install the shock. The install was easy once I actually read the instructions (shock didn't come with any but luckily Satan had sent me a .pdf) Once I knew the right way and had the bike strung up the install took all of 20 mins. And yes it does kick the back end up a long way. If you have short legs you might have trouble but for most I think that is a small price to pay. I ride a N so I didn't have to worry about a centre stand.
Fast forward to today and I got the chance to ride my baby. All I can say is someone replaced my bike with a new one lol. For the first 30 minutes I felt like I waz riding someone else's bike. In a straight line the bike feels so much smoother. It transitions from side to side so much more easily, not darty or unstable just flows better. I went on one of our regular routes and I just can not tell you how much better the bike was. Once I started getting a feel again for the bike I decided to aim for some of the average sections that I normally avoid and the shock just glided over them. Bumps that I know will cause me to buck and loose my line are now simply a slightly annoying bang and small jar from the suspension. I ride with a friend who has an R1 and a HP4 so he tends to set the pace. We ride well together but I can tell you today our pace was UP lol Sections where in the past he would always run on me, today I was on his back wheel. Switch backs where Ben could always flow thru better than me I was hanging with him today. All I can say is WOW. Every single person that talks about suspension being the best mod - well they are 100% right. From now on the suspension is where I will start spending any money on a new bike
I will say that I have done a few mod's recently that together might be making this huge difference but today is the first day I could really test them all together. I have the Rizoma rearsets which definetly flt me to my bike better, I can't recommend a set of rearsets highly enough and the Rizoma one's are of course some of the best for our bikes. I am running new rubber, Diablo Rosso 2's which compared to the stockies - well their is no comparision to how much better they are and today I started trusting them a lot more as they are scrubbed in well now. Finally the rear shock. All together it is just incredible how much more secure and planted the bike is while also being more flickable.
We were running a section of road called Burringbah range which must have been designed by an engineer that rides bikes because it is one of those dream stretches of road that feel like a perfect race track. Surface is smooth, Camber of the corners is perfect and highly visible, Traffic is light as a major freeway bypassed this section so not many people use the road anymore. We ran it with a guy on an MT09 and his friend on a GSXR750 and lost them by bend 3. Hauled past a group of riders and then found a guy on a Ducati 1098 who ran with us a little way then dropped off and wouldn't play anymore
All I can say is if the front end swap to R1 that I am about to do is even half as good an improvement then I will be a very very happy camper. If you have the opportunity to do suspension upgrade then I would recommend DO IT don't hesitate. I only wish I had done it sooner lol. I can not wait to get my girl back to a track day and really see how she handles. Oh and the mod even improves the bike when on the back wheel :innocent:
Jme
A few months ago I had the opportunity to pick up a used R1 Rear and Satan adaptor off a member who had upgraded to Penske. 2Stang was happy to ship to me here in Australia and had previously had the shock setup for roughly my weight. So the shock arrived and being lazy/busy it just sat on the shelf in my workshop for months. Weekend before last I had the motivation to fit my recently purchased Rizoma rearsets and while I had the tools out I figured I may as well install the shock. The install was easy once I actually read the instructions (shock didn't come with any but luckily Satan had sent me a .pdf) Once I knew the right way and had the bike strung up the install took all of 20 mins. And yes it does kick the back end up a long way. If you have short legs you might have trouble but for most I think that is a small price to pay. I ride a N so I didn't have to worry about a centre stand.
Fast forward to today and I got the chance to ride my baby. All I can say is someone replaced my bike with a new one lol. For the first 30 minutes I felt like I waz riding someone else's bike. In a straight line the bike feels so much smoother. It transitions from side to side so much more easily, not darty or unstable just flows better. I went on one of our regular routes and I just can not tell you how much better the bike was. Once I started getting a feel again for the bike I decided to aim for some of the average sections that I normally avoid and the shock just glided over them. Bumps that I know will cause me to buck and loose my line are now simply a slightly annoying bang and small jar from the suspension. I ride with a friend who has an R1 and a HP4 so he tends to set the pace. We ride well together but I can tell you today our pace was UP lol Sections where in the past he would always run on me, today I was on his back wheel. Switch backs where Ben could always flow thru better than me I was hanging with him today. All I can say is WOW. Every single person that talks about suspension being the best mod - well they are 100% right. From now on the suspension is where I will start spending any money on a new bike
I will say that I have done a few mod's recently that together might be making this huge difference but today is the first day I could really test them all together. I have the Rizoma rearsets which definetly flt me to my bike better, I can't recommend a set of rearsets highly enough and the Rizoma one's are of course some of the best for our bikes. I am running new rubber, Diablo Rosso 2's which compared to the stockies - well their is no comparision to how much better they are and today I started trusting them a lot more as they are scrubbed in well now. Finally the rear shock. All together it is just incredible how much more secure and planted the bike is while also being more flickable.
We were running a section of road called Burringbah range which must have been designed by an engineer that rides bikes because it is one of those dream stretches of road that feel like a perfect race track. Surface is smooth, Camber of the corners is perfect and highly visible, Traffic is light as a major freeway bypassed this section so not many people use the road anymore. We ran it with a guy on an MT09 and his friend on a GSXR750 and lost them by bend 3. Hauled past a group of riders and then found a guy on a Ducati 1098 who ran with us a little way then dropped off and wouldn't play anymore
All I can say is if the front end swap to R1 that I am about to do is even half as good an improvement then I will be a very very happy camper. If you have the opportunity to do suspension upgrade then I would recommend DO IT don't hesitate. I only wish I had done it sooner lol. I can not wait to get my girl back to a track day and really see how she handles. Oh and the mod even improves the bike when on the back wheel :innocent:
Jme