FZ1 Suspension

Hi,
I have a 2009 FZ1 and the passenger and cargo limit for a California bike (the state I live in) is 417 lbs. So you have no worries unless you load the bike with more than that. The suspension preloads on the rear shock are set mid range when you get the bike. You go could sit on the bike have someone measure sag and if you need to reduce that sag then dial up the preload on the spring in the rear. I have had bikes in the past that as soon as I have bought them I wanted to modify them in some way. Now I just ride the bike for awhile and see if the mod was really even necessary. Then you really get a prospective of how the bike rode stock and was it better with your modification of it. Hope this helps!
 
Dado1953 said:
I'm considering buying A new 09 fz1. I weight 250# and wonder if I'll need to modify the stock suspension to accommadate my weight.
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That depends on what sort of riding you are going to be doing?. At 250lb your at the heavy end of the scale for the stock suspension, the front springs will be ok for your weight but the problem is the rebound, it is inadequite for this bike so new valving is required if you want to use the bike for anything nore than a sports-tourer. Alot of guys retro-fit R1 froks as they are a clean swap and you end up with comp & rebound in both forks. The rear shock is as budget an pre-historic as they come, for your weight the 700 spring will be pushing it. The 06 model came with a 600 spring which would be better suited for your weight, to be honest unless your happy cruising on the freeway most of us bin the rear shock and upgrade.
 
I am about at 250# and I just purchased a 2008 FZ1. I rode it only twice so far because I am located up north and the temperature is getting cold.

After my first ride I decided to adjust the suspension. The rear suspension is 1 notch from the max preload. The front fork are ok.

My guess is that using an heavier fork oil could solve the damping problem but I need to ride the bike harder and in warmer temperature to really check the damping. Right now my damping is ok but the oil is probably thicker because of the cold

Actually I am looking for a 2006 rear spring for my bike or maybe another stiff spring from another bike
 
I'm also 250lbs and just purchased an '03 FZ1 last Sunday. Really a great bike, but the suspension needs serious attention.

The static sag is horrible, between 30-40mm. The freeways around where I live are marked at 70mph, but everyone does 80-90mph. I was constantly pounded by the soft springs and weak rebound/compression on the front and rear.

I changed the front and rear to max preload, but that only further indicated the weak spring and need to over compensate with excessive damping.

Today I went to max rebound in the rear to attempt to mirror the rebound rate of the front. Then I moved the compression damping up near max in order to keep the bike from being a pogo stick.

I'll try it out this week, but I know it is only a short period of time before I take it to a suspension shop and replace all the springs and valving.

Now it is just a matter of either modifying the stock shock or going custom. Sigh...

At least this bike has a comfy seat to help me ignore the suspension.
 
I am 250lbs with all my gear on and for the type of riding I do the stock suspension was no good. The best money I ever spent on this bike was a new rear shock and I had the forks revalved. If you DO NOT ride fast ( knee down in corners ) you may not need to spend any money on suspension.
 
Krispy1 said:
If you DO NOT ride fast ( knee down in corners ) you may not need to spend any money on suspension.
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Umm..... more precisely your advice is a bit arbitrary, since it does not provide detail that relates to how the suspension functions, or attributes which would benefit from properly adjusted suspension, such as
--uneven road surfaces,
--changing road quality/type (corrugated concrete, asphalt of varying states of decay),
--changes in rate of speed (hard starts and stops in freeway traffic or stoplight-to-stoplight)
--quality road feedback

Then you might conclude with, "riding at the limit of traction (knee down in corners) on any road/track without properly adjusted suspension is dangerous and potentially deadly."
 
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Jeffibus said:
Umm..... more precisely your advice is a bit arbitrary, since it does not provide detail that relates to how the suspension functions, or attributes which would benefit from properly adjusted suspension, such as
--uneven road surfaces,
--changing road quality/type (corrugated concrete, asphalt of varying states of decay),
--changes in rate of speed (hard starts and stops in freeway traffic or stoplight-to-stoplight)
--quality road feedback

Then you might conclude with, "riding at the limit of traction (knee down in corners) on any road/track without properly adjusted suspension is dangerous and potentially deadly."
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No but it can scare the sh!t out of you. Do what you want!
 
Jeffibus said:
Umm..... more precisely your advice is a bit arbitrary, since it does not provide detail that relates to how the suspension functions, or attributes which would benefit from properly adjusted suspension, such as
--uneven road surfaces,
--changing road quality/type (corrugated concrete, asphalt of varying states of decay),
--changes in rate of speed (hard starts and stops in freeway traffic or stoplight-to-stoplight)
--quality road feedback

Then you might conclude with, "riding at the limit of traction (knee down in corners) on any road/track without properly adjusted suspension is dangerous and potentially deadly."
Click to expand...

Uh, so...your constructive advice for this rider?
All I can add is that the one weak point after all my riding and research about this bike, is that the suspension is it's one weakness. It would seem that because I am
Nowhere near 250 pounds, and I do only occasional knee dragging track days, I do not experience any issues with suspension. So it's on my list, but not in the very top for priority. I say the best method is to ride it. See how it feels to you. My guess is that the suspension may be one of the first things you may personally want to do because of your personal stats and riding style.
 
I'm not even close to 250 but I had GP Suspension revalve and spring my front and rear suspension for my Gen 1 and I love what they did for it.
 
Buildercher said:
That depends on what sort of riding you are going to be doing?. At 250lb your at the heavy end of the scale for the stock suspension, the front springs will be ok for your weight but the problem is the rebound, it is inadequite for this bike so new valving is required if you want to use the bike for anything nore than a sports-tourer. Alot of guys retro-fit R1 froks as they are a clean swap and you end up with comp & rebound in both forks. The rear shock is as budget an pre-historic as they come, for your weight the 700 spring will be pushing it. The 06 model came with a 600 spring which would be better suited for your weight, to be honest unless your happy cruising on the freeway most of us bin the rear shock and upgrade.
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Quick question ... am I reading this right that a lighter spring would be too heavy for someone in the 250lb range?

I'm in the 200lb range with gear on and considering the Penske shock after reading all the good press on it ... but not sure what spring weight I should get. In another post I believe I read the Penske 8900E came with a 600 lb shock...
 
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Interesting reading. I am 250 lbs and maybe a little more and short at 5' 7". I got a new 2010 FZ1 and ridden 30 miles only. I find it is too high for me. Any suggestions on lowering the bike and what this may do to the ride etc. I have no intentions of going near a track. At 63 yrs old that would be crazy and this is my first bike so know nothing.

Thanks
 
remember if your setting the suspension up have your kit on to or is that 250 pound with kit on to ? after all kit can put on a few pounds .I like my suspension not bouncy but just a bit softer than standard,to soak up the bumps rather than like a rummble strip effect and bounce out of the seat..
 
lee36 said:
Quick question ... am I reading this right that a lighter spring would be too heavy for someone in the 250lb range?

I'm in the 200lb range with gear on and considering the Penske shock after reading all the good press on it ... but not sure what spring weight I should get. In another post I believe I read the Penske 8900E came with a 600 lb shock...
Click to expand...

Sorry, i may have got things around the wrong way regarding the spring rate. Your best bet is to contact your local Ohlins or Penske service & sales. Alternatively, have a look on the Race tech website for spring calculators and the rite spring rates to suit you and you riding style. I binned the stock shock weeks after owning the FZ1 for an Ohlins. The Ohlins i got off Hardracing.com, they were the cheapest for Ohlins & have great back-up support. When doing the front i weighed up the options of a full cartridge = Traxxion AK-20 or K-Tech 25mm cartridge, unfortunately in hindsight this would have been the best option as the cartridge can be retro-fitted into other bikes forks. I went down the revalving road with new heavier springs = false economy. The difference was night & day but still lacked. I have since upgraded to 04-06 R1 forks with radial brakes, the difference is again night & day. The front is planted, smooth and overall feels 100% better, forks are completely standard & radial brakes are awesome. At the moment i will just install heaiver springs and new oil as the forks feel great without revalving. If i go to the next step it will be a full cartridge kit.:tup:
 
Buildercher said:
Sorry, i may have got things around the wrong way regarding the spring rate. Your best bet is to contact your local Ohlins or Penske service & sales. Alternatively, have a look on the Race tech website for spring calculators and the rite spring rates to suit you and you riding style. I binned the stock shock weeks after owning the FZ1 for an Ohlins. The Ohlins i got off Hardracing.com, they were the cheapest for Ohlins & have great back-up support. When doing the front i weighed up the options of a full cartridge = Traxxion AK-20 or K-Tech 25mm cartridge, unfortunately in hindsight this would have been the best option as the cartridge can be retro-fitted into other bikes forks. I went down the revalving road with new heavier springs = false economy. The difference was night & day but still lacked. I have since upgraded to 04-06 R1 forks with radial brakes, the difference is again night & day. The front is planted, smooth and overall feels 100% better, forks are completely standard & radial brakes are awesome. At the moment i will just install heaiver springs and new oil as the forks feel great without revalving. If i go to the next step it will be a full cartridge kit.:tup:
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I'm real close to doing the R1 mod. I have the Penske in the back and I dialed in a little extra ride height do you think the front would be too twitchy with the shorter R1 fork? Is there a big improvement with the brakes. I have my eye on a complete front end and may do it. Thanks for your input.
 
I do not see how the R1 brakes would be much better, if at all unless its 09+.

Also, lifted rear and a dropped front is altering it quite a bit. Most stick with one or the other, but you wont know until you try. Hell, it could be fine or you may just want to put the rear at stock height after the swap.
 
I do have the steering damper on it. No one has ever really said how much quicker or twitchy the swap makes it. I would like to send them to traction for a proper set up eventualy
 
johnnyontherocks said:
I do have the steering damper on it. No one has ever really said how much quicker or twitchy the swap makes it. I would like to send them to traction for a proper set up eventualy
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With the standard FZ1 forks i had them 7mm through the top yoke. With the Ohlins i doesn't have height adjustment like the penske. As for the R1 forks, they work out to be 12mm shorter. I have them mounted 2.5mm beneath the top yoke, the bike steers the way i like it and it feels good to me. Most guys raise the rear or lower the front to make the bike steer faster. I liken the FZ1 to the R1 as it likes to run wide and is a "lazy turner". Also, i have a steering dampner. The difference is this, in stock trim you wrestle (ott counter-steering) in the twisties and do you notice how you chew through your front tyre?. With the lower front you still counter-steer but you hold your line better and the bike comes back quicker giving you more time to set-up for the next corner. Obviously there are a few other factors like speed, braking etc.... As for the radial brakes, my mate has the 08 R1 with the 6-pot calipers and i cannot tell any difference with them and the 4-pot. All i can say is the radial brakes have tones more feel and control than the stockers. If your on a limited budget i would do the R1 fork conversion, they are better in stock form than the FZ1 revalved, Lee from Traxxions has also mentioned this a number of times, also the radial brakes are an awesome up-grade. For the $ of revalving the stockers you can have R1 forks & calipers, it really is a no brainer and thats why alot of FZ1 owners have gone down this road.
 
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