Rear shock setting

Franko

Franko

Member
Visit site
I've been riding this bike for a couple of months. Tonight I decided to try a different setting on the rear suspension. It was set at the stock #3 click. I advanced it to the 5th click.

I'm probably a little heavier than the average FZ1 rider coming in at about 212 pounds currently. I figure I'm about 30-40 pounds heavier than an "average" rider anticipated by Mamma Yamma.

In my ride this afternoon, with the changed setting, I couldn't tell much difference in the ride. It didn't seem too hard, but I didn't stretch it out in any turns and corners.

My understanding is that the higher the notch it is set on, the better the handling, and the lower the notch the softer the ride, but that may be overly simplistic. Also notch settings are adjusted according to the load the bike is carrying, like luggage or a pillion rider.

I have a pretty good set of instructions from one of my books on how to set up the suspension and I have a friend who understands the process and has some experience who has volunteered to help me set mine up, maybe later this week.

Have I done something foolish by increasing the spring tension on my rear? I'd love to hear some comments from those of you who are familiar with the whys and wheres of setting up a suspension. My friend suggested that I may need to re-spring my bike to get it set up right, for my weight.

My weight is going down slowly due to a program of exercise and diet in an attempt to mediate the effects of diabetes. I'm hoping to stick somewhere are 190, but that could take another year.

Any comments, help or suggestions would be appreciated.
 
"Mamma Yamma" uses 150 for their average rider. I'm tipping @ close to 220 on a Gen I. From my limited exposure to the Gen II suspension, the rear shock is, sadly, not worth much. You can't service it to revalve for your correct weight. So if it doesn't work for you, the only option left is to go to aftermarket.

I've read that others have fit an R1 shock, that is rebuildable, in its place and can be picked up for a decent price. But there is not much room for clearance.....lucky for an 1/8" total. There also had to be some fabrication work to rebuild the triangle to get everything to match up with the different geometry of the R1 shock.

However, being that you have done some fabrication work already, you might be sitting in a better position to make it happen easier than most.

BroHay
 
I went the other way. I turned left and went to the softest setting. Then I turned the rebound dampning several notches as well to soften things up. Worked. noticeable difference.
 
Believe it or not, I actually set up my suspension as per Pat's Page. Oh my God what a difference. It was so off it's not even funny. I am almost Wayne Rainey now. Well maybe not Wayne, but the difference is like day and night. The page gave a setup according to different weight ranges.
 
FZ1riderNY said:
Believe it or not, I actually set up my suspension as per Pat's Page. Oh my God what a difference. It was so off it's not even funny. I am almost Wayne Rainey now. Well maybe not Wayne, but the difference is like day and night. The page gave a setup according to different weight ranges.
Click to expand...

Where is Pat's page located?

Fred
 
Shocks and Awe

BroHay said:
"Mamma Yamma" uses 150 for their average rider. I'm tipping @ close to 220 on a Gen I. From my limited exposure to the Gen II suspension, the rear shock is, sadly, not worth much. You can't service it to revalve for your correct weight. So if it doesn't work for you, the only option left is to go to aftermarket.

I've read that others have fit an R1 shock, that is rebuildable, in its place and can be picked up for a decent price. But there is not much room for clearance.....lucky for an 1/8" total. There also had to be some fabrication work to rebuild the triangle to get everything to match up with the different geometry of the R1 shock.

However, being that you have done some fabrication work already, you might be sitting in a better position to make it happen easier than most.

BroHay
Click to expand...

Ah some day....some day. :drools:
 
Franko,

I am not a suspension expert, but from what I have read (and tried): Get a spring based on your weight, use the preload to fine tune the sag (bike & rider), and use the clickers to control the action to get the feel you want. You can play with preload and clickers all day (like I did on my dirt bike) and you may get a better ride, but the right spring will do wonders.

Cheers,

MrHix
 
I weigh about 175 or so (probably close to 190 with winter riding gear) and I had to go to preload setting 7 out of 9 to get the sag right.
 
I'm about 230 pounds with gear on and I've got the spring preload maxxed out on my GenII and am still, only just at the bottom limit for the static sag/ride height settings. Definitely needs a stiffer spring to get the ride height right.

As far as performance goes, it only has rebound dampening and no compression dampening so it's pretty easy to set up really. A dufus like me can nail it on the second go:tup:.

I used the Ohlins set up page for ride height/static sag set up.

Set up your R&T bike - Öhlins

I left the forks at my first guess settings for ages, and the Comp/Rebound was pretty well spot on but the ride height was out by a line. It certainly makes a difference.

Cheers
Mike
 
ozzieboy said:
I'm about 230 pounds with gear on and I've got the spring preload maxxed out on my GenII and am still, only just at the bottom limit for the static sag/ride height settings. Definitely needs a stiffer spring to get the ride height right.
Click to expand...

Mike, given your settings and the fact that we are both very close in weight, I wanted t pose another question for you. Of course, I can get a new spring and set up for my weight, but my goal is to drop the weight and forgo getting a spring. Doc visit yesterday was an eye opener so I've got to make some life changes. :eek: Thus, my question is, if I drop 30 lbs and get to 200 with the gear, is the stock spring able to carry my load without replacement?

(Bonus as this 30 lb reduction "mod" is also a big boost in HP!) :yes:
 
FZ1inNH said:
Mike, given your settings and the fact that we are both very close in weight, I wanted t pose another question for you. Of course, I can get a new spring and set up for my weight, but my goal is to drop the weight and forgo getting a spring. Doc visit yesterday was an eye opener so I've got to make some life changes. :eek: Thus, my question is, if I drop 30 lbs and get to 200 with the gear, is the stock spring able to carry my load without replacement?

(Bonus as this 30 lb reduction "mod" is also a big boost in HP!) :yes:
Click to expand...

Hey Eric, I had a revelation just this morning as well. I started my stringent program of dieting with a little exercise thrown in for good measure. I need to lose 40 to 50 pounds of dead weight, hopefully by the start of summer. I'm cutting out all bread except for my morning whole wheat toast with jelly, hot oatmeal instead of a hard boiled egg, and a salad for lunch instead of pizza and whatever other junk I've been eating.

Aside from all that, I just got in touch today with Lee from Traxion and he gave me a workup of what my rear shock will need in relation to my weight and riding style. Everything revalved and resprung with a 650lb. spring for under 300 bucks plus shipping. Not bad at all. My shock has 22,000 miles on it and is in need of overhaul. I'm going to send it out as soon as my tax check arrives. This way I'll be ready to ride the "dragon" come September!
 
Good stuff to know Billy! I hope to be at that 200 lb (with gear) mark by the time we hit the Dragon. I'm hoping to avoid upgrading the suspension to fit me and trying to reduce me to fit the bike. She's only got 7k on her in the first season of riding.

The other motivation for me is plain health. Family history on both sides dictates that I need to live healthier. I like what you've stated for diet changes. Way to GO!! I hope you're VERY successful with this too. Perhaps you may want to wait on the suspension to see if this diet and exercise gains momentum? Then, you might be still overhauling it but with a totally different setup! :D
 
FZ1inNH said:
Mike, given your settings and the fact that we are both very close in weight, I wanted t pose another question for you. Of course, I can get a new spring and set up for my weight, but my goal is to drop the weight and forgo getting a spring. Doc visit yesterday was an eye opener so I've got to make some life changes. :eek: Thus, my question is, if I drop 30 lbs and get to 200 with the gear, is the stock spring able to carry my load without replacement?

(Bonus as this 30 lb reduction "mod" is also a big boost in HP!) :yes:
Click to expand...

At 200lbs the bike would sit a lot higher ride height wise, and even now, mine is just at the lower end of the range. You'd probably be sitting from the middle up towards the top of the range which to my mind is about perfect, and static sag isn't really gonna be an issue unless the spring is shagged.

So at this point it becomes a matter of valving only, and I thinik this is what lets the shock down. As you said you can always get another spring, but I suspect the valving isn't really up to it. I think it compresses too easily and "squats" as you gas it through a turn and caves in when you hit a bump. With less weight on it though.....????
I couldn't say of my own knowledge, but I'm of the opinion that it would perform adequately for nearly any road riding situations. For track riding, you'd be constantly riding around the problem, and you'd be more prone to squirming the rear which could lead to a nastier kind of slide.

Bottom line for me is what I use the bike for and how I ride.

Most of the folk I ride with have Ohlins front and rear, Braided lines, etc. etc. and I've never had any trouble keeping up with anyone in the tight twisties with the FZ6 (tight 'cause it didn't have the legs to go up against the litre bikes in the open stuff) and anywhere, anytime pretty much on this out of control animal:bowdown: (well....up to 220km/h-ish anyway, as this is when the naked's lack of screen and fairing makes itself really felt...lol). To me it's all about learning how your bike behaves and riding it accordingly.

So after all that drivel, you get.......

The shock will probably be adequate for most riding. Upgrading the spring probably won't help that much anyway, and a Penske or Ohlins shock is obviously gonna be better.

My advice.....
Try it and see. While you're losing the weight, try putting some dough aside for an upgrade, and if it turns out you don't need to, then half your luck...lol.

Wow! I can dribble some 5h1te:gagged:Somebody stop me...lol.


Cheers
Mike
 
Hi I am similar weight as you when I was running the standard shoch I had it maxed out on the preload and cant remember but I think 4-5 clicks in from full right, I liked it firm and found this worked ok for my style. I ended up going for Ohlins YA906 which has made a big difference and it is so adjustable I upgraded the front as well with Ohlins springs, Racetech internals and new seals and oil If you have the $ I fully recommend this but I did few track days with the standard and it was ok the biggest problem with the rear shock is it cannot be rebuilt unlike the R1 which can be upgraded, After 20-25km you will might be looking to service the shock.
 
Thanks Mike for all the great input! Dribble on here any time you want! :tup:

Good plan too. Put away the cash and lose weight... if it all pans out, I'll have cash for a DIFFERENT mod! :D
 
HyperPro Spring Coil

Why not upgrade to decent spring coil product from HyperPro. Its come in package with new spring coil for the front fork and rear coil spring. And its alot more cheaper then Ohlin product.
I had mine changed and its work wonderful with low cornering and high speed.
And even you pass a bump in high speed likes 150km its does'tn wobble.
Good things the tyres wear and tear are even.
Its cost you around $480.00 Singapore dollars.
 
The biggest problem with the OEM shock is that it isnt rebuildable so putting a decent spring on it will help short term but long term you might as well upgrade to something like Ohlins or Penske. Personally I found the front the real problem Wooden comes to mind
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top