So here’s the deal, I wasn't going blab away about having these fork on until I rode the bike and had something to share. That time has come and what i can say is this is a remarkable improvement over the stock forks and springs in terms of overall ride quality and response! The first time I rode the FZ back in March of last year I was not digging the nose dive and instability in the corners when the surface irregularities upsets the bikes trajectory. Changing to these forks (even with their stock springs) is worth the time effort and money to do! And when done, you'll have a hard time getting off the bike!!!
Yes, you have to gather parts! Yes you have to take things apart. But its only about 3 to 4 hours of work tops. I put some fleebay 2004 R6 forks in the 08 FZ. Gone is the nose dive while braking, gone is buck of having the two ends of the bike do separate iterations over the same bump or divot in the road. It does add a bit of chop to the front but from riding other sport bikes with better engineered running gear, I’m going to say this is normal and par for the course! It is a Yamaha flagship bike they came from. The fact that the FZ is a bit heavier – well I’d guess it’s fair to say we may use up a bit more suspension travel.
Braking: Tonight I did several tests of max braking effort and its SOOOOOO good! I had the tire at a slow roll with smoke coming off it and I didn't feel like we as a unit were going to face plant! My braking distance was short and effective! Remarkable to say the least! Thankfully my new tires are not on yet so I wasn't wasting good tread!!! :thumbup:
Braking in the corners: I found that corner braking is very smooth now. Before nose dive would sometimes upset my line forcing corrections (which we do automatically as the steering angle changes). Now its unnoticeable other than the speed change from braking itself.
Bumps: yes, you feel allot more as the nose isn't in this "bouncing floating motion". There is feedback and the nose is nicely planted. It’s not trying to run off the road when hitting bumps in the corners. It’s very smooth and more fluent with the rears actions over the same bumps.
Divots or sinkholes: The same as bumps; its predictable but firm. It seems to behave at the same rate as the rear now. That is; the bike as a unit goes up and down. Before the nose would float over sinkholes while it seemed the back would track with the ground. In short you get the same feeling from both ends of the bike as if they are closer to a matched in rates while going over irregular terrain.
Rough roads: It simply stays planted and in contact with the road offering better feel but certainly not jarring or anything like that. I know I had one spot where stock forks would nearly bottom out. I hit that same area and its much more controlled.
From the initial install I had the compression and rebound dampening centered; After hitting some larger bumps I felt it could have absorbed them better and I pulled over and backed out the compression dampening 1 full turn (4clicks) to soften it. Also I assembled it with 10wt oil which may not be needed but thats what I had as I was preparing for spring changing when screaming deal came along so I may need to put 5wt oil in it to soften it a little more but frankly it’s too soon to tell in 30 miles of playing.
In short; if you ride aggressively or ride 2 up do something with the forks so its not so squirrely.
Overall I give this 2 :thumbup::thumbup: up as good thing to do to the bike as it simply rides better and is more fun to ride! Not because its different, but because it is an improvement!
There isn't much to see but here are a couple pictures in the dark. . .
If something more comes to mind, I'll write but you get the idea. For about $250 USD and allot of patients on fleebay - good deals come along and thats what I waited for.
EDIT: 2014 - 04 since installing these the following is my basic setup:
7.5 wt oil - stock is 5 wt and it allow the forks quicker reaction time. 10 wt you will feel more road jarring.
8mm - stanchion tubes above triple. Turn in is sweet and predictable. Stability at 2x legal highway is not an issue.
34.5/37 psi is a good balance. Don't get under 33 in the front.
SAG 32/29 mm front/rear
FZ1 bars, spider grips
Rear shock - revalved R1 with adjustable comp/rebound, & preload - http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-...-alternatives-how-install-r1-shock-w-pic.html
That's about it! Bike is very flickable and blast to ride. With this setup we've seen it all, front out, back out, sliding over gravel and she recovers nicely with the proper inputs. Fork Mod FTW! :thumbup::thumbup:
Yes, you have to gather parts! Yes you have to take things apart. But its only about 3 to 4 hours of work tops. I put some fleebay 2004 R6 forks in the 08 FZ. Gone is the nose dive while braking, gone is buck of having the two ends of the bike do separate iterations over the same bump or divot in the road. It does add a bit of chop to the front but from riding other sport bikes with better engineered running gear, I’m going to say this is normal and par for the course! It is a Yamaha flagship bike they came from. The fact that the FZ is a bit heavier – well I’d guess it’s fair to say we may use up a bit more suspension travel.
Braking: Tonight I did several tests of max braking effort and its SOOOOOO good! I had the tire at a slow roll with smoke coming off it and I didn't feel like we as a unit were going to face plant! My braking distance was short and effective! Remarkable to say the least! Thankfully my new tires are not on yet so I wasn't wasting good tread!!! :thumbup:
Braking in the corners: I found that corner braking is very smooth now. Before nose dive would sometimes upset my line forcing corrections (which we do automatically as the steering angle changes). Now its unnoticeable other than the speed change from braking itself.
Bumps: yes, you feel allot more as the nose isn't in this "bouncing floating motion". There is feedback and the nose is nicely planted. It’s not trying to run off the road when hitting bumps in the corners. It’s very smooth and more fluent with the rears actions over the same bumps.
Divots or sinkholes: The same as bumps; its predictable but firm. It seems to behave at the same rate as the rear now. That is; the bike as a unit goes up and down. Before the nose would float over sinkholes while it seemed the back would track with the ground. In short you get the same feeling from both ends of the bike as if they are closer to a matched in rates while going over irregular terrain.
Rough roads: It simply stays planted and in contact with the road offering better feel but certainly not jarring or anything like that. I know I had one spot where stock forks would nearly bottom out. I hit that same area and its much more controlled.
From the initial install I had the compression and rebound dampening centered; After hitting some larger bumps I felt it could have absorbed them better and I pulled over and backed out the compression dampening 1 full turn (4clicks) to soften it. Also I assembled it with 10wt oil which may not be needed but thats what I had as I was preparing for spring changing when screaming deal came along so I may need to put 5wt oil in it to soften it a little more but frankly it’s too soon to tell in 30 miles of playing.
In short; if you ride aggressively or ride 2 up do something with the forks so its not so squirrely.
Overall I give this 2 :thumbup::thumbup: up as good thing to do to the bike as it simply rides better and is more fun to ride! Not because its different, but because it is an improvement!
There isn't much to see but here are a couple pictures in the dark. . .
If something more comes to mind, I'll write but you get the idea. For about $250 USD and allot of patients on fleebay - good deals come along and thats what I waited for.
EDIT: 2014 - 04 since installing these the following is my basic setup:
7.5 wt oil - stock is 5 wt and it allow the forks quicker reaction time. 10 wt you will feel more road jarring.
8mm - stanchion tubes above triple. Turn in is sweet and predictable. Stability at 2x legal highway is not an issue.
34.5/37 psi is a good balance. Don't get under 33 in the front.
SAG 32/29 mm front/rear
FZ1 bars, spider grips
Rear shock - revalved R1 with adjustable comp/rebound, & preload - http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-...-alternatives-how-install-r1-shock-w-pic.html
That's about it! Bike is very flickable and blast to ride. With this setup we've seen it all, front out, back out, sliding over gravel and she recovers nicely with the proper inputs. Fork Mod FTW! :thumbup::thumbup:
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