Ergos and control

[darius]

I'm coming up on 1 year ownership and I'm still every much in the "getting to know" phase of the FZ6.

I did some parking lot practice focusing on looking and leaning through turns.

I feel much more connected with the bike with a forward position against the tank and putting a fair amount of my weight onto the footpegs vs. the upright touring position I'd setup the bike to.

While I'm liking the extra feel and control of the fwd position, I'm going to have to adjust all the controls again.

• Renthal Road Medium bars now feel way too high to work with the throttle and brake easily. I still have an FZ1 bar I can put back on.
• Shift lever I really need to figure out a solution to lower the damn thing. It is way too high even at the bottom of its adjustment and being fwd makes it worse with my long legs.

The biggest pain is going to be getting my Oxford heated grips off without damaging them.

Anyone else go back and forth as they tried to get comfortable handling?

 

[motojoe122]

I'm coming up on 1 year ownership and I'm still every much in the "getting to know" phase of the FZ6.

I did some parking lot practice focusing on looking and leaning through turns.

I feel much more connected with the bike with a forward position against the tank and putting a fair amount of my weight onto the footpegs vs. the upright touring position I'd setup the bike to.

While I'm liking the extra feel and control of the fwd position, I'm going to have to adjust all the controls again.

• Renthal Road Medium bars now feel way too high to work with the throttle and brake easily. I still have an FZ1 bar I can put back on.
• Shift lever I really need to figure out a solution to lower the damn thing. It is way too high even at the bottom of its adjustment and being fwd makes it worse with my long legs.

The biggest pain is going to be getting my Oxford heated grips off without damaging them.

Anyone else go back and forth as they tried to get comfortable handling?

I've had FZ6 for almost 3 years now, but in the same position as you. I had the FZ1 bars on for a year or two and recently am trying out the FZ6R bars. I bought 2 sets of (same) grips so I could easily swap bars. I think the 6r bars will be great for long distance touring, but day to day the FZ1 bars are hands down better for spirited riding and "connection" with the bike.

 

[PhotoAl]

I went from the stock setup to the FZ1 bars and agree that the position is much better as you have pointed out there is a more connected feel. When I gought my CBR with clip-ons it was a shift to the extreme. Put risers on it to get the bars up and generally like it. When I got back on the FZ6 it felt very different - for me the optimum point would be something 3/4 of the way to the current clip-ons on the CBR. One of many things that make the FZ5 such a great bike is the ability to change stuff like the bars. Loved the FZ1 bars but when I did the 1,200 mile trips a more upright bar would have been nice.
(maybe).

To get grips off the best I have found is to use compressed air. Bought a long thin nozzle from Harbor Freight (part of a kit) and carefully worked it up under the grip the hit the air. The grip inflates just enough that it can be gently pulled off - first time takes a bit of patience but then it is easy.

 

[agf]

Hi I too had a bit of adjustment to do and am finally getting the bike exactly the way I want it
What I have done is:
new seat taking out the flat part of the saddle and creating more of a curve from side to side, eliminating the side edge and raising the pommel at the end of the tank so I dont slide into it as much. Its just more comfortable in general also adding a cm in padding to the pillion for the missus( I also added footrest extenders dropping the pass pegs by about 50 mm so her knees are not bent as much.
I did leave the fz6 bars on and I played around with mottoradd barback/risers but with the naked model all of the wiring is concealed in behind the headlight and routed through to opposite side of the frame compared to faired versions of the bike. There is not enough slack turning lock to lock so they are not installed (and I will get off my rear end and sell them here at some point in the near future). I simply tilted the bars back as far as could and that kinda works but I think the fz1 bar installl will prob happen to eliminate the wrist angle. The other thing I did do with the bars is added HVMP bar ends that are about 17 oz from memory and they help take out some of the buzzy vibration. I also have equivalent grip puppies that just make the grip a bit thicker in circumference
lastly I put on the excellent rearset spacers made by oso2k here on the forum.
These really made all the difference for me, raising and moving back the pegs. It helps the lean into the front of the bike and improves the whole cornering set up and balance
If you like I'll find some pics to post up of the mods if you think they might be helpful

 

[darius]

I went from the stock setup to the FZ1 bars and agree that the position is much better as you have pointed out there is a more connected feel. When I gought my CBR with clip-ons it was a shift to the extreme. Put risers on it to get the bars up and generally like it. When I got back on the FZ6 it felt very different - for me the optimum point would be something 3/4 of the way to the current clip-ons on the CBR. One of many things that make the FZ5 such a great bike is the ability to change stuff like the bars. Loved the FZ1 bars but when I did the 1,200 mile trips a more upright bar would have been nice.
(maybe).

To get grips off the best I have found is to use compressed air. Bought a long thin nozzle from Harbor Freight (part of a kit) and carefully worked it up under the grip the hit the air. The grip inflates just enough that it can be gently pulled off - first time takes a bit of patience but then it is easy.

Thanks for sharing your experience. You think compressed air will work with superglue? lol That's what the set came with.

I think I'd better buy another throttle tube in case this goes to hell.

Hi I too had a bit of adjustment to do and am finally getting the bike exactly the way I want it
What I have done is:
new seat taking out the flat part of the saddle and creating more of a curve from side to side, eliminating the side edge and raising the pommel at the end of the tank so I dont slide into it as much. Its just more comfortable in general also adding a cm in padding to the pillion for the missus( I also added footrest extenders dropping the pass pegs by about 50 mm so her knees are not bent as much.
I did leave the fz6 bars on and I played around with mottoradd barback/risers but with the naked model all of the wiring is concealed in behind the headlight and routed through to opposite side of the frame compared to faired versions of the bike. There is not enough slack turning lock to lock so they are not installed (and I will get off my rear end and sell them here at some point in the near future). I simply tilted the bars back as far as could and that kinda works but I think the fz1 bar installl will prob happen to eliminate the wrist angle. The other thing I did do with the bars is added HVMP bar ends that are about 17 oz from memory and they help take out some of the buzzy vibration. I also have equivalent grip puppies that just make the grip a bit thicker in circumference
lastly I put on the excellent rearset spacers made by oso2k here on the forum.
These really made all the difference for me, raising and moving back the pegs. It helps the lean into the front of the bike and improves the whole cornering set up and balance
If you like I'll find some pics to post up of the mods if you think they might be helpful

Thanks. I like the extra fatness from the Oxford grips, but haven't had any buzz through the bars at all. I do get buzz through the footpegs through and feel the effects after 1+ hours of riding.

I'm checking out threads on the oso2k rearset mod. I appreciate the info. :thumbup:

 

[FinalImpact]

The tube may be doomed - but you can use a coat hanger and turn it into a crankshaft. Shove it in until it stops and crank the handle. usually it just spins around and breaks the bond.

As for the setup - trial and error. I would have been on a different bike completely except this one really fit me well.

 

[darius]

The tube may be doomed - but you can use a coat hanger and turn it into a crankshaft. Shove it in until it stops and crank the handle. usually it just spins around and breaks the bond.

As for the setup - trial and error. I would have been on a different bike completely except this one really fit me well.

Thanks. I read that super glue doesn't like freezing. I'll try chucking the throttle tube in the freezer overnight before I shell out $20 for another. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[pookamatic]

The tube may be doomed - but you can use a coat hanger and turn it into a crankshaft. Shove it in until it stops and crank the handle. usually it just spins around and breaks the bond.

I did this last year on my OEM grips after watching a video demonstration. It was taking forever because the grips were fused to the bars at some points. I switched to putting a a bit of straight coat hanger in my drill. That helped, but it was still taking forever. I ended up cutting the head off a nice sized nail and put in in the drill. Grips came off with some superficial damage to both the grips and bars in no time at all.

 

[FinalImpact]

When racing Jet Skis, I used several different compounds to bond the grips. Gloss spray paint always worked best for keeping them on. And it comes off with a coat hanger. I wish you luck.

Also - I'd guess the throttle tube will be prone to cracking if you get to wild while its cold.

 

[darius]

If nothing else I'm gonna bend the damn shift lever this weekend to see if I can lower it without it hitting the kickstand bolt.

On the way home, pulling away from a stop in a line of traffic, missed 2nd gear by half position- REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWRWRRRRRRRR!!!

 

[Yasko]

I've had my FZ1 bars on for just a short time, and I'm moving my controls all over place too see what works best(2x so far). :cheer: Who knows, I just might find a sweet spot for me.:BLAA:

 

[Xavias]

For the shift lever, it's really easy to lower!

Basically you need to "lengthen" the shift lever rod (which is threaded on the ends to make it nice and easy)

I'll repost with more instructions and pictures tonight.

 

[darius]

For the shift lever, it's really easy to lower!

Basically you need to "lengthen" the shift lever rod (which is threaded on the ends to make it nice and easy)

I'll repost with more instructions and pictures tonight.

Thanks. Much appreciated.

1. My bike has been low-sided on that side so the shift lever has been in and out of the vice. Not sure if a perfectly straight shifter arm would hit the kickstand bolt but mine does.

2. The shifter arm also may bang into the inside of the rear set's window.

I have the shifter set at the 8 o' clock position at the moment. If I could get the thing about 7 I'd be well happy.

 

[darius]

I bent the shifter arm more outboard using a vice and then I leveled out the toe piece with a G-clamp over it and some grunting while fitted to the bike.

No more banging into the kickstand bolt. The limiter is now solely the rear set window that the shifter passes through. I filed the window down a few mm to get just a bit more adjustment lower.

It's overall a fair bit lower although still closer to 8 o'clock position from the peg.

Quick test ride: Feels pretty good. No missed shifts at all. Good result!

 

[darius]

Miss-shifts! Still not happy!

I absolutely cannot lower the shifter any further.
1. Shifter is at its limit of adjustment
2. If I modded the lever itself to get it lower it might drag at about the same lean angle as the footpeg.

The real problem is the pegs are too damn low. As a test I double stacked the pegs covers using the pillion footrests yielding a 15mm rise and that felt solid in my riding boots.

Any ideas on raising the peg height without whole new rearsets? The only thing I've found so far is this.

 

[FinalImpact]

I must be missing something. I found that the OEM adjustment window offers a range BEYOND my reach and still can be shifted. It however is not very comfortable to me. i.e. when the tail end of the lever is near the FRONT of the triangle section, the pedal is too low to get my boot under when at MAX adjustment.

Can you verify the dots peened into the transmissions shift shaft and the splined lever are aligned? Look close there are indents to align. I moved mine once trying to get a better angle. It didn't help anything.

EDIT: notice the splined lever with the dot? Zoom in and those dots should align. Also, after one ride I had to move the lever up (lengthen shaft) making the rear joint closer to the center of triangle compared to this picture. Is your's set lower than this?

 

[FinalImpact]

Curious - what do you wear for footwear? Are they riding boots or something else?

 

[darius]

Curious - what do you wear for footwear? Are they riding boots or something else?

Hey Randy. Ok here's more info and don't forget I'm a hair taller than you

• My shifter position looks the same as yours
• The dots at the shift shaft are 1 tooth off alignment
• Shift shaft is major adjustment
• Shift rod is minor adjustment
• If I aligned the dots, it would simply raise the shifter
• The lower limit is caused by the back of the shift pedal hitting the window of the rearset
• I wear Sidi Vertigo Corsa riding boots
• If I sit back in the seat in a touring position I feel disconnected with the bike, but can shift ok
• When I sit against the tank, I have much more control. Sitting forward rotates my pelvis forward also bringing my toe significantly under the shifter.
• Sitting forward makes for an awkward ankle movement to shift up, else I have to lift my whole leg.

 

[FinalImpact]

And that's not low enough?

 

[darius]

And that's not low enough?