suspension improvement and adjustment

Gary in NJ said:

He'll come around that day that he has to grab a handful of brakes in an emergency situation and the forks bottom out...and the rebound bucks him like he's in a rodeo.

Click to expand...

Wow. Somebody got up on the wrong side of the sandblast cabinet this morning

Gary in NJ said:

He'll come around that day that he has to grab a handful of brakes in an emergency situation and the forks bottom out...and the rebound bucks him like he's in a rodeo.

Click to expand...

About two years ago, I had that emergency situation..

I missed hitting the car, (about 35MPH), but the bike threw me OVER the handle bars, easily 30', I guess from the crappy, stock suspension..

The bike survived the crash but I was so traumatized, I could never ride again..

.

TownsendsFJR1300 said:

About two years ago, I had that emergency situation..

I missed hitting the car, (about 35MPH), but the bike threw me OVER the handle bars, easily 30', I guess from the crappy, stock suspension..

The bike survived the crash but I was so traumatized, I could never ride again..

.

Click to expand...

Forgot the /s, Scott!

It happened to me about 30 years ago. I was on my Katana 1100 coming to a stop sign at a T intersection. I was probably just 20 feet from the point of stopping, going less than 10 miles per hour. A car making a left into the T cut into my lane. I grabbed a handful of brakes and missed contact with the car by just inches. The forks bottomed and then rebounded. I lost my footing and seconds later was picking the bike (all 625 pounds of it) off of the ground. I was most certainly bucked off the side/back of that bike.

The forks in that big Kat were always too soft for me, and brake dive a problem. After that incident I did my research (before the internet) and came across RaceTech products. Since then all of my damping rod forks have gotten Gold Valve Emulators. Their products work as advertised.

When I first bought the FZ6 from my son's friend I wasn't sure if I was going to keep it (he went into the Navy and didn't know what to do with the bike, so I bought it). I was out for a ride trying to figure out what to do with the bike. A deer cut across the road, and I applied firm braking. The fork dive was incredible - and so was the resulting rebound. I decided to keep the bike, but didn't ride it again until the forks were updated.

TownsendsFJR1300 said:

About two years ago, I had that emergency situation..

I missed hitting the car, (about 35MPH), but the bike threw me OVER the handle bars, easily 30', I guess from the crappy, stock suspension..

The bike survived the crash but I was so traumatized, I could never ride again..

.

Click to expand...

Also, this was not Scott's first rodeo. Lol!

TownsendsFJR1300 said:

About two years ago, I had that emergency situation..

I missed hitting the car, (about 35MPH), but the bike threw me OVER the handle bars, easily 30', I guess from the crappy, stock suspension..

The bike survived the crash but I was so traumatized, I could never ride again..

.

Click to expand...

You haven't ridden in 2 years?

trepetti said:

You haven't ridden in 2 years?

Click to expand...

Come on Tom, you should know better.
Bull s..ting as usual...

Anyone that rode/rides a FZ knows getting thrown off THAT BIKE from re-bound is VERY UN-LIKELY (and I'm being very polite). Putting "that" out there, well, I don't agree at all.

The suspension is entry level but getting pitched on a hard stop, B/S... Been there, done that in 12 years of riding the FZ..

I ride 365 living in SW Florida and have more miles on the bike than my 2001 4-Runner.

If someone had that situation happen to them, that's fine, I'll buy it. But it does NOT apply/happen with an FZ600...

.

TownsendsFJR1300 said:

Come on Tom, you should know better.
Bull s..ting as usual...

Anyone that rode/rides a FZ knows getting thrown off THAT BIKE from re-bound is VERY UN-LIKELY (and I'm being very polite). Putting "that" out there, well, I don't agree at all.

The suspension is entry level but getting pitched on a hard stop, B/S... Been there, done that in 12 years of riding the FZ..

I ride 365 living in SW Florida and have more miles on the bike than my 2001 4-Runner.

If someone had that situation happen to them, that's fine, I'll buy it. But it does NOT apply/happen with an FZ600...

.

Click to expand...

I figured as much, but I was hedging my bet.... If it was true I was going to make a move on those pipes....

TownsendsFJR1300 said:

Bull s..ting as usual...

Click to expand...

See....Not his first rodeo! Hahahaha!

Before you buck off you have to buck up.

Gary in NJ said:

The forks in that big Kat were always too soft for me, and brake dive a problem. After that incident I did my research (before the internet) and came across RaceTech products. Since then all of my damping rod forks have gotten Gold Valve Emulators. Their products work as advertised.

Click to expand...

I agree...they make a very noticeable difference on budget, damper rod forks.

Has anyone here tried the Ricor Intiminators in their FZ6? I've got a set in my Bonneville and they made a noticeable difference in brake dive and front end feel (brake dive especially). Kinda' curious how they compare, since they have different design philosophies to try and accomplish the same thing. One of the reasons I went with the Ricor units was I didn't have to modify the damping rods like I would have with the GVE's.

DeepBarney said:

Has anyone here tried the Ricor Intiminators in their FZ6? I've got a set in my Bonneville and they made a noticeable difference in brake dive and front end feel (brake dive especially). Kinda' curious how they compare, since they have different design philosophies to try and accomplish the same thing. One of the reasons I went with the Ricor units was I didn't have to modify the damping rods like I would have with the GVE's.

Click to expand...

I've heard of Ricor's from other bike forums. It's definitely inviting being able to toss them in without anything other than spring removal. Some of the guys described it having a vague, gliding sensation compared to the emulators. Most of those comments came from the guys that leaned more towards sportbike handling than cruiser handling. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think they suggest changing springs, they don't specify a heavier suspension oil & they don't have adjustments...no ability to tailor settings. I think they appeal to the cruiser folks. Something improves ride quality with minimal wrenching & no adjustments is a good deal for some.

Sdaniels said:

. Something improves ride quality with minimal wrenching & no adjustments is a good deal for some.

Click to expand...

For infinitely adjustable pre-load and fork compression rate:



I've had this set up for well over 3 years (stock springs still installed) and am very happy with the set up. About 15PSI in each leg gets rid of the excessive sag and tightens up the compression rate.

Maybe once a year, I'll have to add 2 PSI, no leaks from the seals (30,000 miles currently)..

.

TownsendsFJR1300 said:

For infinitely adjustable pre-load and fork compression rate:



I've had this set up for well over 3 years (stock springs still installed) and am very happy with the set up. About 15PSI in each leg gets rid of the excessive sag and tightens up the compression rate.

Maybe once a year, I'll have to add 2 PSI, no leaks from the seals (30,000 miles currently)..

.

Click to expand...

Do you put regular air in? Any change with temps?

Regular air, (very little as the space is very tight).
Re change in temps, no, not all.

It's just a very small volume of air.

20PSI is way too firm, 14-16 works great..

Schrader valves were from old MX tubes, fully threaded..
The only investment was sealer..

TownsendsFJR1300 said:

Regular air, (very little as the space is very tight).
Re change in temps, no, not all.

It's just a very small volume of air.

20PSI is way too firm, 14-16 works great..

Schrader valves were from old MX tubes, fully threaded..
The only investment was sealer..

Click to expand...

Gotcha...didn't think about volume. Was going to suggest nitrogen would fix that issue....doesn't react to temp changes like air. For the fork caps, I'm guessing you drilled/tapped yourself?

Anybody use the machined aluminum caps with the threaded compression adjustment that you can find on eBay and other places? Not sure I even need them, but I have some I may install someday.

Sdaniels said:

Gotcha...didn't think about volume. Was going to suggest nitrogen would fix that issue....doesn't react to temp changes like air. For the fork caps, I'm guessing you drilled/tapped yourself?

Click to expand...

Loosing such a small amount of air over a year, really isn't an issue. Top off as needed when topping off the bike tires. You do need a digital air gauge to get them within .5lbs each side.

For the caps, I drilled them (on a drill press, but not necessary) with just enough room to slip in the valve.. No tapping for threads needed... As I re-call, I used Yamabond case sealer (#4) to seal up the valve to the cap. Any good sealer would work fine..

TownsendsFJR1300 said:

Loosing such a small amount of air over a year, really isn't an issue. Top off as needed when topping off the bike tires. You do need a digital air gauge to get them within .5lbs each side.

For the caps, I drilled them (on a drill press, but not necessary) with just enough room to slip in the valve.. No tapping for threads needed... As I re-call, I used Yamabond case sealer (#4) to seal up the valve to the cap. Any good sealer would work fine..

Click to expand...

So no tapping but was the hole slightly smaller for a press fit or does the sealer do all the work?