Front suspension suggestions...

[JeffD]

Yes sir, and this is the first semi-detailed info I could verify, well, at least from this website... Yamaha-motor.com But they sell Yamalube products.

Yamalube

Quote:
"01 Suspension Oil
A 0 Weight oil designed to provide the optimal flow rate in Yamaha suspensions on '98~'04 YZ and WR models, YZF-R1, YZF-R6, FZ1, FZ6 and FJR1300."

So is it actually "0" weight? Seems very thin, but that's how they designed it to work, right? I'm still going to try a different Fork Oil this weekend if I can, but soon. Springs will follow if that doesn't do the trick for me.

Again, Ped, Final, Maverick & Hellgate, thanks for the info & links. I don't mind one bit being emersed in all this cool stuff. Soak'n it up baby!

 

[FinalImpact]

hi , bit new to this.

I had a fz6 04 and loved it but when you start to push it on the front its not very stable and bounces badly. after selling it and a few years trying a few bikes wanted an other fz6 as they are all day comfy and a blast to ride.

New bike is a 2008 fz6 s2 and loved it from day one but the front is still the weak point. looked on line for a fix but changing springs and oil was the best advice out there, but on a site some one suggested MATRIS INTERNALS for the fork. about £300 but the difference is amazing you can now push the front and keep a constant line through the corners even on uneven surfaces.
the come with a spring and oil for your wait and driving type and you can adjust the preload with the new adjusters that replace the originals.
A very good upgrade and worth the extra cost.
Have a look
CarpiMoto - Matris Fork Cartridge Kit for Yamaha FZ6/FZ6 S2/Fazer 04- rider weight Kgs 70-85 (154-187 lbs)

^^ Too bad this is $500 USD... If you bid right on fleebay, $250 and you're rolling with R6 gear up front. Just need the fender mounting kit and an R6 axle.

Anyway - careful with what springs you buy as some progressive springs are tapered and will not fit the emulators. I personally would NOT place progressive springs on anything but a cruiser with allot of travel. Which begs the question, why did yamaha mix and match, i.e. front is progressive and the rear is linear..... :spank: :spank:

 

[Hellgate]

All those do is blow apart the compression valve if the velocity gets too high. When you drill out the damper rod bottom the new compression holes are in the upper portion of the emulator stack. They're too big for 10wt oil and so are the factory rebound holes. Doing what you're asking is a giant and complete waste of money.

The suspension will still bounce way too much and those emulators will never need to blow apart (cause the velocity will never be high enough with the thin oil) even if you use the lightest springs and do a half turn of the emulator preload.

The proper weight oil for the FZ6 is 25wt...NOT 15wt btw. Where that myth came from IDK but it's simply not true if you know even the slightest basics of suspension setup. When you set the system up the right way the emulators really shine....otherwise they're totally pointless.

I got to thinking about this more today.

The RT Emulators come with 2 or 3 sets of springs and you can set the tension of the spring, "preload." So to say you must use gear oil in your forks is not correct.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

 

[JeffD]

Yeah I could have specified; it's my understanding that if I go with HyperPro Progressive springs, I probably wouldn't be using or needing emulators. Am I close? If I went with... what is it, "Single Rate?" springs like RaceTech, then I could choose emulators if I wanted to. But again, the 1st fork oil change should happen this weekend. I might be peased as punch with just having new oil at a similar weight. It will be the 1st time I've had the forks off so I'm a bit excited

 

[FinalImpact]

Yeah I could have specified; it's my understanding that if I go with HyperPro Progressive springs, I probably wouldn't be using or needing emulators. Am I close? If I went with... what is it, "Single Rate?" springs like RaceTech, then I could choose emulators if I wanted to. But again, the 1st fork oil change should happen this weekend. I might be peased as punch with just having new oil at a similar weight. It will be the 1st time I've had the forks off so I'm a bit excited

It wasn't enough for me (oil), so I did the whole R6 swap and am very pleased. It took about a dozen stop and goes over several rides to get them dialed. In short; I know me enough to know that if I have to open it 12 times to dial it in, It aint gonna be perfect as I'll quit early calling it close enough and then likely be unhappy. So for me, that is the deciding point and coming from motorcross where I can tweak on the fly, it just made good sense to me to have it fully adjustable from the outside. Well except the spring rates. One could say I'm biased but I also know that getting it right for me and my style makes the difference between love and hate. The first time I rode it, I knew it needed help as I couldn't hold a line through any kind of uneven corners with bumps or holes.

IMO, I don't see the oil alone fixing it. Nor do I see oil and springs fixing it for me as I expect more but then again the area I live in offers every road surface you can imagine so the bike must stick AT ALL TIMES or I become a statistic! That's why its important to me.
HOWEVER, If you mainly ride the freeway OR on flat land with good smooth roads, oil and springs could be a VERY viable solution. So the question is; what do you expect and want from the bike?

 

[ped]

I got to thinking about this more today.

The RT Emulators come with 2 or 3 sets of springs and you can set the tension of the spring, "preload." So to say you must use gear oil in your forks is not correct.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

No you must use 25wt oil to set the compression and rebound correctly. Emulators work based on the velocity which decreases with viscosity. The entire point of needing them is the velocity of the proper weight oil is high enough to cause hydraulic locking under sharp inputs. If your oil is so thin you're not having hydraulic lock there literally is zero benefit of emulators.

 

[FinalImpact]

No you must use 25wt oil to set the compression and rebound correctly. Emulators work based on the velocity which decreases with viscosity. The entire point of needing them is the velocity of the proper weight oil is high enough to cause hydraulic locking under sharp inputs. If your oil is so thin you're not having hydraulic lock there literally is zero benefit of emulators.

^^ This may in the end work but its moot point as its trial and error to get there. The RT emulators are interesting in that the primary compression setting is flow controlled through a variable orifice while rebound is through a fixed office like the stock damping. (That is my understanding at this time). The point: changing oil to correct rebound rate will also change compression rates thus adjusting spring rate and static pressure of the emulator is likely required. Unless you just happen to hit a homerun on initial install.

 

[iSteve]

No you must use 25wt oil to set the compression and rebound correctly. Emulators work based on the velocity which decreases with viscosity. The entire point of needing them is the velocity of the proper weight oil is high enough to cause hydraulic locking under sharp inputs. If your oil is so thin you're not having hydraulic lock there literally is zero benefit of emulators.

Are you sure about this. I helped a friend put racetech emulators in a SFV650. The instructions said to start with 15wt (after drilling out the damper hole) they suggest 5 to 30wt to set rebound then use the emulator to adjust compression. Nowhere did it say anything about needing 25wt. I know full cartridge forks usually recommend light oils.