Losing Weight

[red06]

fz6 is light last time i checked

 

[rye]

Eat less, move more.

 

[Cortez]

I had the 650R before the FZ6 so I understand the "complaint" the OP has.
They're about the same weight and the FZ6 feels a lot heavier.

I've also recently ridden the NC700X which is considerably heavier then
both and also feels lighter then both, which proves how keeping the weight
low down is very important.

The mods that the OP wants to do are silly, IMHO, I'd suggest a different
approach. Wider and more open (less sweep) handlebars will offer more
leverage which will make the bike "feel" lighter and make it easier to ride
around town.

My bike was lowered when I bought it and that doesn't help, it just ruins
the handling.

 

[jsalman93]

So I've lowering the front 8mm and it has helped a bit with flicking the bike in. Really good tip for making the bike a bit more nimble (the bike is already pretty nimble)

However, I'm starting the think that my front suspension isn't set up properly for my weight and riding style. my rear is perfect for my weight (maybe a bit too tight for the front) but my front suspension seems to be a bit too bouncy, which I contributes to a vague feeling from the front forks as I am at the apex and coming out under harder acceleration (I'm thinking either the rears are too stiff to compress under acceleration, or the front is too soft under heavier braking and acceleration). My tech friend suggested going with stiffer forks, as he also said that there doesn't seem to be much weight on the front forks.

Any thoughts?

 

[jsalman93]

I checked the rear sag a while back and it was right at 34", which is what I would imagine would be perfect. If I'm wrong please correct me, as I'm new to suspension tuning.

Under even normal braking the front end dives pretty bad. There is also a bit of pogo action after braking.

I weigh at 155 lbs with gear. I think the stocks run .72g or so with 5w oil.
Hmm, didn't know that about the springs. thanks for the info on that.
Do you think changing the oil to 10 or 15w would help, or should I change the springs, .

 

[jsalman93]

Yeah I've seen that video along with a few others, but that one explained it very well.
Well I've had the bike for over a year and but a bit over 14k on it in that time, I got new 10wt oil so hopefully I'll be able to change the oil if I get a day off of work or some free time.

I have heard that changing the oil will stiffen up the dampening, but will not help too much with compression for the springs. I'll give it a shot though and report back to share

College student, money is always an issue lol.

 

[PhotoAl]

Know what you are talking about with the bike feeling top heavy. Change the bars to FZ1 bars which (to me) made a big difference in the feel, swap the battery for one of the light lithium batteries and look at changing the exhaust. The FZ6 is not as flickable as my CBR600RR but it is not bad and very seldom would it really make a difference. I commute a lot and in all weather conditions and am running Michelin Pilot Road 3's. Yea I give up a little on ultimate grip (but how much does that matter on the street) but gain big improvements in wet traction and in cold weather performance.

 

[jsalman93]

I've already got Fz1 bars on the bike (previous bars were slightly bent). It helps give a more comfortable position when riding in a spirited manner . Thinking it's the front suspension being set up too soft and giving the front end a vague feel, which really affects flicking the bike in (both from lack of feel and confidence from the vague front end especially in bumpier roads).
I actually changed from my Leo Vince (up to mid pipe) back to stock, robbed me from lower end power. I should probably put that up here, someone might want it more than I do . If anyone is interested let me know btw.
I've got PR3's too, per recommendation from the forum, they are great tires for everything. I commute rain and sun, and they have never had traction issues (at least not from the tires).

How do you like the cbr600? Never had the chance to ride one, but have heard great things about them.

 

[jsalman93]

So I finally got a chance to pick up some racetech springs. I chose to go with .85 kg/mm springs and 10wt oil. I pulled the springs out on my bike and they were stiff as hell (definetly not stock .77 kg/mm). Also upon measuring the oil that came out I was about 6oz low in each fork. Nevertheless, while draining the oil there were a lot of metal shavings (typically nothing I'd worry about in small amounts as it's pretty normal I guess, but this was a lot). I flushed each fork through with oil about 3 times and changed out the springs and filled up with oil. I also needed to cut out a different sized spacer because the lengths were different than the ridiculously long one in the bike already. All in all, it was a pretty easy job.


Spring length for comparison.


Sorry for the poor picture, there was a lot of metal shavings. A lot of them would sink to the bottom and if you stirred the oil there would be a ton. There was a good chunk of them puddled in the bottom when I drained the oil from the pan. I wish I caught this earlier.


We were able to get the spacers within .12mm of one another with an angle grinder. Not bad, I'd say

I got the chance to ride the bike after and MY GOD the front end feels so much more planted. The ride feels a lot more responsive as the bike has much more damping. Also mid-corner the bike doesn't want to wander. The springs in the bike were a lot stiffer, but the lack of oil made it dip and dampening terrible and, according to my tech-friend, must have preloaded one of the forks much more during the corner, which the other fork couldn't make up the difference without oil (sorry if I sound dumb trying to explain it). I'm really glad to have changed it out when I did.

Thanks again guys for the advice. I was not expecting the front suspension on my bike to be as bad as it was, but it's not the bike's fault and now I love riding my bike more than I already did.

 

[Carlos840]

I just did an oil swap in my forks and your original springs look just like the stock ones i have.
I wonder how much the change people feel when doing spring and oil change is due to the oil and how much is due to the springs.

I am 180 lbs, changed the oil to 10w and it feels like i have a new bike, no more dive under breaking, it feels great. Would changing springs make as drastic a change again?

 

[jsalman93]

I would imagine so. I'm not sure if the springs in my bike would be stock, they were wayyyyy stiffer to compress than the .85 kg/mm ones that I got from Race tech. I can definitely feel the change in the front. If you changed out the oil to 10w your rebound on the bike will be a bit more responsive, but to get better compression you would have to go with different springs. The better rebound feels a lot better when hitting inconsistencies in the road and under braking. The springs seem to make a bigger
difference when cornering and under braking.
Then again, they are a bit of a combination. any other members feel free to clarify

 

[PhotoAl]

How do you like the cbr600? Never had the chance to ride one, but have heard great things about them.

Love the CBR, fixed a lot of the issues I had with the FZ6, engine is more responsive, bit more power, more midrange, riding position more aggressive but not aggressively so (Heli bars), suspension is stiffer but better, brakes are great - curves I could take at say 55 on the FZ6 I find that I can take at 60 or 65 with the same level of comfort - not 10/10ths but say 7/10ths. For spirited riding it's more "together", flickable, just goes quicker easier. At 100% on it's not too much different in acceleration but the midrange torque does make street riding easier. Rode 600 miles in a day back in July which was easier than on the FZ6, not a touring bike but with a gel seat it's not bad. Think it is easier on my knees than the FZ6 was, guess the angle is slightly less. Not as top heavy as the FZ6 so is better at low speed manuvers.

My wish list is a little more wind and rain protection and a little (not much) bit more upright riding position. What I really want is a bike like the FZ6 but with updated power and adjustable suspension. An FZ09 with a half fairing or full fairing and improved suspension would be great.

 

[iviyth0s]

Love the CBR, fixed a lot of the issues I had with the FZ6, engine is more responsive, bit more power, more midrange, riding position more aggressive but not aggressively so (Heli bars), suspension is stiffer but better, brakes are great - curves I could take at say 55 on the FZ6 I find that I can take at 60 or 65 with the same level of comfort - not 10/10ths but say 7/10ths. For spirited riding it's more "together", flickable, just goes quicker easier. At 100% on it's not too much different in acceleration but the midrange torque does make street riding easier. Rode 600 miles in a day back in July which was easier than on the FZ6, not a touring bike but with a gel seat it's not bad. Think it is easier on my knees than the FZ6 was, guess the angle is slightly less. Not as top heavy as the FZ6 so is better at low speed manuvers.

My wish list is a little more wind and rain protection and a little (not much) bit more upright riding position. What I really want is a bike like the FZ6 but with updated power and adjustable suspension. An FZ09 with a half fairing or full fairing and improved suspension would be great.

I wonder if the F4i model of the CBR would solve your problems as I think it has a slightly more upright seating position (I was looking into one before the same seller showed me the FZ6)