Motorcycle updates...

[Carlos840]

Fz6n New goodies!

Last week i spent a day working on my bike,

Installed a Leo Vince sbk evo 2, an Evotech tail tidy, some JSR racing axle sliders and some smoked turn signals.
The radiator cap was also painted with a flat black hi temp paint, i also changed the air filter with a new OEM (not fan of cotton gauze)

I think i am done, apart maybe for some stainless steel brake lines this winter.

I also took the time to measure the sag on my rear suspension and set my preload adjustment properly.
The bike was on the sock 3 setting, with me weighting 175lbs plus gear i had a huge 145mm of sag, which sounded ridiculous, setting it to 4 reduced that to 75mm, and 5 gave me a nicely in spec 28mm.

The difference was really noticeable, for one thing it raised the saddle height a good 15mm, which really seemed to reduce my knee pain on long rides (200+ miles, 34" inseam).
It also made the bike feel a lot more stable and planted without making the ride harsher.

I was really surprised to have such a large measurement on the stock setting, i am pretty light for an average guy!
If you haven't tried setting up the preload, do it, it is worth the 20 minutes you will take.

The exhaust is very nice, the instructions are as useless as everybody says they are, but with a bit of common sens it is doable in a bit more than 2 hours.
I ride with the DB killers in,and it is already pretty loud, i do not see myself removing them any time soon.
They have a lovely rumble at 3000 rpm and a great scream up top.

I disconnected the battery while installing and when i started the bike the idle was smooth but needed to be increased a bit.

Here is the beast:

 

[Erci]

Nice mods and your bike looks awesome! :thumbup:

My issue with running higher preload on back was that it seemed to make the front feel really really soft (which it is). I did run it at 4 much of the time, while I weighed just over 160, so 5 for your weight makes sense.

I don't get how preload is affecting your knees though. It doesn't change the seat to foot peg distance. :don'tknow:

 

[Carlos840]

Nice mods and your bike looks awesome! :thumbup:

My issue with running higher preload on back was that it seemed to make the front feel really really soft (which it is). I did run it at 4 much of the time, while I weighed just over 160, so 5 for your weight makes sense.

I don't get how preload is affecting your knees though. It doesn't change the seat to foot peg distance. :don'tknow:

Thanks...

You are right, i don't understand it either, for some reason it feels less cramped since i did the adjustment though...

Maybe it is a question of angle, maybe it's just in my head! The seat is definitely a bit higher though and it influences my posture in a good way, one way or another.

I did not notice anything wrong with the front, although i will admit it might be because i am a pretty new rider.

 

[sandctrev]

Re: Fz6n New goodies!

Now I need some fact. Does said suspension change change things? Do I need to change myself. I'm 210. Where should I be. Or is it completely on preference?

 

[Carlos840]

Re: Fz6n New goodies!

Now I need some fact. Does said suspension change change things? Do I need to change myself. I'm 210. Where should I be. Or is it completely on preference?

Facts:

IMO it does change things, less bouncing around, better reaction under throttle, feels more planted to me. Again this is my reaction to it.

If you are 210 without gear you will most likely need to do it.

It is a bit about preference, your suspension sag should be set around the 25 to 30mm mark for the suspension to work a it's best.
(25mm being harder and 30mm being softer) so you have a bit of tuning you can do if you want but you should say within a certain range. The 145mm i started with were not right!

It is easy to do yourself, the tool is in the bike's tool kit and all the information about setting the sag are on line and on the forum.
If Erci was set on 4 weighting 160, i have it on 5 weighting 175, odds are you should be at 6 or 7 for 210lbs.
The operation is easy enough not to guess it though.

How to:

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/P...on/2006/november/Feb23-05-set-suspension-sag/

 

[sandctrev]

Re: Fz6n New goodies!

Roger that. I'm defiantly going to see where I'm at now. I've been riding since feb. still have some catching up to do. Now I just need to find a tool. The last owner held on to the kit. Thank you for your thread.

 

[BamBam]

just a thought, not sure if FAZR6 would ship to Belgium but if you got some of the swingarm decals that he makes, I really think it would round off the bike very well.

 

[Carlos840]

just a thought, not sure if FAZR6 would ship to Belgium but if you got some of the swingarm decals that he makes, I really think it would round off the bike very well.

Thanks, but I am really not into the whole decal/branding thing...

That's why i didn't put any logo on the tank and removed the Leo Vince logo from the cans. I even struggle with tank protectors!

 

[sandctrev]

Re: Fz6n New goodies!

Thank you... Thank you!!! Thank you. Your post has helped me greatly. Just reading it made me decide to check the preload on the rear. It was set at three. Everything, now I say this dramatically!!! Everything I've been working on instantly ironed itself out. I'm now smooth in the turns, and much more confident. It does make the difference.
I set it to six. Thank you.

 

[FinalImpact]

^^
Was gonna say I weigh 185 w/out gear and set it to #5 and had about the same sag - 29mm IIRC. Then I switched shocks to gain tweaking powers!

The front was the big issue - It was over 40+mm until it got the fork swap to R6. At that point I set it to 32 mm or so. It's much more compliant in the corners over rough terrain and that same terrain doesn't upset my line, its just stay where I aim it.


OP - Bike looks Great! A Good post too!

 

[Carlos840]

Re: Fz6n New goodies!

Glad i could help!

 

[Cloggy]

Re: Fz6n New goodies!

Last week i spent a day working on my bike,

Installed a Leo Vince sbk evo 2, an Evotech tail tidy, some JSR racing axle sliders and some smoked turn signals.
The radiator cap was also painted with a flat black hi temp paint, i also changed the air filter with a new OEM (not fan of cotton gauze)

I think i am done, apart maybe for some stainless steel brake lines this winter.

I also took the time to measure the sag on my rear suspension and set my preload adjustment properly.
The bike was on the sock 3 setting, with me weighting 175lbs plus gear i had a huge 145mm of sag, which sounded ridiculous, setting it to 4 reduced that to 75mm, and 5 gave me a nicely in spec 28mm.

The difference was really noticeable, for one thing it raised the saddle height a good 15mm, which really seemed to reduce my knee pain on long rides (200+ miles, 34" inseam).
It also made the bike feel a lot more stable and planted without making the ride harsher.

I was really surprised to have such a large measurement on the stock setting, i am pretty light for an average guy!
If you haven't tried setting up the preload, do it, it is worth the 20 minutes you will take.

The exhaust is very nice, the instructions are as useless as everybody says they are, but with a bit of common sens it is doable in a bit more than 2 hours.
I ride with the DB killers in,and it is already pretty loud, i do not see myself removing them any time soon.
They have a lovely rumble at 3000 rpm and a great scream up top.

I disconnected the battery while installing and when i started the bike the idle was smooth but needed to be increased a bit.

Here is the beast:

Thats one sweet bike carlos :drool:

Thanks for the suspension tips, I'll have to play around a bit myself :thumbup:

 

[motojoe122]

You're bike looks amazing! Did you paint the rims gold or did it come that way?

 

[PurpleZJ]

Looks great, really makes me want to black out my fairings/frame and get the wheels gold

 

[Carlos840]

You're bike looks amazing! Did you paint the rims gold or did it come that way?

Thanks!

The rims are original, the EU had a "graphite" edition FZ6n, with gold/bronze rims, all black fairing with grey tank and red saddle.

My tank was repainted grey with a touch of blue flakes, and the passenger handles and side cover are painted gloss black rather than the stock matte black.

 

[Carlos840]

Well, a couple days after saying i was done modding for a while i just ordered FZ1 handlebars...

This is getting out of control!

 

[mxgolf]

Great looking FZ6 my man. Black sure does look good but blue is faster! Thanks for the pictures and write up. Have fun with your new mods. I love my Leo's. Great sound. :thumbup:

 

[Carlos840]

Great looking FZ6 my man. Black sure does look good but blue is faster! Thanks for the pictures and write up. Have fun with your new mods. I love my Leo's. Great sound. :thumbup:

I have the best of both world!
My tank actually has blue metallic flakes in it, so it is almost black looking, but shines blue in the light!

Good looks of black, speed of blue!

 

[FinalImpact]

Great looking FZ6 my man. Black sure does look good but blue is faster! Thanks for the pictures and write up. Have fun with your new mods. I love my Leo's. Great sound. :thumbup:

Haha! There sure was allot distance behind "black" this past weekend. And when "blue" lead, there was a whole lotta "black" on your tail! Just sayin.... :thumbup: :BLAA:

 

[Carlos840]

Well, the mod bug has bitten again!

I have changed my bars to FZ1 bars and am really happy with the result, the bike feels easier to flick around. It is also more comfortable to tuck in low... If you are tall i would definitely recommend this mod. It also makes the bike look and feel a bit more aggressive.
I swapped the grips to progrips 717 which are really amazing, they are nice and soft and give you much better grip when holding the bar lightly, it really helped me get rid of head wobble when shifting at high WOT.
They are really soft though and already show signs of wear, i doubt they will last more than a few thousand miles. The red accents in the grips looks amazing with the red saddle though!

Now, i have just passed my full license, (i had a provisional license until now, valid for a year) really nailed it, it was a nightmare, it was raining like you would not believe! I was the only one out of the 4 presenting it that session to pass, and one person managed to lose the rear and fall!

And to celebrate that i just ordered a 15T sprocket and a speedohealer! Can't wait to see what the fuss is all about!

I will post pictures of the new bars etc when i do the sprocket swap in a couple weeks.


If anyone is interested here is a video of the maneuvers we have to do for the belgian license:
If you touch a cone or put a foot down or cross a line, you are out!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGc0D2aDIaQ]le nouveau permis moto (Belgique) - YouTube[/ame]

It is followed by a 45 min session of you riding, with an instructor following you and judging your driving. You have to take 12 hours of schooling before you can take the test.