Please help re suspension 07 fazer

[simon]

Hi Guys & Girls

This is my first time on here and it due to frustration.
I brought my bike about 12 month ago and had been having problems with the handling and wearing tyres and the back tyre is wearing unevenlly i had taken it back to the place i brought it from and they couldn't fix it. I decided to take it elsewhere for its 20,000k service and advised them of the handling problem. I picked the bike up sat and was advised that the shock has been modified.(it has been lowered) the front feels its up to high is there a formular to setting the bike up. i took the bike out today and it now makes a howling noise i had a new front tyre put on. if anybody could help i would realy be greatfull thaks Simon

 

[reiobard]

I would want to know what they did to lower the rear by an inch first of all... the wheel howl could be a few things from something as simple as "that is just the way those tires sound" to dry axle, to strange wind interaction given your new geometry, to a few other things that it would be impossible to diagnose without actually hearing it.

Were you displeased with the ride height of the bike? You can lower the front to math the rear by sliding it down on the forks and that should help the high front end feel, but personally I would rather keep my ground clearance and fine out what they did to the rear.

 

[Wolfman]

My advice is take it to Pete Kerr at race bike services at Lonsdale, he is the best guy in Adelaide for bike set up & suspension stuff, and he has experience working with FZ6's.

Dont take it to someone who thinks they know...take it to someone who does now!

It wont cost you a million dollars either...he is from the Old School!

And by the way, dont be a stranger, there is a whole posse of us from Adelaide in here...and we ride together lots! would be great to have another FZ6 rider in our group.

:thumbup:

 

[mglowe]

If it were mine, the first thing I would do is get it ALL back to factory specs. I think it would be difficult to troubleshoot handling issues with unknown modifications.

Then... if you have issues you may look into bent frame, swingarm, forks etc..

Good luck.

 

[Hellgate]

I guess I'm a little confused. Did you request that they lower your shock, or did you request that your shock be lowered? Bottomline, why was your shock lowered?

Mglowe is absolutely correct, go back to stock, and figure out the basics from there. Usually a problem is caused by something very simple. For some reason we humans like to jump to the complex first.

Things that come to mind are; fork may be twisted in the triple tree, worn tires, steering bearings are worn out, incorrect air pressure, etc.

 

[Motogiro]

:welcome:This is a great group here and you'll no doubt have the benefit of a lot of experience from all walks of life.

From your post it almost sounds like it's not just a case of lowering. If you're getting uneven wear on the tire what type of uneven wear are you experiencing?

Naturally, lowering the rear is going to change steering geometry from the original designed geometry and the bike will definitely handle differently. Especially if the front hasn't been changed to match what's been done at the rear. Is something bent? Is the bike tracking straight? Howling? Aside from many things leading up to those wheels turning, check your chain. Does the chain slack meet the factory specs. and if so sit on the bike and see if there is such a change that the chain is now far from the slack spec.

Surprising that the service people you've taken the bike to haven't come up with some ideas given their experience...

Again welcome and good luck.

 

[aussiejules]

Hey simon first up welcome. Did you buy the bike new, if not have you checked to see if it has been in a accident. It does sound weird that they would lower the bike for no reason, ask them what they did and why. What tyre has been put on, and check it is all installed correctly, one of the other members had a tyre fitted and they hadnt done things back up tight. Is the howl from the front or have they over tighten the chain. So many possibilities to these questions, give us more info.

 

[ozzieboy]

G'day mate, and :welcome: to the house of fun.


I am not sure how you mean "wearing unevenly".

I am a bit slow however so you'll have to make allowances:spank::spank:...lol.

The first thing I would try would be the string line alignment. This will at least get everything pointed in the right direction for riding.(thanks again to Mr. Ryder)
SportRyder's Wheel Alignment Method

When I do this, for even more accuracy I measure the distance of my string each side of the front wheel, both forward and rearward edges to get it even on both sides. This ensures that the rear is aligned to the front perfectly.

The road camber will cause a noticeable difference (by the end of the tire life) to wear and it will be usually worn more on the right hand side.

Mine is also an 07, and with my preload set on 7 I get 32.25 inches to the seat at the rough finished bit of the seat material at the front.(almost straight up from the footpeg).

Hope some of this may help.:thumbup:

And come for a ride:thumbup:. The more the merrier.

Cheers
Mike

 

[Hellgate]

^^^ I think he means "cupping" of the tire. That can make for an odd handling bike.

 

[ozzieboy]

^^^ I think he means "cupping" of the tire. That can make for an odd handling bike.

Thanks mate. Like I said, a bit slow on the uptake that day.

http://www.rattlebars.com/valkfaq/tirewear/

This may also help if you can see anything in there that relates.

Would love to help you out more mate but I'm still learning myself...lol.

This pic will show the uneven wear associated with camber if you look at the rear.

I have no pics of the cupping on my OEM tire, but I can say the Roadsmart didn't do it, but the Battleaxe was horrid for it.

Cheers
Mike

 

[simon]

Hi All

Thanks to you all for your help. I have done some following up and have stopped in and seen Peter Kerr and he is going to fine tune the suspension for me. The howling noise was the chain. thanks again for the help and am looking forwould to catching up for a coffee and a good ride soon. and as the wolfman says chew the fat lol. :rockon: