Should I raise my forks?

[Doorag]

Wot it says.

I have my forks raised about 5mm on my off-road bike, but I'm not sure what it will do form me on the road. Has anyone done it? What effect will it have? If yes, then how much - 5mm, 10mm?

Discuss...

 

[reiobard]

What are you trying to accomplish? if you raise them then you will turn slower but it will be more stable in a straight line, if you lower them then it will be more flickable but it will not be as easy to go straight and if you drop them too much then you might find yourself over-steering.

so, depends on what you are looking for.

 

[Doorag]

Raise/lower whatever... I want to sharpen it up a bit and maybe improve the handling a bit. I said "raise" becasue technically you are raising the forks through the mounts a bit but whatever.

Basically I really want a new bike, but I don't want to spend the money so I'm considering some smaller improvements (-1 on the front for example) that might keep me interested for another 6-9 months. I don't really do any track days or anything I jsut commute every day and take a longer ride occasionally on the weekends.

 

[Speedygonzales]

Been thinking about doing this as well.
But I always end up not doing it, the geo was designed like this.
I have a friend who's a good mechanic (can ride good too), he tried it out on his old fazer and he didn't end up liking it. He found it quite dangerous, cause it really changes the bikes ride.

Is just don't want to crash when I'm riding hard in the turns because of that adjustment.

Dunno ... not a lot of good info, but I'm nog gonna change it I think.

 

[wrightme43]

I have mine raised in the clamps about 8mm. Works fine for me.

 

[Hellgate]

It will help with turn in, 5mm to 10mm is a good zone to work within. If you've changed out your stock springs for Race Tech it is almost a must because your bike will settle much less once you sit on it.

 

[stryken]

I just did the -1 a few weeks ago.... DO IT!! You will like it, feels like a different bike after the mod and its so easy to do.

As for the forks I am at 5mm and I like it, I went as crazy as 30mm and it scared me. I thought I could go that much because I lowered the rear 30mm but it made the bike feel very unstable. I now have hyperpro lowering front springs on the way that I bought from a fellow member. They will drop the front to the same level as the back and I should get a better feel getting rid of the stock springs.

 

[DefyInertia]

Pretty sure the "raise the forks" universally means raise the forks in the triple as originally posted.

Mine are flush but I have R6 forks.

My vote is "NO" (b/c I like it fine the way it is) but it will make a difference, so I didn't vote.

I also agree that 5 to 10mm is a good area to work with.

 

[Doorag]

Ok, cool. Thanks everyone. Since it's really easy to do, I'm going to try it and see how it is. I'll let everyone know that I think as I go along.

 

[Doorag]

**Update**

Well, I lowered them 10mm yesterday afternoon (5 minute job) and took it for a short test ride. It does seem to turn in a bit quicker but only just. Maybe it will make more difference at a higher speed but we'll see. Interestingly, it now feels mor like the FZ1 I test rode the other day. Maybe the geo. is slightly different on them from stock - I'm not sure. Anyway, I'll leave it for a week or so and see how I get on. If I don't like it then I can go back to 5mm or just put them back to normal. It's easy to do.

 

[Speedygonzales]

I mailed my suspension guru today about this.
And he said I could try it, but start with -5mm ... max -10mm.

So I will. Me too wil update about my experience.
A couple of hot laps a the local "playgarden" will give me some feedback.

 

[Doorag]

Ok, so I've had more of a chance to get to know the change and I really like it. It's not a huge difference - it's subtle but definitely there. It does turn in slightly quicker but it feels more natural to me. Overall I'm pretty happy about it.

 

[RJ2112]

Ok, so I've had more of a chance to get to know the change and I really like it. It's not a huge difference - it's subtle but definitely there. It does turn in slightly quicker but it feels more natural to me. Overall I'm pretty happy about it.

I went with an Ohlins rear shock, and .9 kg single rate fork springs.... had the Ohlins set up so the rear was 10mm higher than delivered.

Steering wise, I think this is pretty close to where you are at now. Just a bit quicker on the turn in.

Doing it the way I did, I keep all the ground clearance, and pitched the dual rate springs up front.

Those are one of the biggest flaws in the FZ6, in my opinion. If you weigh more than 150 lbs, you lose half the fork's stroke to the light section of the spring compressing..... static sag was over 2" with me at 200 lbs. Makes the bike really inconsistent when you are steering on the brakes, when the rake and trail are constantly changing in unpredictible ways.

The bike feels one heck of a lot more planted, yet still steers in quickly.

 

[Speedygonzales]

So ...

I raised the forks yesterday, about 6.5mm .
So far after a fast ride today.
No downsides, I thought I would get some more pressure on my wrists. But nothing noticable. No to nervous handling in the fast strait.
The bike feels a bit more nible, not a lot. But still a nice and cheap mod.
Going on the track monday, can't wait.

 

[Speedygonzales]

End result.
No downside.
Better turn in.

 

[Dennis in NH]

I did a little writeup on this a few weeks back. I went to 10mm. At first, it didn't feel like any real difference except lower front end. But now I think I like it. Or maybe I'm just getting better at turning . Either way, I'm keeping it -- and as you said, easy to change.

I also just added Hyper Pro front springs and 15wt oil and kept the 10mm.

I kind of want a new bike too but I always want a new bike -- as soon as I get used to one, I want another and then I bitch because it takes time to get used to a bike before you can really enjoy it. Then I say I love that part of getting used to it. I need therapy .

I think give it more time to really feel any difference on the 10mm. One change I liked was the bike felt lower and it reduced that big gap between front fairing and front wheel.

Dennis

 

[Senior]

When I bought my fazer it was from somebody that was vertically challenged, and he'd already lowered the bike by sliding the forks up through the yoke and had machined a new shorter linkage for the shock, so the bike is lowered front and back.

He did offer to put the bike back to normal height, but as I knew no difference I decided to leave it where it was (plus I can sit with nice wide flat foot), but there was still the option that he'd put it back up at a later date (he only lives 2 minute walk from me), I doubt I'll do it now after 15 months.

So as mine is lowered front and back it won't have changed the fork angle and not affected turn it, so this kinda doesn't really answer your question, but hope the photos of the fork through the yoke and the side view is of some use . . . . .

 

[Dennis in NH]

Those forks are really sticking out the triple -- maybe 1"? at that point, you could easily put some clipons right?

Anyway, less space between steering head and front wheel looks good.

I think that if you raise the forks through the triple, and reduce preload in the rear, it would balance the bike out a little and give a reasonable lowering affect. But then the rear would not be as stiff. I get you can call it an easy way to achieve some lowering which is easy to go back.

Dennis