Suspension - Mod, R6 or Ohlins?

[Bikebiz]

Can't find the answers simply, so thought I'd post.

What's the verdict on improving compliance? I find the stock setup to be great on smooth surfaces, but the rebound and compression is nowhere on bumpy corners.

I figure there are 3 ways to go:

• Internal mods to the standard shock and fork
• R6 suspension swap
• Ohlins

Obviously Ohlins is the best solution but I'm also after a value solution. If the R6 switch works well, can anyone tell me which year R6 forks will work? Also, is the R6 shock interchangeable, or is there another non-ohlins solution?

I'll also be chatting to Terry Hay (Racetech) about the best solution but don't want to spend too much. If I can get by with a fork and shock rebuild then might just go that way.

 

[yoshiki]

i dont know how useful is internal mods to the stock shock and fork. so between ohlins and r6 mod for front fork, i think ohlins would be the more value solution for me, but if you are willing to do more work and budget allows, r6 mod would be excellent.
for rear shocks, i would recommend ohlins rear shocks.

 

[Wolfman]

Your in Sydney, go see Frank Pons, and get him to put Ohlins in the forks, and get him to set it up...the results are sublime! Trust me, i know, Frank set up the forks on my FZ6.

Frank Pons set up the suspension on quite a few FZ6 Cup bikes, so knows the bike well, and if his experience, and knowledge is good enough for Yamaha Racing Australia to use...i reckon it's worth a go...a lot cheaper than going the R6 fork mod route, and a lot quicker.

:thumbup:

 

[Bikebiz]

I just spoke to Terry, he's suggesting a simple route is Race Tech cartridge emulators and progressive springs, as well as a similar rebuild of the rear. Around $800 if stock springs work, or $1200 if new springs both ends are needed.

I havent heard about Frank so will buzz him now. He's a bit closer as well.....cheers.

Update: Franky is suggesting the R6 fork route, and a used Ohlins shock. Could be a bit of a mission ($$$), and probably need to do them at the same time (front & rear). Hmmm.

 

[Wolfman]

I just spoke to Terry, he's suggesting a simple route is Race Tech cartridge emulators and progressive springs, as well as a similar rebuild of the rear. Around $800 if stock springs work, or $1200 if new springs both ends are needed.

I havent heard about Frank so will buzz him now. He's a bit closer as well.....cheers.

Update: Franky is suggesting the R6 fork route, and a used Ohlins shock. Could be a bit of a mission ($$$), and probably need to do them at the same time (front & rear). Hmmm.

Ok, well he would know best i reckon! Still, it's a lot of cash....and i can vouch for the bike handling impeccably with ohlins fork internals, coupled with a fully adjustable Ohlins rear shock....

Maybe spend the money on the rear shock, and just do the springs at the front???

:thumbup:

 

[yoshiki]

that's exactly what i did, front fork springs with ohlins rear shocks. huge improvement.

 

[Bikebiz]

I'm thinking even trying some 15w in the forks for now, until I save up for the full service. Has anyone tried 15w at around the 80kg mark? Not sure if it is too much of a change, maybe just go up to 10w?

 

[yoshiki]

i am about 70kg, using 10w.

 

[Bikebiz]

Just bought my 15w, and head mechanic has advised starting at around 20mm higher than recommended fork oil level (which is 134mm) as a starting point. Thoughts? Otherwise will post results after the long weekend.

 

[CombatPenguin]

The stock forks aren't to bad with new internals. I wnet with the matris fork kit and couldn't be happier.

 

[proxxx34]

The stock forks aren't to bad with new internals. I wnet with the matris fork kit and couldn't be happier.

:thumbup: Matris KE kit and 15W oil inside

 

[Bikebiz]

Well I couldn't wait all weekend so did the forks tonight. In case you're interested, never taken forks apart before. Took me about 2 hours all up and no issues whatsoever. So if you're worried about this aspect, fear not. When you shake the fork upside down there are only 3 parts that can fall out so you don't have to worry about it collapsing into an untenable heap!

Anyway, so pulled the forks off (good chance to apply my rim tape to the wheel too which was not as easy as i'd hoped!). Here's the interesting bit. Fork manual says to refill using a 134mm air gap. The gap from my stock setup? 160mm. So even if you're not wanting to change your fork oil weight, you may want to inspect your levels. For shame Yamaha, 25mm is significant.

Dumped the old oil. 750km on the bike now so it wasn't too cloudy. In with the new. Here's the next interesting bit. I was advised around 450ml would fill each leg. I ended up using the complete 500ml in each leg (had a 1 litre bottle of 15w) and it left me at exactly 135mm gap. As I wanted to go for a 120mm gap, I topped up with the stock oil. So hint 2 is to get another bottle just in case (you can always return it).

Put it all back together, bounced it up and down a few times. Nice and hard and non-springy. Ahhh. Checked the sag front and rear, then went for a 25km burn.

Now if you followed my last post on installing my FZ1 bars and raising the forks, you'll know how happy I was with the far swifter steering. Well the first thing after tonight I noticed is that it's just as fast, but better controlled now. Not like it was tipping in a bit loose like before, but remains very well composed. Second thing is the completely different feel under braking. Bye bye fork dive under hard brakes! I feel like I've already installed my braided lines (coming next week). Sweet action right mnyar.

Letdown? Only that I hit a big bump on a fast-ish turn and it still pogoed me more than I'd like. It still lacks the rebound control it sorely deserves. But hey for $20 it has been an excellent value mod. I can't recommend this enough.

(token pic added as I've been pretty slack with photos. Still yet to post a full bike shot and had it over a week now!)

 

[Wolfman]

Well I couldn't wait all weekend so did the forks tonight. In case you're interested, never taken forks apart before. Took me about 2 hours all up and no issues whatsoever. So if you're worried about this aspect, fear not. When you shake the fork upside down there are only 3 parts that can fall out so you don't have to worry about it collapsing into an untenable heap!

Anyway, so pulled the forks off (good chance to apply my rim tape to the wheel too which was not as easy as i'd hoped!). Here's the interesting bit. Fork manual says to refill using a 134mm air gap. The gap from my stock setup? 160mm. So even if you're not wanting to change your fork oil weight, you may want to inspect your levels. For shame Yamaha, 25mm is significant.

Dumped the old oil. 750km on the bike now so it wasn't too cloudy. In with the new. Here's the next interesting bit. I was advised around 450ml would fill each leg. I ended up using the complete 500ml in each leg (had a 1 litre bottle of 15w) and it left me at exactly 135mm gap. As I wanted to go for a 120mm gap, I topped up with the stock oil. So hint 2 is to get another bottle just in case (you can always return it).

Put it all back together, bounced it up and down a few times. Nice and hard and non-springy. Ahhh. Checked the sag front and rear, then went for a 25km burn.

Now if you followed my last post on installing my FZ1 bars and raising the forks, you'll know how happy I was with the far swifter steering. Well the first thing after tonight I noticed is that it's just as fast, but better controlled now. Not like it was tipping in a bit loose like before, but remains very well composed. Second thing is the completely different feel under braking. Bye bye fork dive under hard brakes! I feel like I've already installed my braided lines (coming next week). Sweet action right mnyar.

Letdown? Only that I hit a big bump on a fast-ish turn and it still pogoed me more than I'd like. It still lacks the rebound control it sorely deserves. But hey for $20 it has been an excellent value mod. I can't recommend this enough.

(token pic added as I've been pretty slack with photos. Still yet to post a full bike shot and had it over a week now!)

Nice to see your sorting the important stuff first.

:thumbup:

 

[Bikebiz]

If this is how good it gets with just a few hour's work, I'd love to have a spin on yours. I can only begin to imagine!

 

[Kazza]

Well I couldn't wait all weekend so did the forks tonight. In case you're interested, never taken forks apart before. Took me about 2 hours all up and no issues whatsoever. So if you're worried about this aspect, fear not. When you shake the fork upside down there are only 3 parts that can fall out so you don't have to worry about it collapsing into an untenable heap!

Anyway, so pulled the forks off (good chance to apply my rim tape to the wheel too which was not as easy as i'd hoped!). Here's the interesting bit. Fork manual says to refill using a 134mm air gap. The gap from my stock setup? 160mm. So even if you're not wanting to change your fork oil weight, you may want to inspect your levels. For shame Yamaha, 25mm is significant.

Dumped the old oil. 750km on the bike now so it wasn't too cloudy. In with the new. Here's the next interesting bit. I was advised around 450ml would fill each leg. I ended up using the complete 500ml in each leg (had a 1 litre bottle of 15w) and it left me at exactly 135mm gap. As I wanted to go for a 120mm gap, I topped up with the stock oil. So hint 2 is to get another bottle just in case (you can always return it).

Put it all back together, bounced it up and down a few times. Nice and hard and non-springy. Ahhh. Checked the sag front and rear, then went for a 25km burn.

Now if you followed my last post on installing my FZ1 bars and raising the forks, you'll know how happy I was with the far swifter steering. Well the first thing after tonight I noticed is that it's just as fast, but better controlled now. Not like it was tipping in a bit loose like before, but remains very well composed. Second thing is the completely different feel under braking. Bye bye fork dive under hard brakes! I feel like I've already installed my braided lines (coming next week). Sweet action right mnyar.

Letdown? Only that I hit a big bump on a fast-ish turn and it still pogoed me more than I'd like. It still lacks the rebound control it sorely deserves. But hey for $20 it has been an excellent value mod. I can't recommend this enough.

(token pic added as I've been pretty slack with photos. Still yet to post a full bike shot and had it over a week now!)

Might do this on my bike. With my new bars etc could be a really good mod for me, without having to replace the forks.

Good job! :thumbup:

 

[Dunno]

Bloody great pic there mate. Lovely seeing a bike undergoing a change for the better.
I see Terry Hay & Frank Pons have been mentioned. Can I add Zeno to the mix?
Zenodamper - Suspension Engineering

If you feel the need to upgrade to Ohlins , Penske or WP Zeno is your man.

The guy is a wealth of knowledge & has experience in BSB & ASBK. You may know him as James (Jim) Gun, the suspension guru in Rapid magazine. He is based in Lidcombe.

 

[Maverick]

I would like to replace the fork oil in my FZ as well. Thanks for the post.

Do you think it is possible to use a small electric pump to remove the oil with the forks on the bike?

 

[Speedygonzales]

I did an Andreani cartridge front and rear Ohlins upgrade. And I can say it's a very big difference.

Whent on track in the advanced group and did not feel the supension fall behind, the rear tyre looked awsome.

But in the 5th session I went to hard to get an R1 ( first right hander in a left track, so colder right side of the tyre) and whent out @ 75mph ... 2 backflips later my FZ didn't look so well any more. I had nothing luckely.

Good luck with you suspension upgrade, you'l love it, cause the stock suspension is ... yeah ... kinda crap.

 

[Drinky]

I replaced my internals for Hyperpro progressive springs,
its lots better now, funny thing was, as he emptied the stock oil,
out of the left tube: green oil, right tube: silver
WTF! yamaha used 2 different oils, bastards, no wonder it wandered off to the right all the time. Its LOTS more stable now.

 

[FZ6-ZN]

R6 front and back, very happy… the R6 rear shock needs to be rebuilt before you can use it. Valve stack and spring.

FZ6-ZN