Guest unknown Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 So I will do my best here to properly review the front fork rebuild by @pattonme. I'll preface this review by saying I'm not a fork expert and I have never adjusted the front forks on a bike before. I've only got about 150 miles on the new forks and haven't actually tracked them yet. I will update this review in about 2 weeks when I get back from the first track day of the season. The process: I was fortunate enough to work right next to where @pattonme works so I could dismantle the front end and drop the forks off that day with minimal downtime. Since I was the first set of FZ forks he had worked on, I was prepared for any bad things that could delay the process. That's when he discovered and fixed the lower bushing issue. After dealing with that, he hand delivered them to my house late at night. Talk about customer service! He was very open with the work and dealt with my pesterings very well. I was really curious to see how it all worked and he was with me every step of the way with updates. Performance: I installed them the night I received them and woke up early the following day to double check all the bolts and make sure everything was ready for the first ride. I adjusted the rebound setting on the top part of the forks to 2 clicks (1 full turn) out from Soft and made no adjustments to preload since I was by myself. The first thing I noticed is that the front end dive was completely eliminated! When I gripped the front brake everything felt so much more settled and controlled. Turn in was a little bit slower but I attribute that to not adjusting the preload. (I adjusted the preload halfway though the ride and that made a big difference. Turn in is great now) however the front felt so much more planted and stable. I'm running the stock back shock at preolad setting 7 and it's still too soft for my liking. I can really notice the mushy-ness of the rear because the front is so much better now. It is a little bit stiffer than the old shock so but it handles bumps in the road 10 fold better than the stock. The smaller bumps don't upset the suspension now and the larger ones are soaked up with minimal upset to the suspension as well. Overall, It is a night and day difference. This is how the front end should have come from the factory! Final Thoughts: I'm extremely happy with the purchase so far. I feel much more confident through the turns now and the bike is so much more fun to ride through the twisties. Street riding is a little harsher but I soon realized that I was actuially feeling the road and not just bouncy all over the place. @pattonme was very helpful through the process and the man knows his Shet about suspension! I would highly recommend them to anyone on a budget looking to get the forks worked. For ~ $500 depending on shipping, I don' think you will find a better setup. If you are a track day rider or even just a canyon carver on a budget, this is one of the best and cheapest mods you can do to your suspension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattonme Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Give it a couple more days of riding and you'll really want to strangle Yamaha over that shock. It's a very common mistake (not saying you made it) to use much too much rebound. You want just enough to prevent pogo and within a ~1/2 turn of that to maximize stability in transitions into and out of lean. I use Interstate clover leafs that I'm very familiar with to do tuning. Or if you can find a nice set of tight S-curves... Do your tuning in at most 1 turn increments and then tweak by 1/2 turn trying it harder vs softer. And then offset that by 1/4 turn and try 1/2 harder vs softer. 99% of the time people complaining about lack of compliance (hard hits felt at bars) over decent sized bumps it's rebound that is the problem. The suspension can't follow the contour of the bump and thus you experience a hard landing. that is what people feel. Welcome to that new sensation of feeling the road under you. They call it "feedback". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member snowdriftless Posted April 17, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted April 17, 2015 Glad to hear! I may be looking into getting this done instead of other options. P1: Vice? I have no vice, I'm as pure as the driven snow! P2: Yeah but you've been drifting All the gear all the time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest unknown Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Sorry, my wording of the rebound adjustment I made was wrong. I turned the adjuster CCW all the way out towards the "S" and then turned in 2 clicks / 1 whole turn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest unknown Posted April 29, 2015 Share Posted April 29, 2015 So track day update: The bike keeps feeling better and better with the new forks. The worked wonders on the track after a few small adjustments the the preload. This thing feels so much more planted and responsive than the old forks. It's so much better that he really highlights the shortcomings of the stock rear shock. The carousel at Shenny really highlighted this issue. The front was planted and stable but the rear was bouncing all over the place it felt like. Overall review is AMAZING! Would buy again on any other traditional fork setup. If you are on the fence, do it! You can't beat the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.