Premium Member n2shotokai Posted May 18, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 18, 2015 Reading through all the different options on suspension I found very confusing and well, just downright expensive. All my decisions were based on the fact I ride street and I am not doing track, so the emphasis was a decent suspension without breaking the bank. On the rear it seemed entry level was about $650 and went over $2,000. That made it pretty easy, I went with the Ohlins because everything from Sweden is better ................... I debated for quit some time on the front. My decision boiled down to the fact that several suspension people told be 80-90% lies in the springs being appropriate for your weight. That and a fellow board member replace the springs and was very pleased with the results. After seeing him ride I realized I will probably never ride at his level and if it was good enough for him....... Any additional hardware beyond springs exponentially increased the cost. Therefore I opted for Race-Tech springs and 15w oil. Springs run $130-150, oil is cheap and you can make a major impact to the front end for about $300 with labor. Yesterday I went for a 150 mile ride, mixed highway and mountain roads. The bike was much more stable in all conditions. Brake dive was almost eliminated. Cornering was precise and confidence inspiring. I am very pleased with the setup and the fact I did it all for much less than I first considered. If you are considering an upgrade and wrestle with the cost I highly recommend just replacing the front springs and oil and go from there. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattonme Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 If you really want to pinch pennies, source springs from Sonic ~$85. They are perfectly good springs, just not paying for name recognition. In any event, good that you found a cost-effective solution that you're happy with. Motorcycle-Superstore tends to have a decent selection of the heavier fork oils. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattonme Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 I added a lot of verbiage to http://fz07.org/post/25375 to help clarify the options available. Moderators, is there a way you can update the "edited" timestamp on the linked post to reflect the updates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member hippiebikerchick Posted May 19, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 19, 2015 I bumped it for you. Illegitimi non carborundum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member grahamfz07 Posted May 19, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 19, 2015 Thanks for sharing your upgrade. Im thinking about your spring/shock upgrade on mine. I talked to a local suspension shop here and for the ak20 kit and ohlins shock it would be $2500 cad installed. Cant justify that for my style of street riding, let alone try and come up with that cash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member rowdy Posted May 19, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 19, 2015 I'm thinking of doing a Sonic Springs upgrade, and a Matris rear shock (so ~ $700 total). I put Sonic Springs on my last bike (Ninja 500) and it made a world of difference. Why can't left turners see us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fflier9 Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Can someone clarify this quick? I'm trying to firm up the front suspension, so I'm going to get some Sonic springs and fork cap w/ adjustable preload. I looked at a graph and for my weight (200lbs) the spring rate should be somewhere in the .9kg/mm range, whatever. But I have a shop manual here and it says the stock springs are already .87kg/mm. Wtf? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattonme Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Yeah that .87kg/mm seems to be a bone of contention. First that would be a profound deviation from the Jap4 SOP. Second, the front-end dive that is observed is incongruent with the spec. I'll measure here shortly and provide an update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fflier9 Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Alright, thanks. I am curious. Also, I decided to read RaceTech's "motorcycle suspension bible" (it's up on...a certain torrent tracker...as a .pdf) before I decide to do anything and the author says that front end dive under braking is "totally normal". I've seen tons of posts about redone front forks where there is "no more braking dive". I'm sure this is highly suggestive but...what do ya'll think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member n2shotokai Posted May 20, 2015 Author Premium Member Share Posted May 20, 2015 Alright, thanks. I am curious. Also, I decided to read RaceTech's "motorcycle suspension bible" (it's up on...a certain torrent tracker...as a .pdf) before I decide to do anything and the author says that front end dive under braking is "totally normal". I've seen tons of posts about redone front forks where there is "no more braking dive". I'm sure this is highly suggestive but...what do ya'll think? For clarity, my posts should have said "no more excessive braking dive". Every bike have ever owned has some brake dive. But the FZ-07 was by far the worst. I think those stock springs are for a 120 pound rider. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member so1102 Posted May 20, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 20, 2015 Yeah that .87kg/mm seems to be a bone of contention. First that would be a profound deviation from the Jap4 SOP. Second, the front-end dive that is observed is incongruent with the spec. I'll measure here shortly and provide an update.Be interested to see what you find out. FTR the US service manual also says 0.87kgf/mm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmwpowere36m3 Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 OP what spring rate did you go with and what's your approximate weight geared up? Springs will definitely help with brake dive, but low-speed compression needs to be increased really. Changing out to 15w fork oil definitly helps that as the factory weight is 10w. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattonme Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 @bmwpowere36m3, oil weight does ~nothing WRT to the slow (but really also fast) compression circuit since the chamber under the rod "piston" is basically unrestricted. Ok, maybe if you ran 50W vs 10w you might notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member n2shotokai Posted May 20, 2015 Author Premium Member Share Posted May 20, 2015 OP what spring rate did you go with and what's your approximate weight geared up? Springs will definitely help with brake dive, but low-speed compression needs to be increased really. Changing out to 15w fork oil definitly helps that as the factory weight is 10w. I was shooting for 250 pounds so on the front I went with .95. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmwpowere36m3 Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 @bmwpowere36m3, oil weight does ~nothing WRT to the slow (but really also fast) compression circuit since the chamber under the rod "piston" is basically unrestricted. Ok, maybe if you ran 50W vs 10w you might notice. Your right, in that damper rod forks the damping is a function of suspension velocity and it increases with speed squared (exponentially). That's the downside of damper rod forks, to get sufficient low speed, you end up with way too much high speed damping. *edit* are you saying the factory forks, have such large holes in the damper rod to provide very little damping? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregjet Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Pattonme made a very good post " why are the forks pogo sticks" ( it should be a sticky). He has photos of the actual damper rods. As he says, the compression holes are unbelievably small. So in theory the compression "damping" should be quite high stock and feel like a rock on square bumps at speed , which it does. May be a Japanese experiment in using softer springs and attempting to compensate by upping the comp damping. If you regard this as a city commuter ( and in Australia a LAMS ( beginner ) bike), it is probably not as silly at it first seems. But if you want to push it at all or ride on roads like I do it is bloody aweful. Pattome, I know you are not a fan of gold valves but I already have a set . I am fine with the rod comp holes , I already know what to do with these but you seemed concerned with the position and size of the rebound hole. Any thoughts on where and what size with the gold valves. I was going to solder it shut and redrill. I would have liked to try your solution but I will see if I can get these working first. I have the new shock and spring (Nitron) and raising link on so don't have the soggy suspension rock anymore , but it is still harsh and turn in is still an issue ( but better). I am guessing too much front compression as you allude to, but it would be nice to ballpark the rebound while I have them apart. 1 Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattonme Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 @gregjet, I don't want to thread-jack. I've moved your question over to http://fz07.org/thread/2228/why-forks-pogo-sticks since that seems like it might be the best place to hold the "what size orifice" conversation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregjet Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Thanks Pattome I check it Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcsrt Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 I ordered a set of 85 springs and will be getting some 15W oil. For the above average DIY'er, how difficult is the install? Thanks, Dustin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattonme Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Easy. http://fz07.org/post/36010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcsrt Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 That doesn't sound very hard at all. Thanks for the information! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member n2shotokai Posted May 26, 2015 Author Premium Member Share Posted May 26, 2015 I used to like my FZ-07. Yesterday we put in 165 miles, second trip with the new suspension. Now I LOVE my FZ-07. What a blast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member rowdy Posted May 27, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 27, 2015 I used to like my FZ-07. Yesterday we put in 165 miles, second trip with the new suspension. Now I LOVE my FZ-07. What a blast!What spring rate did you get and how much do you weigh (if that isn't too personal a question). Why can't left turners see us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member n2shotokai Posted May 27, 2015 Author Premium Member Share Posted May 27, 2015 I am fat, 260. Bought .95 front springs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtmn Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 yyyyaaaa fat is my word but I suppose you can use it we big men should stick together I too run 95 springs at 250 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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