Completely Shocked

[A41Billy]

Our local riding group was fortunate enough to be graced with a suspension tech day from the legendary Dave Moss from https://www.feelthetrack.com

He spent an hour and a half going over suspension basics and setups. We had 25+ rider show up with their bikes. A new BMW S1000RR, Ducati 1198s, R1's, CBRs, Triumphs, FJRs were all in the mix. One by one we would pull our bikes up to the chock and he would measure sags, rebound, etc. explaining where each bike was off and how to adjust it for each rider. Every bike was no where near to being balanced. There were even track bikes, freshly set from the track by "knowleged individuals" that were way off.

After a few bikes, he was asking the group what was wrong with each bike and how to fix it. Slowly we started absorbing some of his wisdom. He also explained, there are no bad tires made today. People complain of a "bad tire" or this one is far better than that one is BS. It's all about getting the bike setup for that tire.

Prior, I had "dialed in" my suspension with settings from a recommended post on these forums (Haulin Ashe I believe?).

These settings have worked great for me for a year and a half. So I thought.

My turn to pull the FJR up to the stage. Dave took one look at the saggy ass of my FJR and shook his head. Not much can be done here. The rear shock after 30k miles is shot. He also let me know my bike was completely owning me as far as handling was concerned.

After some sag adjustment and rebound changes to the forks, the front end was set.

The first ride after the adjustment revealed two things: First the bike drops into a corner effortlessly compared to prior. Second, the rear suspension is now very noticeably soft.

I was completely acclimated to my bike and the way it handled. Now it's like learning a new bike. The bar pressure needed to lean is much less and it will stay over w/o trying to stand back up.

I am changing the fork oil this weekend and have a new Ohlins YA-707 shock on the way.

I realize I will have to readjust the suspension after I install the new shock. I am really looking forward to getting this done.

 

[Full House]

Good info there, I've avoided tinkering with adjustments, was afraid I'd screw up by not knowing what a FJR should handle like. Would love to have an opportunity like you with a professional.

Hell, I can just tell this is going to cost!

Thanks

 

[A41Billy]

Good info there, I've avoided tinkering with adjustments, was afraid I'd screw up by not knowing what a FJR should handle like. Would love to have an opportunity like you with a professional.Hell, I can just tell this is going to cost!

Thanks

Glad to share info. Actually he charged $20 per person for the lesson and $40 to adjust the bike(we had guaranteed him 25+ customers). Best $60 ever spent on my bike.

Just to add- settings on one bike will differ from another, even the same year FJR. Fork oil age, tires, shock life, rider weight all come in to play when adjusting the suspension and getting it correct.

Here is a you tube video of Dave Moss doing a video tutorial on setting proper sag. Please watch and you will see it is very easy to do. Getting your bike in the proper "stance" is very important.

 

[eg23232]

Folks spend boatloads of money on gadgets and farkles and rarely touch the suspension (or spend $1200 on a Ohlins and never ride to that shock's ability). Best money you can spend, and the first thing any motorcycle owner should do, is get the suspension set up by someone who knows what s/he's doing. Then keep notes on your settings for various situations. Best bang for your buck.

You may consider following Moss on Facebook. He posts loads of great info.

 

[proverbio]

The folks at Race Tech did a nice job on my bike. At around 2K for front and rear, it wasn't cheap. The only regret is that I waited this long to do it.

 

[Cousin B]

The folks at Race Tech did a nice job on my bike. At around 2K for front and rear, it wasn't cheap. The only regret is that I waited this long to do it.

How many miles did you have on your bike at the time?

 

[LKLD]

I'm going to show this to my dealership, in hopes they will do this. Thanks for posting.

 

[lacofdfireman]

I have a question that I almost don't even dare to ask since if Friday but here goes anyways. So I am looking to buy a bike that already has an Ohlins YA-707 rear shock and GP front suspension. Here is my question. Bike is setup for a 185lb rider. I am 250lbs. What am I going to have to do to make this Ohlins and GP suspension work for me? Do I just need to change to a heavier spring or will I end up having to start over? Sorry for the dumb question but I really have no clue about suspension. I just know the Ohlins is good stuff and so is the GP...

 

[MCRIDER007]

You should be OK on the forks and may find the Ohlins is also OK if you are riding solo. The worst that could happen is you will have to re-spring and re-valve the shock. The shock is easy to re-spring and can be re-valved when it is rebuilt....which it probably needs or will need in the near future.