Here Comes the Boom- Unforgiving Suspension 2014A

[Bill Lumberg]

I've noticed a change over the past month or two. My suspension seems to travel as freely and effectively as ever over whoops and in turns, but minor pavement imperfections or seams are knocking my fillings loose. Pressures are good, monitored via tpms and checked manually weekly. No changes to suspension settings in over a year. No loadout changes on the bike. Consistent across the temperature range. Roughly 2/3's the way through a set of PR4GT's. 41,000 miles. I may go back to school and set everything to the middle again and start from there. I'm just puzzled by the change for no apparent reason.

 

[RossKean]

Start from scratch with settings but your stock shock may have seen better days. Have you done the front forks (bushings and seals) yet?

 

[Bill Lumberg]

No. No shock/fork service as of yet. I can see having to change fluid, but I'm surprised that more than that would be necessary, front or rear, on a 2014. Almost feels like I cranked the damping all the way up.

 

[BigOgre]

No. No shock/fork service as of yet. I can see having to change fluid, but I'm surprised that more than that would be necessary, front or rear, on a 2014. Almost feels like I cranked the damping all the way up.

I've noticed a change over the past month or two. My suspension seems to travel as freely and effectively as ever over whoops and in turns, but minor pavement imperfections or seams are knocking my fillings loose. Pressures are good, monitored via tpms and checked manually weekly. No changes to suspension settings in over a year. No loadout changes on the bike. Consistent across the temperature range. Roughly 2/3's the way through a set of PR4GT's. 41,000 miles. I may go back to school and set everything to the middle again and start from there. I'm just puzzled by the change for no apparent reason.

Other than aging fluids as you mentioned, I'm not sure the year of the bike is that big a factor. Them's a lot of miles for two years.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

That was with somewhere around 5 months where the bike was sidelined.... merica. Zeroing out, centering the settings (except for preload- I'm full growed), and seeing what happens.

 

[lele]

Need some maintenance on the front steering head bearings?

 

[bigjohnsd]

Change the Fork Oil,

Rear Shock likely Shot

 

[Bill Lumberg]

My money is on the rear shock (which should in no way have a life span that short). Not sure how to check it, as there's no visible leakage. Not bouncing, just not adjusting fast to bumps. Doing fine on things that don't require the suspension to adjust far and fast. Not assuming it's bad, but will have to figure out warranty positioning if it is. Will schedule fork oil change once the weather turns bad again. I need to make sure it's not fork oil, or an unusual anomaly of PR4GT's in their golden years.

 

[RossKean]

Even if your front forks are not leaking, you would benefit from an oil change. For the first change, you will be disgusted at how dirty it looks.

 

[bigjohnsd]

You should be able to isolate to the front or the rear just by compressing the forks/rear suspension one at a time by hand

 

[Bill Lumberg]

Good advice all. I'm not able to tell much by flexing the suspension on the stationary bike. Seems normal when I jump on it or press on it, front or rear. I'm going to do the things suggested so far, with shock replacement as a last resort. It may be as simple as reducing dampening up front and replacing the oil up front. If not, I'll do whatever. Not a huge problem, only notable because it's a change. Not a bike issue, just a question of what haven't I don't yet that I should've already done. I have my list.

 

[John d]

I would say the rear shock is the problem. I don't have a gen III but I had the same symptoms that only a new shock could cure, albeit the newer one is Penske.

I'm rather shocked to see you haven't changed the fork oil yet. By now you'll probably need new bushings and seals to go along with the fork oil change. It's rather interesting however that fork oil changes aren't even recommended by Yamaha, at least in the '08 owners manual.

That manual for fork maintenance states at every 4000 miles;

• Check operation and for oil leak-age.
• Replace if necessary. (....hmmm...what, the whole fork assembly?)

 

[Bill Lumberg]

And that's why I haven't replaced the oil or the rear shock. Not prescribed. But I suspect that degradation of the front shock oil has gummed things up. Not at all assuming the rear is good, (you've given me good advice in the past) though it'd be a shame on a bike at this mileage.

 

[hppants]

If the fork oil is dirty enough, IMO, that could have an effect on dampening for the front end, which is what I think Bill is describing as his chassis concern. I've not broken down a Gen III fork yet, but I've seen the dampening piston for the Gen 1 and the hole is definitely small enough to be "dirt sensitive".

If there is no sign of seal leakage, I wouldn't change them. But if I decided to change the seals, I would definitely change the bushings as well. I suppose it's possible that the "slick as snot" coating they put on the bushings might be worn, causing some dampening issues as well.

Fork oil is a very inexpensive try. I'd start there and see how it feels.

Edit - do you have the YES warranty? I don't think it would pay for fork oil, but if it is determined that the shock is "worn", would Mama Yamaha consider that?

 

[Bill Lumberg]

Agreed on all counts. Now or later, if it turns out that the rear shock goes bad, if it's not a prescribed replacement or service item (it's not), it will be covered. The catch is- it has to test bad according to Yamaha. And their test may require it to be so bad it breaks loose from its' moorings.

 

[RossKean]

Bill, I wish you luck with warranty replacement. Depends totally on your dealer but without totally messed up damping, a leak or a broken spring I suspect they will be able to refuse. Quality of the shock is pretty subjective and they will probably get one of the mechanics to take it around the block and declare that its A-OK.

Hope you are going to a different dealer than the one who (eventually) replaced the throttle body. On the other hand, maybe they would give you a break after having screwed the pooch on your previous issue.

 

[Joel S.]

I would say the rear shock is the problem. I don't have a gen III but I had the same symptoms that only a new shock could cure, albeit the newer one is Penske.

keep in mind the penske needs regular service. my 8983 i sent in at 40k and was told it was overdue and shot per the tech working on it. (thought i heard 50k when i bought it)

they thought 30-40k miles was a good interval. figured i would send it in every other year,

that was on my c14 (bought the fjr last september)

 

[hppants]

If that is true (40-50K and rear shock is "shot"), then I'd be disappointed. When I was a kid, vehicle (cage) shock absorbers were absolutely "shot" in 50,000 miles. I've changed more than my share in the driveway with my dad.

However, and certainly within the last 15-20 years, shock absorber technology has vastly improved. A vehicle under normal use can get at least 100,000 miles and even much farther out of an OEM set of shocks.

I do understand that motorcycle suspension is not cage suspension, but when you get down to it, the technology is not much different.

I know that for myself, when I tour, I'm loaded, although not near the maximum load. I suppose that might accelerate the wear rate of the rear shock. But regardless, if the stock shock is "toast" at 40,000 miles on my bike, I will be disappointed, and you can bet that I will have words with Yamaha if they don't honor my YES warranty.

 

[Mr_Canoehead]

You could put a zip tie on the shock shaft and see how much movement there is - if the impacts are blowing right through the damping (which is what it sounds like), the zip tie will be pushed all the way to the end of the shaft. Same holds for the forks.