New Owner of 2010 - Suspension Feels Harsh

[FJRBound]

Greetings. Got my 2010 with about 8,500 miles on it a week ago. My test ride was brief and on smooth roads. As I've encountered rougher road surfaces, I've been surprised by how, well, harsh the suspension feels. Now, granted, I'm coming from a pretty softly-sprung, long-travel V-Strom.

One of the first things I did after I got the bike home was to return the suspension settings to the factory defaults. Except for a little extra preload on the front, everything was pretty much already there. I've never ridden the bike with the rear adjusted in the "hard" position.

1. Given that I'm coming from the V-Strom, is my experience unusual?

2. Should I just back off the damping to achieve a little plusher ride?

Of the two other FJRs I've ridden (both 05s) one was every bit as uh, firm as mine -- maybe more so -- but the other seemed to soak up irregularities much more readily. I'm not sure whether either of those bikes had aftermarket suspension bits.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts...

MRV

 

[Fontanaman]

Most bikes from Japan, including the FJR, are terribly undersprung, suffer from a soft suspension setup and in the case of the FJR do not have proper suspension valving.

The Gen III and ES models are better than most. Gen 1 and Gen II FJR's work better with an aftermarket upgrade to improve the handling of the motorcycle.

If your bike has stock suspension then it is unusual to hear comments about harsh suspension. My 09 was a waddling pig until I installed a Penske in the back and GP upgrade to the front.

 

[Fred W]

I also own a Vstrom (the man sized version) and an FJR. Yes, the suspension of the FJR is much firmer than the longer travel, ADV oriented 'Strom's suspension. When it comes to riding around the crappy back roads of New England the stock suspension on my 'Strom is far more comfortable that the heavily re-worked suspension on my '05 FJR. And furthermore, I find I can ride the really bad roads much faster on that stock Vstrom suspension.

When people say the FJR is "undersprung" that is from the standpoint of optimizing the on-road (i.e. smooth road) sport handling of the bike. All suspension is a compromise between its softness and compliance to irregularities and its firmness and ability to maintain the chassis in the optimum geometric relationships during hard riding loads, especially cornering. There is no free lunch here.

A Vstrom (or a Super Tenere as another example) will be able to gobble up ripped up pavement or dirt roads that will shake the fillings out of an ST or Sport bike rider. That's just the way it is.

Now, all of that said, the stock suspension of most bikes is another compromise between optimum performance and cost. So your stock FJR suspension can be improved quite a bit with some aftermarket items. But it is not going to be cheap. And when you are done, it will still not be as compliant as the long travel Vstrom suspension. That is also the way it is.

Hope that helps.

 

[FJRBound]

Thanks, guys. Not eager to see the wife/pillion's face after her first ride...

 

[Fred W]

One thing that may happen is that with the extra weight of a passenger, you'll find that FJR feels much less "stiff".

You may be pleasantly surprised when you are two up. Best of luck!

 

[MrM0t0]

Have you set up sag properly?

 

[FJRBound]

One thing that may happen is that with the extra weight of a passenger, you'll find that FJR feels much less "stiff". You may be pleasantly surprised when you are two up. Best of luck!

I had thought (and do hope) that this might be the case. It'll be a while -- she's going to be out of the country for a couple of weeks -- but I'll report back. (We have two more Tour of Honor sites to hit after she returns.)

 

[FJRBound]

Have you set up sag properly?

Neither mine, nor the bike's.

Given that the wife will be on the back almost half the time, I think I'll be relying pretty much on the "Hard/Soft" lever. Much will be revealed when I finally get her on the pillion seat...

 

[Fred W]

I think he meant the front. Try reducing the preload a little. Maybe your bike has aftermarket fork springs and they are responsible for some of the abruptness of what you are feeling?

 

[FJRBound]

I think he meant the front. Try reducing the preload a little. Maybe your bike has aftermarket fork springs and they are responsible for some of the abruptness of what you are feeling?

Possible. One of the challenges of owning a pre-owned bike... I bought from the second owner; don't know what the first did to the bike. But most of the abruptness, I think, is coming from the back. IIRC, I have only damping adjustment and the hard/soft lever to work with. Haven't yet tried the hard setting.

 

[PapaUtah]

Keep your eyes open around here for one of the 2013 or 2014 owners selling their factory rear shock if they are moving up to a Penske or the Ohlins. The Gen III rear shock is a vast improvement over the Gen II unit. Up front, I would encourage you to pull the front forks and at a minimum drain and refill the front forks with oil of your choice. I stayed with the factory M1 0 weight oil. Fresh oil up front can make a big difference. Take the front settings back to neutral and readjust from there in the direction of your liking. If that doesn't help, GP can!

 

[carlson_mn]

When you're on a rough road, use your abs and legs to keep your weight off your hands so you're not jarring down on your wrists.

Having said that, I think my '08 rides awesome, even on crap roads. I'll swap with guys on sport bikes and they think I'm riding a flying lazy boy. I do have aftermarket shock and I've changed my fork fluid at 40k miles but it was comfortable stock too. I'm younger than most so maybe that helps.

 

[Fred W]

When you're on a rough road, use your abs and legs to keep your weight off your hands so you're not jarring down on your wrists.

Good point. The ADV sit up and beg position kind of does that for you, and that may be part of why he feels "jarred" in a semi-sport position.

Having said that, I think my '08 rides awesome, even on crap roads. I'll swap with guys on sport bikes and they think I'm riding a flying lazy boy. I do have aftermarket shock and I've changed my fork fluid at 40k miles but it was comfortable stock too. I'm younger than most so maybe that helps.

Yeah exactly. It's all part of the grand compromise between sport and comfort. Sport is to ST, as ST is to ADV.

 

[NMRoadRunner]

Am I the only one who is getting tired of hearing "My FJR isn't like my other bike" Well your FJR isn't your other bike, it is a Sport Tour, a cross between a sport bike and a tour bike. Whats next? The obligatory "my FJR vibrates". I sometimes wonder if some of these people knew what they were buying.

 

[Bounce]

Let's all step back and count to 10. To follow that path could be the path to a threadjack. Lots of good info in the TECH section so let's not force it into NEPRT.

 

[MCRIDER007]

Greetings. Got my 2010 with about 8,500 miles on it a week ago. My test ride was brief and on smooth roads. As I've encountered rougher road surfaces, I've been surprised by how, well, harsh the suspension feels. Now, granted, I'm coming from a pretty softly-sprung, long-travel V-Strom.
One of the first things I did after I got the bike home was to return the suspension settings to the factory defaults. Except for a little extra preload on the front, everything was pretty much already there. I've never ridden the bike with the rear adjusted in the "hard" position.

Why are you asking about a harsh ride when you haven't even bothered to test the suspension in the "hard" position? A harsh ride is the result of either too stiff of springs, too much compression damping, or springs that are so soft the bike is actually bottoming over bumps. Try the hard position (which results in a heavier spring rate), back off the damping if the ride is still harsh, and tell us the difference in ride between the two spring settings. How rough are the roads that you are encountering a harsh ride? It would also help to know your weight. A 150 lb rider is going to get a much different result than a 250 lb rider.

 

[Fred W]

I think that some of us may forget that "harsh" is a relative, and completely subjective, term.

What feels "harsh" for a guy coming from a Vstrom will feel cushy to someone coming off a Gixxer.

 

[FJRBound]

Why are you asking about a harsh ride when you haven't even bothered to test the suspension in the "hard" position? A harsh ride is the result of either too stiff of springs, too much compression damping, or springs that are so soft the bike is actually bottoming over bumps. Try the hard position (which results in a heavier spring rate), back off the damping if the ride is still harsh, and tell us the difference in ride between the two spring settings. How rough are the roads that you are encountering a harsh ride? It would also help to know your weight. A 150 lb rider is going to get a much different result than a 250 lb rider.

Will try the hard position, though it seems counter-intuitive, then damping adjustments. I weigh about 150. How rough? Again, subjective... but nothing really torn-up. Freeway expansion joints, minor frost heaves (again, nothing that would have caused me to stand on the pegs on any other bike I've ever owned). I think part (but only part) of the issue for me may be the Sargent seat, which seems to do little or nothing to absorb jolts coming through the chassis.

Thanks...

 

[MCRIDER007]

Why are you asking about a harsh ride when you haven't even bothered to test the suspension in the "hard" position? A harsh ride is the result of either too stiff of springs, too much compression damping, or springs that are so soft the bike is actually bottoming over bumps. Try the hard position (which results in a heavier spring rate), back off the damping if the ride is still harsh, and tell us the difference in ride between the two spring settings. How rough are the roads that you are encountering a harsh ride? It would also help to know your weight. A 150 lb rider is going to get a much different result than a 250 lb rider.

Will try the hard position, though it seems counter-intuitive, then damping adjustments. I weigh about 150. How rough? Again, subjective... but nothing really torn-up. Freeway expansion joints, minor frost heaves (again, nothing that would have caused me to stand on the pegs on any other bike I've ever owned). I think part (but only part) of the issue for me may be the Sargent seat, which seems to do little or nothing to absorb jolts coming through the chassis.

Going to the hard position does seem counter-intuitive and the normal expected result would be a even harsher ride....but its the easy way to eliminate the possibility that you are bottoming the suspension in the soft position (which happens quite a bit with heavier riders). Bottoming seems unlikely given you only weigh 150 lbs but stranger things have happened and since you bought the bike used you don't have any way to know if the shock is actually the original.