New suspension settings

[Burnspot]

Thanks for this topic Haulin, it's made a difference on my 2007. I picked up my "new to me" '07 from the dealer yesterday and spent the afternoon just riding around and getting a feel for it. I totally enjoyed the ride, but found that it did the weeble wobble in the corners and couldn't really hold any sort of line with confidence. I felt like I was forcing it to dive in to a curve.

Got up this morning and read through this topic, then dragged the laptop out to the garage and set to work. Found that the front fork clickers were complete mismatched almost to opposite ends of the scale, same goes for the lower clickers. I reset everything and then dialed in Haulin's '07 suggestions, but with a "5" on the rear shock to keep it semi-soft (pre-load is set to soft). Took the bike out on the freeway first to see general comfort, then hit some curvy country roads...WOW! Bike felt good at speed on the slab and, on the curvy roads, stuck to the line throughout and felt solid the entire time. It was basically a night and day difference to the day before. Glad I took the time to set things up right.

 

[BlueFJRider]

I've been running the sportrider.com settings for a few years on my '05 and was relatively happy, much better than the stock settings. I'm sooo glad this thread was resurrected as softening the rebound settings a little made the ride noticeably better with no detrimental effects in the twisties. I now see what you meant by "harsh" with the sportrider settings. Thanks Jeff!

Brad

 

[FantasticJohnR]

Jeff,

I have had a 2003 and then a 2006 and now a 2010. On the 2010 I put to the settings of my 06 (2,8,8, soft (except for loaded or 2-up, then hard), 6).

I think maybe I should back the preload off to 3 lines so I have some room to adjust and "tighten" up later when I get 10-20K miles. What do you think?

BTW: I am 180 lbs, aggressive rider- but, here in Texas we have cattle guards ect that make balancing between a stiff suspension for the twisties but not too hard that I get destroyed going over these obstacles.

 

[RickyRey]

Note - This post was originally made for a 2005 model. See subsequent posts for information on 2007 and later models.
So yesterday I serviced my forks, steering head bearing, put on a new tire and decided to do some tweaking on the suspension settings. But first things first...

If you have never checked your suspension settings (clickers) you should. If you don't have a service manual then take it to the dealer and get it done. Many dealers assume incorrectly that Yamaha accurately sets the suspension on every bike released. I've seen several brand new bikes, both dirt and street, that have clickers set wrong or worse, set differently from right to left forks.

Rickster recently posted a reply that contained this reference:

SPortRider.com shows for the FJR:
Front 2 lines

rebound 4 clicks out

compression 7 clicks out

rear preload - hard

rear rebound 3 clicks out

(rear compression is not adjustable on stock shock)

Now I consider those settings to be a bit "harsh". I especially don't like running the rear rebound that stiff. My personal experience is that anytime you adjust suspension clickers to near their limit, performance becomes questionable and the suspension behaves erratically. So I devised compromised settings as follows:

Rider weight: 183 lbs.

Typical Bike Payload: Yamaha side bags and top bag, 25 lbs. added cargo

Riding style: Moderately aggressive, frequent 3-digit speeds, rapid braking and acceleration common.

FRONT

* Preload, Line-2 (this means one line exposed above the cap, one line flush with the cap/adjuster). Stock setting is Line-3.

* Rebound, 6 clicks out. Stock setting is 12-clicks out. (this is the top adjustment)

* Compression, 8 clicks out. Stock setting is 12-clicks out. (this is the bottom adjustment that protrudes off the side of the fork)

REAR

* Preload - Hard (find the lever!)

* Rebound - 6 clicks out. Stock is 10-clicks out. (think of the rear rebound clicker as a right-hand thread)

OBSERVATIONS FROM TEST RIDE

Wow! The very first thing I noticed yet never expected, was that the bar vibration is reduced. Apparently a lot of the bar vibration comes from the suspension being so soft and allowing small, rapid movements in the fork tubes. The stiffer suspension settings seems to force the tire to soak up a bit more.

No more weebles! I've always hated that "weeble" feel when driving hard into corners, especially high-speed sweepers with elevation transitions. The front tended to "wobble and weave" with a washy feeling that I called "weebling". You know... Weebles wobble but they don't fall down. That somewhat freaky thing seems to be drastically reduced if not gone!

Dive Dive Dive no more! I can now roll hard to a stop and get a smooth return to the top. No more diving of the front end when tapping the brakes for a high-speed corner setup. Just tap the front and the forks settle into slightly lower position with no rebound. You can definitely feel the added wheelbase in the turns. This must be what the 06 guys feel all the time.

Perhaps less tire pressure? I normally run 40 rear, 38 front. I could easily see running 38 rear and 36 front, providing the tires don't do something stupid with mileage. This would give me a slightly better footprint and improved traction.

Overall the new settings have a much crisper, yet not uncomfortable feel. I don't have a lot of twisties to test around here. But this weekend I plan the NorthGA run and we'll see for certain how the new settings play. Yamaha has a well-earned reputation for flexibility in their suspension packages. I would encourage anyone interested in doing some careful experimentation. CHECK AND RECORD YOUR EXISTING SETTINGS, KNOW WHAT YOUR STOCK SETTINGS SHOULD BE, WRITE DOWN YOUR CHANGES. All it takes is two minutes and a screwdriver to set everything back if you don't like it.

Thanks Jeff,

I did a 1500 miler this weekend and was pleased that I took the BEADS out of my my new P2's and went back to exterior weight for balancing. Much less vibe and smoother riding slab and corners etc. But still some vibe that I did not have with the Avon Storms. As we were winding our way thru VA, MD, WV, TN, NC twisties (Dragon detours) Im thinking what next? Then I remembered I wanted to set up my suspension and did not do it.

Voila!. Here it tis...Less vibes and less diving....Ill give it a go this week and see how it works.

Thanks again for posting.

 

[Buckeyechuck]

I noticed a lot of vibration and wallowing and seemed like a fat cow turning at low speeds. No fun at all on twisties and had alot of diving. I was set at stock settings for a 2007 AE and set on HARD. I'm about 190lbs and had saddlebags on.

Changed settings to FRONT

* Preload, Line-3

* Rebound, 6 clicks out.

* Compression, 8 clicks out.

REAR

* Preload - Soft

* Rebound - 6 clicks out.

So much better. Felt more nimble and a lot less diving with hard braking. Sweepers more fun !!

I am glad I found this thread

Thanks OP !

 

[chivvalry]

Went from the stock 4-12-12-12 Soft to 3-8-8-8 Soft... LOVE IT. Zoe went from a pillowy soft old Cadillac jouncing down the road and wallowing thru curves to nice tight Acura hugging the road surface and cutting thru curves.

I might tighten her legs up a bit more but I traverse some crappy roads this early in the spring and she's a bit rough right now on the potholes and crud.

I was a bit nervous about doing it until I actually started and then felt like an ***** for worrying about it. Easy.

Thanks Ashe!!

 

[verranth]

on post 128, someone asked about the number of clicks on their bike. Since I bought my 09 in Feb 2010, it was the last they had, and it was the one they had on the floor. How do I go about resetting the clicker since I never thought about this and I cant be sure that the rebound is set correctly on both sides? Do I just click CCW all the way until it stops clicking and then count back?

Thanks for you help.

Also, I will try the 3-6-6-6 soft setup. I want to join the club of finely tuned FJRs =)

(wow...i'm not FNG anymore...when did that happen?! w00t!)

 

[Bulldog9]

I just had my fork seals replaced, flushed forks, and filled with the yamamamma suspension oil (spensive stuff lucy.......) WOW what a difference.

I was at 1.5-6-6, and was way too stiff, never realized how bean (20K) the oil was. Now I am running at 2-8-8. Bike is planted, stable, solid, feels almost new, and I am very happy.

 

[DaveD]

One more satisfied customer.

I had done this on my 04 and forgot all about doing it on my new 09 until I noticed this thread the other day. Rode the bike with the new settings yesterday and today, and the difference is really remarkable.

To anyone who hasn't dialed in the suspension: it's quick, it's easy, it's free, it's pretty much impossible to screw up (I am an excellent test for this one), and it makes a huge difference!

Do it!

 

[FargoFeej]

+1

I did this in the parking lot at the end of the workday today after reading the thread (well, most of it) over the noon hour. It took less than 10 minutes. I used the settings given for Gen II FJRs (Front: 2 lines, 8, 8; Rear: Soft, 6). I could tell before I reached the street that the bike rode better. The ten mile ride home was great! No more deep nosedive with even a little front brake, no bouncing like a child's rocking horse on every bump, a real treat of a ride. Even a novice rider like me can tell the difference. We have no twisties here in Fargo, so I will head out to Minnesota lakes country this weekend to find some!

Thanks for the information, and long live "The Thread That Wouldn't Die!"

Richard

2007 AE, such a pretty gray.

Fargo, ND

 

[rjsMeTaL]

+1

I don't know why it took so long for me to decide to do, but I finally got to it yesterday and it made a huge difference in the way the bike handles!!!

:fans:

 

[maddad]

Definetly felt the difference, but just made me miss those southern US roads. Backroads here in New Brunswick just were a little too rough. But great to start making some of these adjustments and see how they work out.

 

[Wannabe_4x4]

I hit the 1 year mark on my FJR. woo hoo!

Months and months and months of testing, fidgeting, messing around with preload lines, rebound, comp, etc. I can finally say my bike is running at suspension nirvana.

I can not thank Haulin Ashe enough for all the guidance over the last year. Having a tuned suspension makes all the difference in the world. And you guys are right, 40psi front tire, 42psi rear tire is the correct psi.

front Comp. 10, Reb. 10, 0 lines of preload (it's almost all the way in, and I'm at 45mm sag).

rear (i have the penske 8983 shock) comp 12, reb. 16, preload is right at 40mm sag (only added about 1 turn of preload from factory setting).

Standing next to the bike, if I press down on the handlebar with my left hand, and press on the seat with my right, the bike will dip and return at the exact same rate front and back (nose and tail). Going into turns the nose dives well and coming out of turns the back squats about right. Stopping at lights, it feels like it's at "zero balance" meaning that it's equally balanced front to back, and dips at the same rate. I dragged my knee for the time ever yesterday morning going through one of the long sweepers in northern Los Angeles. :yahoo:

At 10K on the bike, only pain in the neck is that now I need a new front tire. I swapped out the orig Metzler's at 1K, and put Michelin Pilot Road's on. Apparently they discontinued the Pilot Road (orig), so I'm forced to get a matching set of the Pilot Road 2ct style. I could go on ebay and find a PR1, but ya never know with these wharehouse blowouts... if the tires have been stored improperly, sitting in the sun, etc. Still though, to get 9K out of a front tire on the FJR, I was impressed. Probably would have gone 11-12K if my front end wasn't screwed up from all the suspension tweaking over the last year.

In my honest opinion, and advice for those on here who are only getting 2-4K out of your tires, go back and check your suspension, overall bike geometry and tire pressure. Something must be wrong if you're not getting at least 6-8K out of your tires...if not more.

 

[Sharif]

This is a great thread! - I need to tinker with the settings and see if I can sharpen the handling a bit.

 

[sharpdoc]

I read through this entire thread before posting my observations over the last few days and 500 miles of Texas Hill Country riding on an '05. I've put very few miles on this bike since i bought it in in '05 due to health problems, but am now back on track. The bike was bought new and I've ridden with the stock front and rear suspension settings for the last 12,000 miles. Not having found this thread before this past weekend's Hill Country riding, I was talking to one of the salesmen at Destination Cyclesports in Kerrville, Texas about my riding style and just generally kicking tires in the showroom. He mentioned that they had a tech who had been to a session on this at a Yamaha school, and had since set up a number of FJRs, and that suspension adjustments/setup was something they recommended and offered at the 600 mile checkup so that the rider would be able to better help them to make "before" and "after" comparisons and fine tune the adjustments. I'd just spend the whole day riding over a wide variety of roads; everything from straight line runs to switchbacks, and planned similar riding the next day. I signed up for the adjustment, and answered a number of questions the tech had about my riding style, weight, how I kept my bags loaded, tire pressures, etc. After about an hour, I got the bike back with changes to settings similar to those that have been listed in this thread and had about 4mm of the fork tubes showing above the clamps. The tech told me to take it easy for a while and gradually work my way up to riding the same types of roads I had the day before and to bring it back for any fine tuning I felt it needed later in the day.

I'm not as savvy as many of you are about describing the symptoms of poor suspension setup but since new, my '05 seemed to require a lot of effort to keep it on a set line in sweepers from 40-80 mph, and a lot of trouble in making transitions from one corner to the next. I found myself worn out after more than a few houurs of wrestling the bike around corners. I found myself being uneasy entering corners at what I thought were reasonable entry speeds when following the lines of experienced riders in front of me. I also had a lot of trouble keeping the bike from wandering on the freeway and attributed this to either handling abnormalities caused by tires or my crappy riding skills.

The adjustments made by the tech in Kerrville made such a profound difference that I felt as if I were riding a completely different bike. And after a few hours I felt all of the problems I recounted above were completely eliminated. To summarize; the bike now fell into corners wherever I pointed my head, and tracked through through both sweepers and tight corners with no corrections needed. If I did need to change my line in mid-corner, it was easily accomplished. I was able to increase my entry speed by at least 10 mph and feel completely comfortable in comparison to the previous day's corner speeds. Even straight line tracking at all speeds was vastly improved. I felt much less fatigued after a day's riding, because I wasn't having to wrestle the bike in corners. My perception is that the bike feels about 100# lighter in corners after the adjustments than before. BIG difference in every way.

So, I'd mirror the comments of all the posters in this long and interesting thread. First, if you are unsatisfied with the compliance, handling or "feel" of the bike, don't be afraid to either ask for help or tackle suspension ajustments yourself. Second, based on the comments of all of the posters in this thread, one size doesn't fit all. Even what seem like minor changes have the possibility of making major improvements in your enjoyment of this or any other bike.

With less than 15,000 miles on this '05, I'm going to stick with the stock suspension for a while until I my skill level exceeds the equipment or the existing stock suspenders wear out as many of you have reported. Just wanted to let the world know how thrilled I am that I have a bike that responds to me as this one does now. I washed off the accumulated collection of 1000 miles of bugs this evening with new found admiration for this fine piece of equipment. Just wish I had had the adjustments done 12,000 miles ago!

As usual, I have no connection with the dealer mentioned above other than having been a satisifed customer of their service department on several occasions.

This thread has been awesome and encyclopedic!! I just changed my 2009 ABS to the recommended 2 lines,8,8,soft,6. Oh my, quite a difference. I feel so much more confident now.I was beginning to feel pretty inadequate over the past year as posters talk about how the Feej is such a great handling bike and I seemed to have to work at it way too hard!!! Now I know what they meant!! I am curious about Twilkin650s mention of the 4mm of fork tubes showing above the clamps. The only time I have heard of this being done is to compensate for putting the Kouba links on the back. Does anybody have any experience with this approach? Also, Twilkin, how did you answer the techs questions regarding weight, rding style, tires etc. Thanks all. Love this forum.

 

[maddad]

I have the Ohlin's setup on the back. Same type of seetings. (Preload, in/out dampening). Anyone have this setup and suggested reccomended settings?

 

[HeUeR]

Wow...I just bought my new to me 03, previous owner had front all the way down (No lines) and the rear somewhere in the middle. Bike rides smoother up front, but hard in the rear, so I'm going to the soft setting.

 

[chivvalry]

Glad you found the thread... and that its warm enough for you to ride down there. My poor bike is all put away for the winter.... *sigh* Can't wait for spring.

 

[HeUeR]

Glad you found the thread... and that its warm enough for you to ride down there. My poor bike is all put away for the winter.... *sigh* Can't wait for spring.

It's riding weather 24-7-365 down here :yahoo:

 

[FJRAE]

Just wanted to thank the OP for sharing, I adjusted mine and the difference is huge, much less input required into a turn, feels much more precise

Fwiw, mine was set at 13,3,11 front and soft, 6 rear

The info on this forum is stellar