Quirky cornering.

[Windblown]

Ok so I've done some searching here and found lots about suspension upgrades and such but nothing that seems to address what I'm feeling on my (new to me) fjr. Sorry in advance for the long winded first post.

The bike: '05 FJR 21,000 miles ridden one up, fairly new Z6 tires (not squared off) Sag not measured yet but seems ballpark right (i know, I know, I haven't had a chance to get someone help me measure it yet). I have adjusted rebound & compression on front as I would any other bike (till it feels about right)

Me: I ride street, track (trackdays), and in the dirt, trail riding mostly, MX is too tough on a blownout back. I do most of my own wrenching but am not a bike mechanic by trade.

Issue: Bike seems possessed at times. Straight line stability os very good. Initial turn-in is good. Then things get a little hinky. One moment the bike seems to want to fall into the corner and the next it seems to want to stand-up, this is especially noticable over mid-corner heaves and bumps. As close as I can tell with limited miles on the bike (due to snow) it seems these traits are connected to both the amount of lean angle and bumps. Near as I can tell on the face of a bump the bike is trying to stand-up, as it comes over the bump she wants to fall in. Changes in compression and rebound have not yet seemed to help, though I have gottern rid of most of the bikes tendnacy to pogo (rebound damping was way too low initially).

So, is this a known issue that suspension upgrades/service will fix? Is it just the nature of the beast? Both my '06 Sprint (now sold) and my '04 Concours (still have) are more predictable in the corners.

If I can't get it sorted out I may throw it on the trailer and take it to the track and have my suspension guy take a look, but I KNOW that will end up costing me major bucks cause he's probably gonna say "First thing we need to do is rip out your stock suspension and replace it." I'm not looking for a bike that rails like my R6, I'd just like it to be a little more predictable.

Thoughts?

TIA.

Edit: Doh! Sorry about putting this in the wrong forum. FNG's what can ya do with them?

 

[Grumpy]

In addition to what Jeff has suggested, I wouldn't be suprised to find that the rear shock maybe nearing the need for replacement.

jim

 

[Windblown]

I meant to put in my weight in the first post. I check in about 175lbs w/o gear.

I had run Qualifiers and Pilot Powers on my Sprint and they were great, but for my moderatley aggressive street riding I switched to Z6's on it and found them to handle nearly as well. They were certainly predictable, just a little slower turn-in and not quite as much absolute grip.

Fork brace huh? I'll put that on the top of the list after a fork service. A fork brace certainly helped with a vagueness that my Concours had. I guess I'll just have to set aside a day to really give the bike a good going over from front to rear as soon as the weather breaks a bit.

I noticed rear shock re-builds get a lot of billing on here. Hopefully I'll be able to put that off for awhile yet but we'll see.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Geezer]

(snip)I noticed rear shock re-builds get a lot of billing on here. Hopefully I'll be able to put that off for awhile yet but we'll see.

Thanks for the input.

The rear shock is pretty bad to begin with and is probably well worn by the time your bike reached 20k. You can stretch it's life some by running it on the 'hard' setting. I suspect this just keeps the spring stiff enough that you don't notice the lack of damping as much. That said, running the shock on the hard setting was tough on my back so I swapped in a Wilbers with a relatively light spring and I am very happy. I also run Silkolene 2.5W fork oil, which is lighter than what most folks use. I weigh about 180 and rarely carry a pillion.

 

[twowheelnut]

1) Ditch those friggin' Metzelers. They'll kill you.

2) A brace would help, but that doesn't sound like the main issue to me.

3) It also sounds like that rear shock might be going or gone, as well.

 

[thesonicboom]

I've got the same issue on my 05 with 7000 miles on it. Just seems to wanna dive too much and I have to pull the handle bar back to reel her back in. Not sure about any suspension work on it. i am 150 lbs and have z4's on them. I thought it was the bike, but glad to hear it can be fixed. Just dont know how to go about adjusting or checking suspension. I do need to get new tires but I get a barrage of different opinions about what is the best. One guy told me z6's should be the only tire put on an fjr. any thoughts....

 

[FJRocket]

1) Ditch those friggin' Metzelers. They'll kill you.
2) A brace would help, but that doesn't sound like the main issue to me.

3) It also sounds like that rear shock might be going or gone, as well.

That sums it up rather well.

Is the shock stock? If so, it's probably toast. Are you riding with it set on hard or soft? If you are riding on soft, try hard. If you are riding on hard.. it's toast. You might try twisting up the clicker on the shock, but don't get your hopes up.

Oh, and as mentioned by me and several others, those Metzlers seem to be toast long before they LOOK like toast. My AE handled like crap when the tire still looked good. Change that rubber.

 

[v65]

The stearing head bearing is tight right?

 

[thesonicboom]

I hear a clicking sound coming from the steering head when I accelerate. The tires have 7k on them. I am looking at buying the avon storms. How do I tell if the shocks are shot? I tried it on both settings but my tires are so f'd up that I'm not sure. 1st thing is to change rubber I guess.

 

[racer157]

I have a couple of questions. Have you changed the steering head bearings yet? Have you serviced the rear suspension linkage yet? These two areas are critical if you are going to track days or racing. You will also find that a set up for the track will not always work on the street. Log your settings in a book and only change one setting at a time. Since the fjr has limited ajustment on the rear try the lower setting first and begin adjusting the rebound starting in the middle. Then move to the front end and start in the middle of the setting ranges. Set your sag first the the compression then the rebound. The rebound will cause you the most greif. The most important thing to remember is ONE CHANGE AT A TIME. If you violate this eddict the gods of suspension will rain on your parade. I have been setting up bikes of all kinds for 35 years and have owned the lap records on most of the tracks here in california in a variety of classes from 250 s to open twins super street to stock. Good luck with your search for the perfect handling fjr.

 

[Windblown]

Just got back in from messing with a few things on the bike in the garage while I wait for the snow to melt.

Checked the steering head bearings for play or tight spots, all seems well.

Cranked up the rebound damper on the rear shock to test to see if it was working. Seems to be functioning well enough, with the rebound damping cranked all the way up the bike would just squat when the rear was pushed down. Played around with the soft/hard lever. The bike does seem too soft on the rear with it in the soft position, or I have the compression damping on the front a little too tight because with the shock set in the soft position the bike did not seem well balanced when pushed down in the center.

I'm going to set the bike to suggested baseline settings and go for a test ride over to a buddies house when the snow clears off the driveway so I can get a 2nd pair of hands to verify sag settings and go from there.

I'll report back how she's doing later.

Thanks again.

 

[madmike2]

Just to fan a couple of embers into flames...

The FJR is a heavy, pig of a bike compared to sportbikes. As such, it will be more sensitive to low tire pressures. If the tires are run at low pressures like some sportbike riders do to accomplish a better "footprint", that could feel "squirmy" on an FJR and the turn in could fel heavy.

 

[rocketdoc]

++ what Madmike has said. Tire pressure makes a huge difference in handling on the FJR, it's cold out there, check and see where you are there. It would be good to know. Make sure your dampening adjustments are the same. If some dork has played with one of them that could explain the unpredictability in the bumps while in the corner.

++ on the fork brace.

Good luck.

 

[Windblown]

Quick update:

I check tire pressures regularly. At last check they were 40 front, 42 rear. Haven't had time to make further suspension adjustments. But I've been getting some seat time using the bike for my commute to work.

I must say I'm impressed with how the bike handles 35mph gusts and dirty air around 18wheelers while tooling down the interstate! Very nice. Even without electric gear (except heated grips) the commute is quite doable even into the upper 20's.

Problem still very evident in the corners but I don't rail very hard when the roads are these temps so it's not a big issue right now.

I'm certain one of the things that have been suggested in this thread will lick the problem. Now I just need to get some time to work on it.

- James

 

[sprint_st]

Just to fan a couple of embers into flames...
The FJR is a heavy, pig of a bike compared to sportbikes. As such, it will be more sensitive to low tire pressures. If the tires are run at low pressures like some sportbike riders do to accomplish a better "footprint", that could feel "squirmy" on an FJR and the turn in could fel heavy.

If you think the FJR is a pig, the dude is riding a Connie, now there is a pig. If the Connie feels stable in the turns compared to the FJR then something is seriously wrong. (Had a Connie with fork brace, RT springs and emulators). I like Metzler's BUT, when the front gets worn a bit, some of the things you mention start to happen. Had them on an 02 Sprint and bragged them up and down until I started to have some really squirelly events. They looked OK but when I replaced them, all was right with the world.

 

[TruWrecks]

Get the front and rear HyperPro springs, and M3's. It will handle like a whole different animal.

 

[beeroux]

A) ditch the Z6's.

B) get a real shock.

Putting on the Wilburs shock when new was a completely transforming experience. I thought I sucked as a rider, but the shock made me feel like Rossi.

For about a minute.

I now suck again, but DAMN if my bike doesn't wiggle or sniggle or waffle around a corner. PLANTED.

Yer stocker is a shocker, so pony for the Tony and be done with it.

IOW, the stock stuff sucks, go after-market and get pre-load. You'll see.

GZ