Rear Shock adjuster

[FJR1300Jeff]

First of all I can hardly tell the difference where the rear shock is set but....

I always thought that for just me riding I keep the setting on soft......and for spirited or passenger, or loaded up go with the hard setting.

Is this what you guys do with the setting???

 

[toophast]

I ride with mine hard all the time

 

[Geezer]

At first I left mine in the soft position for solo riding but after a couple of thousand miles moved it to hard. At first I found the hard position to be a little too stiff but either I got used to it or the spring wore into it because I was using it on hard all the time. I found the shock to be good for only about 10k miles anyway. After about 9k it started to feel a little like a pogo stick.

 

[C&C]

Yamaha suggests soft for solo, hard for two-up or rider with luggage. There's a slight difference but either works either way for me, but I rarely take the bike even close to the limits; gotta work on that some I guess.

 

[FJR1300Jeff]

I found the shock to be good for only about 10k miles anyway. After about 9k it started to feel a little like a pogo stick.

No Kidding.......Is this common?? Will I need to replace the shock??? Is this warrantee?

I have noticed the shock a little more spongy, but I thought it was just my chushy butt..

 

[TestPilot]

I ride with mine hard all the time

And what about the shock?

 

[donaldb]

I dont think I'm hi-jacking here--if I am I apologize up front. I am posting/posing a shock question. I have the stock OEM shock w/just about 6250 miles on my 04. Some may recall my recent service nightmare post a few weeks back. Since I had that service (around the first of March) I have put on about 250 miles. I rode to work yesterday and when I got home, I ck'ed my mail and while sitting on the bike my cel phone started to ring. So, off comes the helmet and ear plugs, conversation ends and then I notice a creeking sound eminating from either my swingarm (which I had ck'd and lubed during the service) or from the shock. The shock position was on soft. I ride down to the garage and begin to investigate. As best I can tell the creeking sound is coming from the shock. Any ideas of why this started? culprit? suggestions of what to do to correct? Anybody think it may have something to do w/the service I had done? can relate this back to such and take it back to the dealership? Thanx for your thoughts and suggestions. Is this something that just comes and goes and I should not be concerned at this point? I have no idea how long this has been going on before I noticed it, but I can feel a bit/very slight vibration through the seat when I bounce up and down while sitting on it. I notice when I move the adjuster to hard the creeking sound all but disappears :huh: whats up w/dat? prolly my fat butt!!

 

[MCRIDER007]

The shock position was on soft. I ride down to the garage and begin to investigate. As best I can tell the creeking sound is coming from the shock. Any ideas of why this started? culprit? suggestions of what to do to correct? Anybody think it may have something to do w/the service I had done?

The OEM shock is a double spring sealed unit and cannot be "serviced" so I don't think this is anything you can blame on your recent service. I have no idea what is making your noise unless it is the shock spring rubbing against the adjuster (which switches between using a single or double spring). A couple of members have reported that their shocks completely failed and starting leaking oil and Yamaha replaced the shock under warranty but it doesn't sound like that is your problem, at least not yet.

 

[donaldb]

Hmmm, my first impression was that this was coming from the shock because like I said, I could feel a slight vibration in my seat when I bounced up and down while in the soft adjuster position. I also could feel a slight vibration in the shock itself while holding it and pushing up and down on the seat w/my other hand. Heck, it might be in the swingarm? maybe I should do some more investigation before drawing a final conclusion of the source of this creeking. BMW riders of Mississsippi are holding their annual state rally this weekend and I plan to attend--its not far from my house and my neighbor has a BMW and he is a member and more importantly (THE COOK) for the event. So while there Saturday I will get a few people to help me ck it more closely and form a consensus on the source. Of course I will have to take some sh*t from the BMW folks but that'll be ok, when I get tired of hearing their crap, I'll jsut leave and no one will be able to keep up

 

[ionbeam]

Starting with simple stuff, IIRC, your bike came back to you with mud spattered around the wheel area. Springs typically have some type of material covering the areas where the spring seats. The material is supposed to keep the spring from creaking and allow it some movement. If you have mud down in the bottom of the spring seat it could cause exactly what you are feeling. A quick look and perhaps a bit of water would sort that out pretty quick and best, it's FREE :lol:

Based on the track record of your 'mechanic' <_< you can't rule anything out. :erm:

 

[donaldb]

... If you have mud down in the bottom of the spring seat it could cause exactly what you are feeling. A quick look and perhaps a bit of water would sort that out pretty quick and best, it's FREE :lol:
Based on the track record of your 'mechanic' <_< you can't rule anything out. :erm:

Thanx, I'll ck that out this weekend, that could be it as I have not as yet had a chance to clean up the bike since it was returned (the second time) from srevice. I hope it's something this simple--I should be so lucky!

 

[ohiofjr]

My feejer has creaked from day one. Here I am 12k later and all is still well. No tick either.

 

[Bounce]

I found the shock to be good for only about 10k miles anyway. After about 9k it started to feel a little like a pogo stick.

No Kidding.......Is this common?? Will I need to replace the shock??? Is this warrantee?

I have noticed the shock a little more spongy, but I thought it was just my chushy butt..

10k is about standard for most OEM shocks. They usually are too soft anyway so the bike benefits from an upgrade. Honda, Yamaha, Kaw, and so forth are all pretty much the same until you get into their high zoot lines and pay for things like factory Ohlins. But for routine use, most mfgrs choose not to put that level of suspenders on their models because it would drive up the cost for all models when not all riders would notice the difference.

I swapped out suspendies on all my Wings within 10k miles. Honda calls it "plush". I called it "mush".

Shocks are a wear item and typically not replaced as warranty unless they really fail (break or leak). No biggie since you won't want to replace with OEM anyway.

 

[Bounce]

I notice a creeking sound eminating from either my swingarm (which I had ck'd and lubed during the service) or from the shock.

It might be one of the cross pin/bushings that needs lubing. The metal-on-metal can creak if you don't use some grease on things during reassembly.

 

[lazyguy]

Stop worring and just ride. more than likly your bike needs to be ridden more than 2000/yr. DON"T take your bike back to THAT dealer ever again, even if you think it's something they did wrong. Have it fixed somewere else and consult Yamaha direct if they screwed something else up.

I'm pushing 20,000mi. on my 05 and as happy as a fly on ****,but I try not to use dealers if I can do it myself.

 

[staledonut]

Does the creaking only occur with the shock set on soft?

My 05, when set on soft, creaks and feels like you describe. When set on hard, no creakies.

This leads me to believe it's not a lubrication related problem. If it was, it should creak on both settings, but I can't say for sure since I don't know the cause.

I pointed this out to my dealer, got a "hhhmmm, we call Yamaha and get back to you" sorta response. They never got back to me. This creak has been there since day one, has gotten a little worse since, and now seems to have leveled off.

 

[Geezer]

I found the shock to be good for only about 10k miles anyway. After about 9k it started to feel a little like a pogo stick.

No Kidding.......Is this common?? Will I need to replace the shock??? Is this warrantee?

I have noticed the shock a little more spongy, but I thought it was just my chushy butt..

Well, I probably could have fiddled with the adjustmets and gotten some more miles out of it but I doubt I could have gotten another entire season. Besides, I had already ordered a Wilbers from the recent group buy. I can't say enough about how much nicer the bike rides with a quality shock, and a fork with good springs and the right fork oil for my weight and riding style.