Marthy
Member
From everybody I've talked to for the front suspension cheap and easy mod is to drop in the weight appropriate Racetech spring. They go for $115 from racetech or I've found $108 with free shipping from ebay. My local shop said they'd drop it in for $80 (an hours labor) maybe $40 if it's easy to take apart the current fork. If I wanted them to change the fork oil that jumps it up to $200 for fork oil, labor and fork seals.
I personally would do that before swapping for an R1 fork, especially if you don't need the adjustability for a track setup and street setup on the same bike.
I only can notice the weakness in my springs when I'm taking some high speed sweepers and pushing hard on twisty's. Like the ride I took today, I was going mid 80s through some sweepers that were supposed to be taken at yellow traffic sign speed of 60. The Fz1 forks though come with an adjustable rebound and compression setting (rebound on left tube and compression on right tube), although I believe the R1 has rebound & compression on each fork tube giving it a lot more flexibility in settings. I do plan on hitting the track soon and will continue to take spirited rides on the street.
If you are just commuting I would still do the fork springs so that you have the benefit in taking corners at intersections and such where the road has imperfections and uneven surfaces.
What year R1 fit the Fz8?