Bad chassis ? FZ8

[KarlFZ8]

Hi folks, I just read that the suspension is not the FZ8 should be so great. Has anyone made ​​the same experiences as the author here: Yamaha FZ8 - Testberichte - bikerszene

regards
Karl

 

[K-Gr.]

Author stated clearly, that bike stop to ride well "Bei sportlicher Fahrweise" (when driving sportly) - no one expects a bike with no adjustment in suspension to be a track tool... We often see that reviewers expect do-it-all every day naked bikes to behave as they were 1000cc super sport rockets.

If you do not do trackdays nor drive like a loonatic on street - there is little room to complaint about FZ8 suspension.

 

[impostor1981]

Well I must disagree with K.-Gr. I do not do track days but ride quite fast on the country lanes. Rear shock is absolutely rubbish. The bike bounces all over the place and I ve got it set up for hardest setting. When I went for a trip around the Scotland with couple of friends last year I had a big problems with rear shock as when the bike was fully loaded rear was bottoming out on the bumps. This year I will be changing it for Maxton RT10.
I think Spyke has changed his for MUPO and is very happy as the difference is massive.

For me the suspension is just simply too soft

 

[DJK1505]

The suspension is quite soft!! I have bottomed out the rear a few times and smacked my license plate with a passenger of 100 lbs, I have adjusted the spring stiffness up to the highest setting, it is still not great. I will be changing this out, but I do not have the grand to do so yet, so in the mean time I will just have to deal with it! But I do agree, the suspension is not the best. Yamaha could have done a better job with this, and I am only 160 lbs, so its not like I am over loading the suspension by no means.

DJ

 

[K-Gr.]

Well, I got my bike for less then two months and it is winter now Warm enough to ride, but still "its wet, tires are cold - slow down" sits in the back of my head

After a full season perhaps I will be able to tell more about it and start complaining, but for now seems like a lot of fun to me

Also have quick look in here: http://www.779cc.org/forum/fz8-mods/112-a.html - more info to the same topic

 

[DJK1505]

Oh mate, this is one of the most fun bikes I have ever owned!! Over the last 14 years I have had about 10 dif bikes, everything from the CBR's, R6, GSXR, and a few CB's and Viragos, this bike is the best of everything. The only complaint is the suspension, but this is easily fixed, just takes a bit of money. Wouldnt stress about it too much, adjust your rear up about 2 clicks at least and go tear it up! Enjoy!!!!!!!!

 

[K-Gr.]

Found something like this - not cheap, though.

YAMAHA FZ8 MUPO 'SPORT' SUSPENSION KIT PROMOTION | eBay

But as said - for now I on not on to modding suspension. Time will tell.

On the other hand - does rear dumper from FZ1 fit FZ8 ? And fork from lets say R1 or FZ1 ? Those elements can be quite cheaply obtained on the market - mostly from damaged bikes sold as parts.

 

[Künstler]

Yes,its a bit soft.
But if I compare with my old TDM850,its hard....TDM was a very good journey bike.Perfect engine and brakes,.On the other side ,material quality was too bad,drink gas like a elephant and very very soft suspension!...

I ride mostly in city traffic with my FZ8.I had several times shock-brakes in horrible Istanbul traffic.But I am quite happy with the back observer.Because it works very good with the hard brakes.(Yes back tire slides a bit but not so weiry....


I wish you all a nice day..

 

[Speedo007]

Well I must disagree with K.-Gr. I do not do track days but ride quite fast on the country lanes. Rear shock is absolutely rubbish. The bike bounces all over the place and I ve got it set up for hardest setting. When I went for a trip around the Scotland with couple of friends last year I had a big problems with rear shock as when the bike was fully loaded rear was bottoming out on the bumps. This year I will be changing it for Maxton RT10.
I think Spyke has changed his for MUPO and is very happy as the difference is massive.

For me the suspension is just simply too soft

Humm...strange I ride my bike pretty hard and even two up have never bottomed out and roads here are far from being nice and smooth. I went on a 3000km trip with about 50lbs of luggage at the back with rear shock not completely set to the hardest (I think it was 1 or 2 notches away from that). Sure for a track day these won't work, but I've scrapped pegs at 120-130km/h and never felt the urge to change front or rear suspension. I feel when riding in real road conditions they do quite a good job.

Is it possible that you weigh more then 200lbs? cause these suspensions are probably aimed at riders between 150-170lbs. No way they can make a once size fits all suspensions when they have limited adjustments. They could put fully adjustable suspensions, but then you'd pay for it anyways.

 

[calscrazy]

i weigh 200 and haven't bottomed out. when i am riding really hard i tend to stay more on the front end.

 

[K-Gr.]

So, to sum up and answer Karls question:

No, the suspension is not bad But some of us simply need more then that.

 

[Speedo007]

Found something like this - not cheap, though.

YAMAHA FZ8 MUPO 'SPORT' SUSPENSION KIT PROMOTION | eBay

Looks pretty cheap to me for what you get that front and back upgrade...an Ohlin rear shock alone will set you back more then that.

 

[impostor1981]

Found something like this - not cheap, though.

YAMAHA FZ8 MUPO 'SPORT' SUSPENSION KIT PROMOTION | eBay

But as said - for now I on not on to modding suspension. Time will tell.

On the other hand - does rear dumper from FZ1 fit FZ8 ? And fork from lets say R1 or FZ1 ? Those elements can be quite cheaply obtained on the market - mostly from damaged bikes sold as parts.

I ve changed front forks on mine Fazer8. I ve put FZ1 shocks with 7.5 WT oil.
Bit stiff I think next time i will put 5 WT however after initial setup it works waaaayy better than stock FZ8. I did not have a chance to properly run it yet as it is bit cold and damp here in UK.

I think R1 forks would fit but would be couple mm shorter. I may think about just swapping inner tubes for R1's if the same length as that would allow radial callipers from R1.

 

[Hoover]

Saggy rears have always been the weak spot on cheaper bikes. Personally, I think its a good thing. Saves on the cost of the bike and enables us to pick what we like best.

 

[Camo]

There's no denying the suspension is cheap and lacks adjustment but that was clear before purchase.
I still don't think it's all that bad for street use. I push pretty hard around my local twisties.. enough to scrape the pegs on occasion, weighing about 220-225lbs and I don't have it set to the hardest settings.
It wallows a little form time to time but I think it comes down to the rider, not so much the equipment sometimes.
I plan to do a track day or two this year and wont be changing out the stock suspension before hand. I know I wont be lapping with the R1's or track bikes but lets face it, even with the suspension changed out it will never lap with 1000's or 600 sports bikes given the rider has a marginal idea of what he's doing.

 

[GarryM]

I found the rear shock to be rubbish and ditched it for a stock FZ1 shock. The front feels OK to me for general sporty road riding.

 

[K-Gr.]

I found the rear shock to be rubbish and ditched it for a stock FZ1 shock.

And did it help? As far as I remember, some reviewers did also complain about the FZ1s rear dumper. Cost of buying one is marginal, so if it improves the ride, it would be a very simple and cheap operation.

And what about the R1 dumper? Does it fit and is it not too harsh for FZ8?

 

[FaZerick8]

The February 2012 issue of Cycle World contains a two page article on FZ8 modifications. The suspension mods are:
Ohlins YA 009 shock, 115 n/mm spring ($617)
Race Tech modified forks, 50/50% 5/7.5 weight oil ($455)
With rear preload at 15 mm and rebound damping 6 clicks from full stiff, they say:
"big improvement over the stock suspension. The chassis was well composed at a fairly quick pace through flowing sweepers... The steering feels light and neutral.... reduced fork dive... I didn't experiance any stability issues... improved cornering clearance."

 

[Deleted member 438]

And did it help? As far as I remember, some reviewers did also complain about the FZ1s rear dumper. Cost of buying one is marginal, so if it improves the ride, it would be a very simple and cheap operation.

And what about the R1 dumper? Does it fit and is it not too harsh for FZ8?

I have a retrofitted R1 shock on my bike. I got the adapter from someone on an FZ1 message board. I think the total cost including the shock was about $120.

 

[Camo]

I have a retrofitted R1 shock on my bike. I got the adapter from someone on an FZ1 message board. I think the total cost including the shock was about $120.

And what sort of performance and handling gain do you see?