YOUR issues with the suspension?

[fazemon]

I've wondered why some manufacturers dont just offer an upgraded model(charge $800 to $1000 more for the same bike,but with A grade suspension),tack an "R"on it if they want to, and have the best of both worlds. You know, have the standard FZ8 like we have,but offer an upgraded model also. Kinda like Triumph does with the Street Triple. For what its worth, you can buy a FZ1 shock from Chaparral for $299, Im thinking about ordering one when mine really goes south when it gets a few thousand miles on it.

 

[Vapordan]

MY problems with the suspension?

Well, I recently have had both of my relay arms bent into a "V" shape and one is broken.

I'll post up some pics when I can.

What happened? Did you drop it....off a cliff? That's extreme damage right there.

 

[lyric911]

I've wondered why some manufacturers dont just offer an upgraded model(charge $800 to $1000 more for the same bike,but with A grade suspension),tack an "R"on it if they want to, and have the best of both worlds. You know, have the standard FZ8 like we have,but offer an upgraded model also. Kinda like Triumph does with the Street Triple. For what its worth, you can buy a FZ1 shock from Chaparral for $299, Im thinking about ordering one when mine really goes south when it gets a few thousand miles on it.

Triumph does exactly this. I'm sure others do, but I know Triumph does with the Street and Speed Triples. I think the Daytona too.

 

[kuwaiyert]

My story......

The FZ8 isn't a supersports bike and I bought it knowing that. I'm getting older and the speed limits around here are getting slower and slower and heavily policed so I'm not interested in a supersports bike any more so I was very impressed with the plush ride of the FZ8 over my old R6. I'm not a particulary heavy guy and I find the front suspension works fine for me. It's not as well controlled as my R6 forks but it does the job well enough.

My beef was with the rear shock. There just wasn't enough rebound damping. I found the rear to be wallowy and on big bumps this also upset the front end. During the test ride I even asked the sales guy if the rear shock was trashed. He said no, thats how they made them. There is one particular bump I ride over a lot that I hardly felt on my R6 but on the FZ8 I was almost thrown off the bike.

I've been rubbished several times on this forum for doing this but I replaced the FZ8 shock with an FZ1 shock. The FZ1 shock has slightly firmer rebound and compression damping with a stiffer spring than the FZ8 shock. While obviously it wouldn't be as good as a high end aftermarket shock it was a big enough improvement over the FZ8 shock to fix the wollowing problems I was experiencing. It also means that the front end doesn't have to work as hard as it had to with the stock shock so it feels better as well. The ride is just as plush as it was before but there is better control and now I hardly feel that bump....just like on the R6

Well.. I have to ageed on tat.. Time being Cant afford an ohlin or something similar in the market thou

But its a good upgrade...

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Xparent ICS Blue Tapatalk 2

 

[space viking]

Hi, I don't even have this bike but I am considering it Anyway here's my take on it:

As you can see a number of people with complaints are 200+ lbs. The bike is too soft for that weight and lacks damping adjustment. Generally the heavier you are the more damping and preload you need, although very light riders have the opposite problems on some bikes.

In the most basic terms,

Rebound damping: with too little rebound damping you feel like you bounce back too fast after a bump. It's like a pogo stick and you like you're getting bucked off. Or it wallows up and down after a bump.

Compression damping: more complex but it affects brake dive along with overall compliance and plushness under various conditions.

Preload: with no preload adjustment on the front, if you weigh too much you'll sink too far in the travel which would lead to harshness. It only has a certain range and even with preload adj. many people benefit from custom springs.