falcophil Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 looking for any help or advice on setting up the suspension for a mini tour, rider and pillion combined wieght of 24 stone or 160 kilos ish. also panniers fairly full (plus top box just for waterproofs, gloves etc.) Looking to increase the preload quite a bit, wasnt going to do much else- any inputs helpful as like a lot of riders I have ridden for years, rebuilt, serviced and repaired bikes, but never really messed with suspension very much! Thanks peps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member johan Posted April 20, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted April 20, 2015 looking for any help or advice on setting up the suspension for a mini tour, rider and pillion combined wieght of 24 stone or 160 kilos ish. also panniers fairly full (plus top box just for waterproofs, gloves etc.) Looking to increase the preload quite a bit, wasnt going to do much else- any inputs helpful as like a lot of riders I have ridden for years, rebuilt, serviced and repaired bikes, but never really messed with suspension very much! Thanks peps. Or do as Scuff & Elaine did, buy a second Tracer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 I'm not going to be much help, I'm considering taking mine to a suspension place and have them do the adjustments. I can tell mine is not right for me, after our Easter Monday get together I got into a rather spirited ride home with a Ducati of some description and found the front end snaked like a bike from the 80's. Put some weight in my topbox and a pillion and it'll be all over the road at far lower speeds. I'll dig out a link for a suspension setup a guy did on his R1, the settings were very similar to my Thundercat and did help me then, will need to revisit it and see if the adjustments are applicable to the Tracer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member johan Posted April 20, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted April 20, 2015 I won't give myself out as any expert, but the dealer set mine up with very little preload at the front. It was probably close to 22mm. I noticed that most of yours were set up in the same way, and I suspect that the dealers get the measurements wrong - they don't include the nut perhaps. In any case, I dialled in more preload at front, I think 14mm from memory and this I believe made the biggest difference. I will add more preload at the rear also this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 There's not much to set up, as the suspension adjustments are very basic. The first thing to do is set the static sag. Basically, you want the weight of the bike and rider(s) to use up the first 3rd of the available suspension travel. Going by the book specs, the FJ-09 has 137mm of travel in the front, and 130mm in the rear, so you want the bike to use ~40mm of travel with the rider in a static state. This is easy to do yourself, but you will need a helper. First, with the bike on the centerstand take a measurement with the rear suspension fully extended. I used a point on the bottom of the saddlebag to the swingarm. The do the same for the front. Have your helper lean on the back of the bike to lift the front to be sure it's fully extended. I measured the exposed fork slider tube. Take these two measurements, and subtract the above ~40mm to find your target measurements. You'll want the bike next to something that you can reach out to and balance while sitting on the bike with your feet on the pegs, and the bike off the centerstand. I did it next to the workbench in my garage. Bounce it a couple of times to settle the suspension, and have your helper take the measurements. Adjust the preload to achieve your target measurements: less preload = more sag/ more preload = less sag. You can do the same with rider and passenger, but I'm guessing you'll be about maxxed out on preload with the stock suspension. Setting the rebound damping is much more subjective. I would start by increasing or decreasing from the factory defaults (in the manual) depending on whether you increased or decreased the preload. Then ride/adjust/repeat until you get where you want. This is just one method of starting your suspension setup, but it will get you in the ballpark. YMMV. Remember, the suspension on this bike is pretty basic. Aftermarket mods may be needed if you push it too far out of the factory envelope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falcophil Posted April 24, 2015 Author Share Posted April 24, 2015 Many thanks guys, and yes i,m not expecting it to be brilliant after but just to get the best set up for maxed out weight and not be wallowing about! I was going to up the preload but will also look at the damping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
korben Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 There's not much to set up, as the suspension adjustments are very basic. The first thing to do is set the static sag. Basically, you want the weight of the bike and rider(s) to use up the first 3rd of the available suspension travel. Going by the book specs, the FJ-09 has 137mm of travel in the front, and 130mm in the rear, so you want the bike to use ~40mm of travel with the rider in a static state. This is easy to do yourself, but you will need a helper. First, with the bike on the centerstand take a measurement with the rear suspension fully extended. I used a point on the bottom of the saddlebag to the swingarm. The do the same for the front. Have your helper lean on the back of the bike to lift the front to be sure it's fully extended. I measured the exposed fork slider tube. Take these two measurements, and subtract the above ~40mm to find your target measurements. You'll want the bike next to something that you can reach out to and balance while sitting on the bike with your feet on the pegs, and the bike off the centerstand. I did it next to the workbench in my garage. Bounce it a couple of times to settle the suspension, and have your helper take the measurements. Adjust the preload to achieve your target measurements: less preload = more sag/ more preload = less sag. You can do the same with rider and passenger, but I'm guessing you'll be about maxxed out on preload with the stock suspension. Setting the rebound damping is much more subjective. I would start by increasing or decreasing from the factory defaults (in the manual) depending on whether you increased or decreased the preload. Then ride/adjust/repeat until you get where you want. This is just one method of starting your suspension setup, but it will get you in the ballpark. YMMV. Remember, the suspension on this bike is pretty basic. Aftermarket mods may be needed if you push it too far out of the factory envelope. Fantastic information, although "I'm taking mine to a specialist" sounds a lot easier for me!! I've never touched suspension before (I swear it's a voodoo art!!), but I'll need this done in September when I'm doing a tour... Will be just me on the bike with FJR panniers and probably a small tailpack, and tankbag. I'm expecting "Spirited" riding as I'm basically going with a bunch of people on sports bikes or powerful naked bikes so I'm going to need to be able to keep up!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falcophil Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 well I have just been out for a spin two up with loaded 40 ltr panniers, and lightly loaded topbox. The bike handled excellently to the point where I would say the ride was improved. I increased preload on the back from position 4 to 6, and the front from 18mm to 10,5mm (this way set low as 16mm is std and i,m 15 stone) The bike seemed to lose its harseness on bumps, so maybe as the bike is a proper two up machine the suspension has been set up for this. I did find the brakes needed a decent pull compared to one up- though my other half said she didnt get thrown forward as much as on my Blackbird! Overall VERY pleased with two up handling. Just need a decent screen now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crimson04 Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 I took mine out 2 up on the stock suspension and I was less than impressed. I am going to do a track day next weekend and I am looking at setting up my weight, 180, but I am also looking for 2 up ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rszk Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 My setup for combination aggressive and neutral riding: I remedied mine by softening front preload, increased rebound dampening, rear shock, increased rear preload and rebound dampening. No wobbling on aggressive riding now. Front: 17.2mm preload, 10 clicks rebound Rear: 5 preload, 1/2 turn from maximum rebound 180 lb rider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobby7 Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 I whack rear preload up to the max with a pillion and I feel the bike handles better than when it's just me on it. I have also slightly increased the preload at the front. I don't change this for 2up riding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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