Supporting Member betoney Posted December 31, 2022 Supporting Member Share Posted December 31, 2022 1 hour ago, 2and3cylinders said: Where's your red Scotch bright pad's piston spreader and opposite side shims LOL The only tool I use for the caliper and pistons is a small C-clamp, holding one brake pad at a time restricting 2 of the pistons. I pump out 2 pistons, clean them, push them back in and then switch the C-clamp to the opposite side and clean the other 2 pistons. 1 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banditryder Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 Yesterday, but maybe it still counts. Barkbuster's installed and then my Christmas Present - Hippo Hands (Rogue model). Had to move stuff around on the bars a bit, but worth it. Went for a 20 min ride in 51F at speeds up to 70mph with vented summer gloves. Didn't feel a thing. Pretty dope. Have a Happy New Year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member piotrek Posted January 8, 2023 Supporting Member Share Posted January 8, 2023 Installed extensions on throttle body sync ports. Hoses poke out just around the tip-over switch. I replaced the OE caps as they were all starting to crack. Worth a check in there for anyone with an early model year bike. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member 2and3cylinders Posted January 9, 2023 Premium Member Share Posted January 9, 2023 When I installed mine a few years ago, I have them uncoil out on the left side up near the steering head. Don't even need to remove the saddle to check sync. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride On Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 (edited) Having fallen victim to a short fit of financial insanity, I ordered an Ohlins YA535 rear shock and their NIX30 cartridges. I'm buried in snow until April, so I'll hopefully receive and get a chance to install them prior to the spring riding season. Edited January 11, 2023 by Ride On Clairity 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warchild Posted January 11, 2023 Share Posted January 11, 2023 Outstanding... this Ohlins combo setup just transforms the bike in many ways. That shock was really a treat to install... 🙄 Do yourself a favor and ensure you have a stubby 14mm wrench for the rear shock install... trust me. 😕 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 5 hours ago, Ride On said: Having fallen victim to a short fit of financial insanity, I ordered an Ohlins YA535 rear shock and their NIX30 cartridges. I'm buried in snow until April, so I'll hopefully receive and get a chance to install them prior to the spring riding season. THIS IS THE WAY. I did the same upgrade in 2021, around the same time of year Its such a nice upgrade of the bike... One of the key reasons I am not interested in the 2021+ GT's is I have zero interest in the electronic suspension package in that (the 2023 is better) since a solid well tuned setup like the NIX30/YA535 will blow away any electronic adjustable package overall. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride On Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 3 hours ago, Warchild said: Outstanding... this Ohlins combo setup just transforms the bike in many ways. That shock was really a treat to install... 🙄 Do yourself a favor and ensure you have a stubby 14mm wrench for the rear shock install... trust me. 😕 Thanks for the tip! Amazon'd and on its way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ride On Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 3 hours ago, Clegg78 said: THIS IS THE WAY. I did the same upgrade in 2021, around the same time of year Its such a nice upgrade of the bike... One of the key reasons I am not interested in the 2021+ GT's is I have zero interest in the electronic suspension package in that (the 2023 is better) since a solid well tuned setup like the NIX30/YA535 will blow away any electronic adjustable package overall. I was kind of thinking the same way. With the suspension upgrade I'm hoping to keep my eyes from wondering. It's a really fun bike, good at many things. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banditryder Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 I have a '17 FJ-09 that I'd love to tweak a bit. In addition to the referenced shock, what's the communal thinking on the best plug and play front suspension upgrade. I'm pretty adept, but not a lot of suspension tuning experience. Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banditryder Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 I'm 6', 230lbs and I ride in a somewhat spirited manner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 They all seem to be about a horse a piece between Nitron, K-Tech, and Ohlins at the same spec level. Getting something that is tunable and rebuildable is key. Basic shocks and forks may have limited tuning (Only Rebound, no remote preload, etc...) where teh higher end ones make tuning easy. That YA535 above for a rear shock is about the best out there... rebuildable, has easy compression and rebound adjustments, and remote preload... I love it. the NIX30 forks are good, but really not that much more special than K-Tech, or any other replacement cartridges. You'll also start to learn about suspension tuning once you have those options. If you get it done at a suspension shop, they normally focus on a few brands or only one... so get what the shop you want to go to can build, tune, and maintain. My dude was an Ohlins shop so I just did it all through him. I want to say all up with parts (NIX30/YA535) labor for the install was $2300 (I think... I cant remember TBH). In hindsight the rear shock I could have done myself easily. the forks though I lack some tools for. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banditryder Posted January 12, 2023 Share Posted January 12, 2023 Great advice. Thank you. Now to shop for a shop. I have a guy that's been working on my bikes for years, so I'll start with him. I've never tweaked suspension before, but I love the engine on the FJ-09 and I want to have it perform as well as possible. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wintersdark Posted January 13, 2023 Share Posted January 13, 2023 23 hours ago, Clegg78 said: In hindsight the rear shock I could have done myself easily. the forks though I lack some tools for. Yeah, changing the rear shock is actually surprisingly easy, and I'd definitely recommend doing that to save money if that's a concern. If you're not spending a lot of money on a whole new suspension and instead are just springing for your weight, removing the shock yourself and bringing it into a shop to have the spring swapped, then reinstalling the shock is legitimately simple to do and pretty hard to screw up. Setting up the stock suspension for your weight, done as above, costs roughly ~$90 for the spring, and ~$50 to have it installed on the shock. When I resprung my Tracer (and my Tenere, for that matter) it cost a little less than $500CAD in total per bike, around $400USD. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted January 13, 2023 Supporting Member Share Posted January 13, 2023 50 minutes ago, Wintersdark said: Yeah, changing the rear shock is actually surprisingly easy, and I'd definitely recommend doing that to save money if that's a concern. reinstalling the shock is legitimately simple to do and pretty hard to screw up. Agreed, its surprisingly easy. A tip to anyone removing the shock, at a minimum remove the rear wheel to give you easy access and to make the task even simpler still, do it at the same time as you do your swingarm bearing maintenance. With the swingarm removed its just a matter of removing the top mount bolt and the shock drops right out. (Its MUCH simpler than it sounds) EDIT- The above applies to the 2015-2020 models, the newer electronic models will probably have a few extra steps for shock removal. 2 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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