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Stock Suspension Question


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How well does the stock suspension handle the things like pot holes, freeway expansion joints, etc.? 
I'm not looking to modify an FJ-09 for the racetrack or to compete with the YZF-R1 owners out there.  ;)   I use my current bike for commuting and long weekend rides.  The roads are pretty bad in places around Seattle, so I wouldn't want a firmer ride, but a more compliant one that soaks up the bumps.  Does the stock suspension work well in those conditions?
 
Chris
 

At least for me, at 250lbs, the stock suspension is terrible on anything but very smooth surfaces.  Of course I am not even near the design weight of what Yamaha laughingly refers to as suspension on this bike.  It has the cheapest possible shock with a spring that is likely too stiff for most people.  The forks are a joke... while they have springs in both sides that are way too light for most people, there is damping only in the right fork leg, and it is completely inadequate, and adjustable for rebound only. 
My favorite roads are patches on patches rough twisty roads, and this bike is absolutely frightening on those.  Monday I was on one of those roads and the rear tire was losing contact with the road in bumpy corners and hopping sideways, the whole bike was pogoing up and down.  The front end dives excessively under braking. Couple that with the hair trigger throttle connected to a very powerful and responsive engine, and it was more excitement than I would rather have.
 
Hopefully the money I am spending on suspension (about $1600) and remapping the ECU will make the thing more civilized.  I believe it will, but this is not an inexpensive bike to get into shape.
 
But maybe it works well for 160-180lb riders.  I kinda doubt it.  They say the best you have ridden is the best you know, so if you don't have experience with really good suspension, you might think it's just fine.
Sounds to me like you purchased the wrong machine.  You hate it.  You want all the stuff you complain about?  Then spend another $9k for a Multistrada 1200.  The FJ-09 is perfect just the way it is. 
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Certainly a wide range of suspension reports. Problem is, without details about rider weight, riding style, and rider sag/preload and rebound settings, most reports are about useless. I bought my 2015 last week, 250 lbs experienced rider, riding city, highway and but mountain twisties are my favorite. When new, preload was too low and rebound damping was too high. Fork dive was pretty bad and shock had a very harsh hit. I cranked in max fork preload and set shock preload on #7 (from full soft, because it was too harsh). Then I set rebound dampening to max soft front and rear. Fork dive was much better, not a problem any more. I put a plastic Zip tie on the forks, it takes a pretty hard bump to use all the travel. Shock had pretty harsh hit over small bumps that force the shock into high speed compression dampening. It took 300 miles for the shock to loosen up, but still too harsh over small bumps. Apparently the stiction (internal friction) of the shock is pretty bad and needs 300, or more miles to loosen up. Still have fork and shock rebound dampening set one click from full soft without noticing any problems related to underdamped. That will be as far as I go with stock suspension, just trying to get it tolerable during break in, Race Tech stuff on order.
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  • 3 weeks later...
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so what will be that one key upgrade that will make a big difference in the character of the machine?
I've done quite a few "comfort" upgrades, but the best money spent so far me was reflashing the ECU.  2WD does a great job on this.  It really smooths out the abruptness in the throttle and now the triple's mid range is a work of art !
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"I remember jumping on a FZ-09 last year, straight from my little 250cc thumper and the FZ launched me into outer space in no time flat."
 
No kidding! Check out G2 Throttle tamer, in addition to ECU reflash.  Using the adjustment in the throttle cable to take out some throttle slack also helps.  ( I have G2 throttle tamer on order.)
 
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