krupted Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Thinking of buying an FJ-09 and have a suspension question. Reading about the bike, one of the common complaints I'm seeing is the suspension isn't very good, better than the FZ it is based off, but still not that good. I have a 2003 KLR. I replaced the front springs for progressive ones in 2006, and I rode it with OEM shock until it blew in 2013, and replaced that with an aftermarket shock. Every month or two during riding season I carry 150-200 lbs on the rear of the KLR (have done this for the last 5 years maybe). I weight ~200lbs. Not sure I will continue to do that with whatever new bike I get - Most aftermarkets don't seem to have the wide rear rack I have on the KLR available for other bikes. Not sure if the 1st generation KLR is considered to have poor suspension, but I'd imagine that pretty much any bike will be better in most ways than my old KLR, and if the KLR was adequate with myself and that load on the rear with an OEM shock, I presume the FJ-09 would be fine, right? Is the FJ-09 suspension really that bad that I'd need to look at replacing it? Current Ride - 2003 Kawasaki KLR650 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duhs10 Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Personally, I find the FJ's suspension to be fine after tweaking the preload and dampening. '15 FJ-09 w/ lots of extras... Fayetteville, GA, USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crempel Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Relax. I have put 8500 miles on mine in 5 months of ownership and I'm still alive. Is it perfect? No. Is it plenty good enough for everyday street riding? Yes. Sure, if I was RacerRicky I would need better, but I'm no Marc Marquez. I always try to prioritize the upgrades any bike needs and suspension was nowhere near the top of my list for this bike. Windscreen, heated grips, top case and several other things were all higher. On it? Yes. I also try to discipline myself to make certain that the cost of an upgrade is with it from a functionality standpoint. In other words, is a lockable top case with $250 to me? Yes. Is better suspension worth $1500 or more to me? No. YMMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member DavidS Posted July 15, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted July 15, 2016 Relax. I have put 8500 miles on mine in 5 months of ownership and I'm still alive. Is it perfect? No. Is it plenty good enough for everyday street riding? Yes. Sure, if I was RacerRicky I would need better, but I'm no Marc Marquez. I always try to prioritize the upgrades any bike needs and suspension was nowhere near the top of my list for this bike. Windscreen, heated grips, top case and several other things were all higher. On it? Yes. I also try to discipline myself to make certain that the cost of an upgrade is with it from a functionality standpoint. In other words, is a lockable top case with $250 to me? Yes. Is better suspension worth $1500 or more to me? No. YMMVI agree with crempel, I had mine adjusted to fit me, but didn't replace any parts. I know I could make it better by replacing things, but it isn't high on my list of things to do with my money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member DavidS Posted July 15, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted July 15, 2016 Relax. I have put 8500 miles on mine in 5 months of ownership and I'm still alive. Is it perfect? No. Is it plenty good enough for everyday street riding? Yes. Sure, if I was RacerRicky I would need better, but I'm no Marc Marquez. I always try to prioritize the upgrades any bike needs and suspension was nowhere near the top of my list for this bike. Windscreen, heated grips, top case and several other things were all higher. On it? Yes. I also try to discipline myself to make certain that the cost of an upgrade is with it from a functionality standpoint. In other words, is a lockable top case with $250 to me? Yes. Is better suspension worth $1500 or more to me? No. YMMVI agree with crempel, I had mine adjusted to fit me, but didn't replace any parts. I know I could make it better by replacing things, but it isn't high on my list of things to do with my money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallard85 Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Honestly I've found the suspension to be alright. I've got about 7500 miles on mine, with stock suspension that I've never even adjusted from the factory presets. I'm 180lbs without gear, and I've done a fully-loaded 2000+ mile camping trip with no complaints. I ride with my GF on the back all the time with no issues. I've even done a track day and while I couldn't be farther from Rossi, the suspension certainly didn't hold me back from passing lots of proper sports bikes, and grinding the bejeezus out of the peg feelers on both sides. I'd read about the suspension on the bike being inadequate, and imagined that I would have upgraded it by now. But for me it's pretty decent and I haven't even started playing with the preload/rebound. I'd rather spend the money on other farkles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member DavidS Posted July 15, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted July 15, 2016 Now how did my post end up getting duplicated? It wasn't even one of my more insightful posts............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krupted Posted July 15, 2016 Author Share Posted July 15, 2016 Thanks guys. I feel better about it. I'd wondered if it was something that "pros" would nitpick about, or people who push the machine to the limit. I'm neither, personally, so I suspect that I'll be fine with the OEM suspension. Current Ride - 2003 Kawasaki KLR650 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruceintucson Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 Thanks guys. I feel better about it. I'd wondered if it was something that "pros" would nitpick about, or people who push the machine to the limit. I'm neither, personally, so I suspect that I'll be fine with the OEM suspension. For me (and especially for my wife) proper suspension is about comfort & [em]safety[/em]. You should be able to ride any road (virtually) with any condition at any speed and feel comfortable and feel like the bike is planted & safe. IMO (and quite a few others) the stock suspension will not allow both of these conditions. Not a nitpick (again IMO) just fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krupted Posted July 15, 2016 Author Share Posted July 15, 2016 Thanks guys. I feel better about it. I'd wondered if it was something that "pros" would nitpick about, or people who push the machine to the limit. I'm neither, personally, so I suspect that I'll be fine with the OEM suspension. For me (and especially for my wife) proper suspension is about comfort & [em]safety[/em]. You should be able to ride any road (virtually) with any condition at any speed and feel comfortable and feel like the bike is planted & safe. IMO (and quite a few others) the stock suspension will not allow both of these conditions. Not a nitpick (again IMO) just fact. So what did you do? It sounds like you may have changed the suspension for an aftermarket solution? If so, what did you change it to (for my own knowledge should I decide that the suspension isn't up to snuff for myself)? Current Ride - 2003 Kawasaki KLR650 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member fddriver2 Posted July 15, 2016 Premium Member Share Posted July 15, 2016 You should be able to ride any road (virtually) with any condition at any speed and feel comfortable and feel like the bike is planted & safe. IMO (and quite a few others) the stock suspension will not allow both of these conditions. Not a nitpick (again IMO) just fact. Really??? "It doesn't matter who walks in, you know the joke is still the same" Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruceintucson Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 For me (and especially for my wife) proper suspension is about comfort & [em]safety[/em]. You should be able to ride any road (virtually) with any condition at any speed and feel comfortable and feel like the bike is planted & safe. IMO (and quite a few others) the stock suspension will not allow both of these conditions. Not a nitpick (again IMO) just fact. So what did you do? It sounds like you may have changed the suspension for an aftermarket solution? If so, what did you change it to (for my own knowledge should I decide that the suspension isn't up to snuff for myself)? I've gone over it a few times in previous posts, but here are my observations and fixes.[strong]Front fork[/strong]: Plenty of rebound, (cheap) aggressive compression valving, spring is OK for street use if you're under 180-190ish lbs. Much over that & you should get stiffer fork springs.Take off right fork leg, remove cap, pour out 220-240cc's of the 5wt oil. Replace with [em]exact amount[/em] of 2.5 wt. oil. Helps with the aggressive compression valving and there is still plenty of rebound range. If you feel you're getting too much fork dive under braking, add 15-20 cc's of fork oil to each leg.You should set the front fork for about 35-40mm of rider sag with preload adjusters, then adjust rebound to where when holding the brakes & pushing down hard on the handlebars the forks should return [em]quickly[/em] to their original setting. If they overshoot then settle back down to the original setting, add a click or two of rebound. If they don't return quickly, take out rebound until they return to the original setting without overshoot. watch racing when riders are returning from there warmup lap and are going to their grid positions. Many are braking very aggressively for a few seconds at a time. Watch how quick the forks return to their normal position; you think you need more rebound than someone who is getting ready to ride at 100%. Don't think so.[strong]Rear Shock[/strong]: Not much can be done with it; waay to soft a spring with too much preload and (again) too aggressive compression damping and it's not re-buildable. If you set your rider sag to 33-38mm, when you check for free sag there should be 5-10mm. Stock shock is hard topped out (too soft a spring with too much preload). This along with the aggressive compression damping makes for a harsh, punishing, unstable & spooky ride where the back tire is spending a lot of time not staying in contact with the pavement. A stiffer spring with less preload will help, but doesn't/can't address the poor damping circuitry. Buy a new shock! You can get an Ohlin's or Penske entry level for under $650. Your back & butt will last longer, your rear tire will last longer and you'll have less white knuckle time on the handlebars.[strong]Raising the front forks[/strong]: The front ride height needs to be lower. Puts more weight on the front tire & front end doesn't want to get too light and slap-happy. I originally went up about 5-6mm on Mary's FJ, buy now with the Penske in the back (and not as much sag in the rear under acceleration), I'm back to 4mm. bike is stable in a straight line (even with Givi Bags) up to over 125 or so- yes I've had a reflash. Also FJ is not as unstable in crosswinds or the draft/wake of big trucks.You can get by without re-shimming the front forks (though it [em]can/may[/em] be better by doing it), but the rear shock IMO is not workable.Been riding 45+ years, used to road race, TT, motocross, track schools, track days; over 480K miles on road bikes. I don't know it all by any means but understand how suspension works-and is supposed to work- and have learned a lot thru reading, listening & trial & error over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruceintucson Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 You should be able to ride any road (virtually) with any condition at any speed and feel comfortable and feel like the bike is planted & safe. IMO (and quite a few others) the stock suspension will not allow both of these conditions. Not a nitpick (again IMO) just fact. Really??? Yes really. Doesn't mean will be riding WFO on all roads all the time, but with sorted suspension you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krupted Posted July 16, 2016 Author Share Posted July 16, 2016 Thanks for that info bruceintucson. Current Ride - 2003 Kawasaki KLR650 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlxr Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 I am experienced rider, old dirt biker, 270 lbs and been through a lot of custom suspensions on street and dirt bikes. On my 2015 FJ 09, I had to max out preload on shock and forks because springs were too weak. That made the shock feel as stiff as a jack hammer. I highly suspect Yamaha has some quality issues with stock suspension because of the wide variety of reports from good to really bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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