xlxr Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 I am an experienced rider, lots of suspension tuning experience from long past dirt bike days, 270 lbs in gear, FJ 09 is for street only. Problem is I live in Southern California and have to ride on rough concrete sectioned highways to get to the mountain twisties where the real fun begins. At 60 years old, I need a very compliant, comfortable ride on the highways. Initially, I bought another well known (cheaper) brand of fork revalve and shock. Absolute jack hammers, so stiff I couldn't tolerate 50 miles on the bike. After 3 revalves and re-springs, the best they could do is make the jack hammers a little smaller. I got my money back and purchased the Ohlins equipment. The Ohlins set up was better, forks OK, but shock was too hash as set up by Ohlins. So I had another company re-valve shock twice, still pretty harsh over square edge bumps that produced high shaft speeds. I gave up on that company and sent the YA 535 shock to Norwest Suspension, talked to Terry, and got the shock back last week. Terry got the shock valving right on the first try. Way, way better, and proved everything the previous shock turners where telling me was wrong. I only wish I had sent my shock to Terry at Norwest from the start. I highly recommend his suspension tuning services. I am deliberately not reporting spring rates or adjuster settings. I am still using springs originally recommended by Ohlins, and may get new springs one rate softer, so the fine tuning still continues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobaintstoppin Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 Glad this is working out for you. My Race Tech is working very well, but the weak point is those jack hammer concrete expansion joints. Still way better than stock and I'm happy. We really don't have any concrete roads in New England, so I won't have to worry too much till my next trip. But now at 17000 miles, my back stock shock is feeling tired. $$$$$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlxr Posted July 26, 2016 Author Share Posted July 26, 2016 I just got a call from Forks by Matt, concerned that I was a customer of his. No, Forks by Matt was NOT the guy who revalved my suspension. Originally I tried Race Tech Gold Valve in the forks and G3S shock. The forks were firm, but not jackhammer harsh. The G3S shock was jackhammer harsh even after 3 revalves. I have no idea how Race Tech can stay in business with such lousy set ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcarnut Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Am getting ready to pull the trigger on the YA535 and saw your post. Any idea from norwest what Ohlins did with their setup that caused this harshness, it would be nice to possibly avoid this the first time round. I'm in the same boat at you, in my 60's and live in southern CA and the expansion joints around here can be brutal. Where did you mount the remote reservoir and pre-load adjuster, I'm wondering about hose length? Saw a thread where they were mounted on the saddlebag brackets and it looked good. Thanks! SoCal 2015 FJ-09 Red of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xlxr Posted September 9, 2016 Author Share Posted September 9, 2016 Apparently, Ohlins put in an "average" tune on their shock which I really did not like. Apparently, most shops sell the shock with this average tune and it is good enough for most guys. Terry at Norwest made some pretty significant changes, and it is way better than Ohlins stock tune. I am in communication with Terry at Norwest and he has another idea he wants to try, something which he says no one ever does. But I am not sure how long it will be before I can send the shock back. The shock is really pretty good, I am just a real picky SOB when it comes to suspension. I am trying to completely eliminate front to rear chatter harshness over the concrete sectioned highways. It is way way better than before, I just want better still. So you may want to wait until we get this worked out. I am trying avoid saying too much until I (I mean Terry) get my suspension perfect. I am not so sure any other brand of shock, or any other tuner, in this price range, will be able to get it as plush on the highways as I want it. It really seems hit or miss. Here is another way to put things into perspective. I just replaced the stock tires with Bridgestone T30 Evo in the back, and Michelin Pilot Power 3 in the front. The amount of improvement in those tires and stock tires, is about the same amount that the shock is from being (what I consider) perfect. It is that close. The remote reservoir and preload adjuster comes with its own mounting bracket that bolts under the two bolts that hold on the Left passenger foot peg and sticks out and backwards from the foot peg bracket. I don't have any saddle bags, so I do not know what kind of clearance there is. I hope to be riding this Sunday morning and do more fiddling with the suspension. I live near Mission Motorsports in Irvine if you want to met and have a look see for yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcarnut Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Thanks very much, this is good info. I've been in touch with Matt and I'm going to try the stock Ohlins set-up as is for now and put some miles on it. If it doesn't work then I'll have Terry do something with it. As far as mounting goes, that's where I wanted them to go, was just concerned the cables wouldn't reach. Thanks for the look see offer, I'm in San Diego and try to avoid the LA area traffic, you've given me the answers I needed, thanks! SoCal 2015 FJ-09 Red of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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