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recommended spring rate for rear shock


dom77

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Hi can anybody recommend the proper spring that should be put on the FJ? I'm a 215 lbs rider (no gear) and I once a year I load up the bike for a 2 week road trip with luggage. Any ideas?
 
Thanks
Dominic
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no, 110N/mm spring. Unless you're putting a full size fridge on the back. If you're putting more than 30-40lbs worth of luggage on there then go up to 115 but that will compromise your un-laden day-to-day riding a little bit.
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  • 1 month later...
I just saw your reply and had a 115 put in... and I wont be carriying a fridge, did the sag yesterday and got 22mm difference between fully extended and compressed dam that sucks, Im planning a read trip for end of may so at least I should be good for that... Do you know whats the best kind of deal I can get for a 110?
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I just saw your reply and had a 115 put in... and I wont be carriying a fridge, did the sag yesterday and got 22mm difference between fully extended and compressed 
Please post all 3 sag measurement values.
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I had it done by a suspension guy yesterday, I dont remember what he had... I'll try to contact him or re-mesure myself, as for the 3 values, I though I just needed to mesure extended, then compressed and do the difference between the 2?
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What to you mean by "taking a few turns out of the 115"? The preload is currently at the minimum setting. I spoke with the guy who put the spring on and he says he had it "custom made", not sure if that could make it stiffer or not. 
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wait, you're using the stock shock? ick.
Is there a spacer involved? If so get a thinner spacer made. Otherwise you can live with it or buy a shorter eibach spring of the proper rate and get a spacer made.
 
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Yes it's the stock shock that I had resprung and revalved. I doubt that there is a spacer, my guess is that he had a spring made to the same specifications as the stock spring (55mm by 200mm if memory serves). Do you think that if I buy a new spring of the same dimensions as the stock but 110N/mm instead of 115N/mm that it would solve my problems?
 
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if the new spring was made to the OE specs, it has too much baseline preload. Yamaha cheated instead of doing the right thing. Get a standard length EIBACH and have a machinist knock out a spacer that yields at least 8mm of baseline preload. I guess I could make said spacer, I got a few OE shocks sitting around here and could figure out the dimensions...
 
More to the point, aside from being short on sag, does the bike ride to your satisfaction?
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It rides ok... I'm not much of an expert but, what I feel is:
1-theres something fishy in the front while turning, not sure what, but it sort of feels lighter and behaves kind of strange when I hit a bump (while turning)
2-the rear is obviously too high, not that I mind the height though but I would prefer it be balanced
3-I rode a whole day last monday and I think the bumps added up and I was pretty sore at the end of the day, could be because it was my first ride of the year too though. But I would tend to say that comfort has gone down.
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1-theres something fishy in the front while turning, not sure what, but it sort of feels lighter and behaves kind of strange when I hit a bump (while turning)

crap valving courtesy of Yamaha and morons at KYB. You'll need more than just springs to fix the front (ie. something like my Intermediate or Stoltec's kit)
 

3-I rode a whole day last monday and I think the bumps added up and I was pretty sore at the end of the day, could be because it was my first ride of the year too though. But I would tend to say that comfort has gone down.
 
The principal problem with the OE suspension in the crap-tasking valving. Springs can be ridden around, valving not so much. If your suspension guy didn't overhaul the internals when the spring was changed, you're just wasting time.
 
If you look up "Japanese factory suspension since 1975" in the dictionary it'll say "sym. s h * t"
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The same guy that did the rear shock did the front (last year). I have a feeling he's more used to doing dirt bike suspensions... I would of used your services but the shipping to and from canada was a bit of an issue, if I could go back in time I would of sent you my forks during the winter. As far as what he did with the rear shock he added a remote reservoir and redid the valving. I have low + high speed compression + rebound adjustment Although I think everything is phucked up and so far not much better than stock... Not sure what I will do now, maybee I'll just ride with a crappy suspension until I change the bike, so far I cant find a spring and not sure if it will even help that much
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