Virginian FJ-09

[Hyena]

1 minute ago, betoney said:

Nothing against Nick at Stoltec Moto, great guy, very supportive and helpful but his fork cartridge upgrade is a single leg only, the other leg remains a dead leg with just a different spring.  My buddy has the Stoltec Moto cartridge upgrade and while it is a definite step up from stock it still doesn't have compression adjustability. 

We have gone on several road trips together and I have ridden his back-to-back many times with mine and we both agree that there simply is no comparison to having full adjustability.  He never wants to give my bike back.😎

There used to be a forum vendor here called Matt who built his own cartridges, both legs had custom compression and rebound pistons with full adjustability for ridiculously cheap prices, I was fortunate enough to have a set built before he faded into oblivion.  They work fantastic.!

What would you do now if you could do it again with Matt out of the picture?

[betoney]

4 minutes ago, Hyena said:

What would you do now if you could do it again with Matt out of the picture?

Bang for the buck would probably be K-Tech, many members here have upgraded to K-Tech and I have not heard one negative review, high quality, fully adjustable and they are red...😎

I had Traxxion build me a Penske 8983 which I am very happy with and their AK-20 fork cartridges are very highly praised, so someday, I might try them on a future bike.  (More expensive option than K-Tech though)

[Hyena]

16 minutes ago, betoney said:

Bang for the buck would probably be K-Tech, many members here have upgraded to K-Tech and I have not heard one negative review, high quality, fully adjustable and they are red...😎

I had Traxxion build me a Penske 8983 which I am very happy with and their AK-20 fork cartridges are very highly praised, so someday, I might try them on a future bike.  (More expensive option than K-Tech though)

those ak-20's look great but 1100 for just forks is a lot. I think I might do K-tech for the forks and perhaps splurge for the ohlins for adjustability. A forum member has a Razor R for sale but it's valved for his 240 lbs so I'm not sure if that will work for me, unfortunately.  Front fork install looks to be pretty involved and I'd need to get a few tools I don't have.... or just get a local shop to do it. 

Edited March 4, 2020 by Hyena

[betoney]

1 minute ago, Hyena said:

I think I might do K-tech for the forks and perhaps splurge for the ohlins for adjustability. A forum member has a Razor R for sale but it's valved for his 240 lbs so I'm not sure if that will work for me, unfortunately.

The Razor R and Ohlins 535 should have the same adjustability, the Ohlins 535 will have a remote preload adjustment knob but not ride height adjustment, other than that it comes down to price.

The used Razor R might just need a different spring for your weight, its worth asking him some questions.

[norcal616]

Stoltec is another good value option...

https://stoltecmoto.com/product-category/yamaha/fj-09/

Fork kit from Stoltec can be a DIY or swap cartridge cores with Stoltec for a few dollars more than the DIY kit

Penske Double Clicker is a popular choice...

This is a 95% solution vs OEM... the last 5% is just extra stuff/price you may never use unless you like to fiddle with clickers/knobs...

[johnmark101]

Talk to the folks at Traxxion if you have not already.  They transformed my Ninja 1000 with an affordable rebuild of the stock components.  The only thing I do not have is compression damping for the rear shock but they set it up beautifully with new valving and a new spring.

Thinking about taking my Tracer to them as well, but this house remodel seems to be sucking up all my spare funds!

[Hyena]

Thanks for the help. I had time to email K-tech today, the sales rep recommended an 8.5nm spring for the front forks and setting up the rear razor shock to a 95nm spring.  I'll talk to Stoltec and Traxxion next. 

 

[Hyena]

So, you learn a lot about a bike after a 1100 miles in 2 day period. I rode to Atlanta last Thursday and came back Sunday. Surprisingly not as bad as I anticipated and I just about made regular cager time (I can be a stupid pedant now that I'm back on two wheels and refer to people who drive cars as "cagers" heh). My gear held up well, and suprisingly my Sena 20s unit didn't require a recharge on the 9 hour trip down. BUT that seat was feeling real rough and my right hand cramped up something awful by the time I made it to South Carolina. Still, I'm able to ride for about 2.5 hours without really needed to stop when I'm just super slabbing it, which I think is pretty good for a middle-weight Japanese bike built on a sportier chassis. I was expecting to be in agony after about the first hour due to discomfort but I was able to push through.

Top and side cases worked well and I could fit everything, including my laptop in them without having to wear a backpack. I do want to figure out a better hydration system since I can be on the bike for so long. I already have a camelbak but I don't want to wear a backpack. Maybe a small kriega strapped to my passenger seat or something like that.

Heated grips worked well and I got extended wind deflectors for the stock handguards from Givi that really helped deflecting wind (and I think looks pretty cool).

Cruise control system will be this week. It's a pretty lengthy installation. I also put a deposit down on a custom molded seat from Terry but it won't be here til August. I purchased a lightly used rear shock (K Tech Razor R) and I"m getting it adjusted to my weight by a suspension guy (it looks freaking sweet and has an external reservoir which I'm a sucker for) Then, I'm saving up for new front fork cartridges. After that, the bike will be pretty much sorted and will have a fully adjustable suspension, heated grips, cruise control and be much more comfortable. Pair that with just about the perfect motor and I'm not really sure I could ask for another bike that is such a good all-arounder.

Funny thing about the K-tech. I talked to them in regards to what spring I should have for the rear. They recommended a 93nm spring but when I talked to a suspension guy he said that was way too light for my riding purposes and recommended I go to something higher. Any ideas @betoney or other suspension gurus? I'm buying the Razor-R off of a forum member and it currently has a 105nm spring on it which, per K Tech sales rep would be too heavy. 

Edited March 18, 2020 by Hyena

[betoney]

2 hours ago, Hyena said:

Funny thing about the K-tech. I talked to them in regards to what spring I should have for the rear. They recommended a 93nm spring but when I talked to a suspension guy he said that was way too light for my riding purposes and recommended I go to something higher. Any ideas @betoney or other suspension gurus? I'm buying the Razor-R off of a forum member and it currently has a 105nm spring on it which, per K Tech sales rep would be too heavy. 

Honestly, I don't know that info.  Whenever I have had suspension built, I have always left that to the builder and have never been steered wrong, that's what they do for a living. 

K-Tech might have different internal valving to correlate to a different spring rate? - I'm guessing, meaning, I don't know if I called 3 different suspension shops that they would all recommend the exact same spring rate - based on their specific valving.  One thing I will say is I have not heard a single negative or unsatisfied review on K-Tech, they seem to know their stuff and deliver well setup products.

 

[BBB]

As far as I know the spring rate should be specified according to your mass, in full gear and whether you want to regularly ride with luggage or a pillion. The valving is more to do with controlling the speed that your mass responds/oscillates at.

This may help for an independent view

http://sonicsprings.com/catalog/calculate_spring_rate.php

[betoney]

18 minutes ago, BBB said:

As far as I know the spring rate should be specified according to your mass, in full gear and whether you want to regularly ride with luggage or a pillion. The valving is more to do with controlling the speed that your mass responds/oscillates at.

This may help for an independent view

http://sonicsprings.com/catalog/calculate_spring_rate.php

When I used that calculator, it recommended different spring rate dependent on end use, touring and track were different even though the weight remained the same.

[BBB]

That makes sense @betoney. The spring is there to absorb changes in surface irregularity and keep the wheel on the floor. It also resists change when we accelerate or brake. On track you can get away with a stiffer spring so the bike doesn’t dive under heavy braking, but only because the surface is so smooth. The spring is there to cope with your mass and the changes in the force applied to the wheels during speed changes.

In Physics we talk about balanced and unbalanced forces. At a constant speed forces are balanced, but under braking the forces are unbalanced and so there is a greater force on the front wheel, requiring a spring to resist the increase.

When street riding you opt for a softer spring as the road surface is rougher and you benefit from the wheels being able to move more easily up and down, so that the tyre remains in contact with the road and you get to retain your spine.

[Hyena]

This helps a lot. Thanks for the help, I'll talk to him.

[getpetey]

I really have no technical info to add, but for someone who may be looking for suspension work in the future, this is a great thread. Thank you all.
 

I’m a fairly novice rider, so don’t think I could use a full suspension upgrade to its fullest as I don’t mind the OEM for now. I likely just don’t know any better. I am going to have it set up properly as a first step this spring however. 
 

Thanks again to all the contributors on this thread. 

[BBB]

1 hour ago, getpetey said:

I am going to have it set up properly as a first step this spring however. 

There are lots of youtube videos on setting sag correctly @getpetey, and that's a great place to start before you shell out cash. After that it's grab a notebook time: note your settings, adjust one thing at a time, ride and see if things get better. If not, revert to the former settings and try something else.

If you've exhausted the full range of settings and still find them limiting, time for a credit card work-out.