scuff Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I have spent some time today setting up my riding suspension sag for my weight and my Yamaha city cases with 10kg of load in them. My weight is around 213lbs or 96.6kg. my bike was set up very soft from the dealer, the rear sag was 48mm and the front 52mm. I was aiming for 38mm rear and 41mm front. My settings for the rear suspension are now compression position 5 and rebound 1.25 turns out. The front is just showing only 2 rings compression including the top one, the damping is 5 clicks out. The bike now feels beautifully balanced front to rear, it floats nicely over potholes and undulations, but also remains composed when ridden very hard. So if you are my weight and have luggage, it may be worth a trying these if you are having difficulty setting up your machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordo27 Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Hi Scuff, thanks for the help and advice much appreciated. Bought my Tracer two weeks ago. I am of similar weight to you slightly heavier at 220lbs. What settings do you use if you are riding solo? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scuff Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 Hi Jordo, welcome to the forum. Without my cases and extra weight of the contents, I leave the front, but take the rear spring one notch softer, and increase the rear rebound damping by one quarter of a turn, as there is less weight to hold back the spring. The extra damping stops the spring rebounding too quickly with the reduction in rear weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordo27 Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Hey Scuff, thank you for the quick reply. Just to confirm for a solo ride you have the rear Compression set back to 4 (standard setting) and rebound to 1 1/4 wound back from hard. I have taken your rebound settings that you have said (on from and rear) as being wound back from the hardest setting. Is that correct? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scuff Posted May 12, 2015 Author Share Posted May 12, 2015 Hey Scuff, thank you for the quick reply. Just to confirm for a solo ride you have the rear Compression set back to 4 (standard setting) and rebound to 1 1/4 wound back from hard. I have taken your rebound settings that you have said (on from and rear) as being wound back from the hardest setting. Is that correct? Cheers Yes, that's correct. I tend to ride on the 'sporty' side, so, if you want a little more comfort, it does no harm to back it all off a notch. Anyway, they should be a good starting point for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordo27 Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Hey Scuff, thanks for your help. You are of LEGEND status. I too ride more on the sporty side, I look forward to testing the settings very soon. As you have good knowledge on the suspension for Tracer, in reading the manual after purchasing the bike it advises the maximum weight is only 397lbs (very disappointing for a bike that the target market of sports touring and all ads have two up riding with panniers!) if i upgrade the rear shock and suspension will i be able to carry more weight? i asked the dealer after i read the max weight and they said yes and that Yamaha are extremely conservative regarding this. I am concerned that the max weight is in relation to the chasis and swing-arm. I ask because being 6'4 and 220lbs with my pillion and panniers I will exceed the 397lbs, which will restrict the purpose which I bought the bike. Thanks again for all your help. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scuff Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 As far as the suspension goes, you would solve any loading issues by replacing the spring with a higher loading, and the shock to match. That may of course lead to a stiffer ride when you are not loaded up. My concern would be that Yamaha specify the rear weight limit due to the construction and materials used for the rear subframe. It's not something that I will explore, as my wife has her own tracer! In my experience, I have never known a bike to collapse or fail due to the rear weight, but it may obviously compromise the handling. If I have loaded panniers fitted, my bike really gets out of shape at the top end of its speed range, and can also weave like a moto GP bike when braking hard. My steering damper does help to keep it under control to a large extent, but you have to be careful if exploring the edge of the handling envelope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordo27 Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Thank you for your reply. You are a wealth of knowledge. That is also my concern too that it is the subframe that can only safely carry 180kg/397lbs. My wife birthday is fast approaching so she is going to get her motorcycle licence. I do enjoy two-up riding though, we will just be limited to toothbrush and deodorant when we travel. What steering damper did you use? thanks again for all your help and advice - you are a LEGEND. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scuff Posted May 14, 2015 Author Share Posted May 14, 2015 Glad that I could be of some help. My steering damper thread and it's linked fitting procedure is Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beberle Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Thought I would add my #s. 225lbs has my front fork preload maxed to the top line. 6 clicks from full rebound seems to work well. Shock preload is only set to 4 and rebound is 11/2turns back from full. I could have sworn the FJ was listed as having fully adjustable forks (compression adjustment), but I don't see it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member ULEWZ Posted May 18, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted May 18, 2015 Thought I would add my #s. 225lbs has my front fork preload maxed to the top line. 6 clicks from full rebound seems to work well. Shock preload is only set to 4 and rebound is 11/2turns back from full. I could have sworn the FJ was listed as having fully adjustable forks (compression adjustment), but I don't see it... Nope, just rebound and preload. Fork cartridges will fix that, but at what cost? $500 to $1,200 for new inserts. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Bikes: 2015 FJ-09, Seat Concepts seat cover and foam, Cal Sci medium screen, rim stripes, factory heated grips, Cortech Dryver tank bag ring, Modified stock exhaust, FlashTune with Graves fuel map, Cree driving lights, Aux power socket. 2012 Street Triple type R (Wifes) 2007 FJR1300 (Sold!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beberle Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Once I tweaked the suspension, it's not perfect, but I'm very pleased w/ how it handles stock (for now). Even with my wife on back ;-). I bought the FJ for more leisurely sport cruising around town. Now... If I were like some of you lucky gents and lived closer to the mountains... ;-) however, my Tail-of-the-Dragon days are few and far between. My Gen 1 FZ-1 was another story. That sucker needed stiffer springs from the get-go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordo27 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Thought I would add my #s. 225lbs has my front fork preload maxed to the top line. 6 clicks from full rebound seems to work well. Shock preload is only set to 4 and rebound is 11/2turns back from full. I could have sworn the FJ was listed as having fully adjustable forks (compression adjustment), but I don't see it... Hey Beberle, thanks for your update and settings. Weather in Sydney, Aust has been crap. Looking forward to getting out this weekend & playing with settings. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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