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Terrible suspension on my FZ-07

dirty birdy

dirty birdy

quiet riot
Joined
Jul 10, 2014
Location
Long Beach, Ca
Moto(s)
Sym Symba 110,
Hypermotard 1100S (RIP)
Name
Annie
First of all, let me ask a stupid question:

What exactly does "soft" suspension vs. "hard" suspension feel like on a bike? To me, "soft" sounds like it would be extremely bouncy, and "hard" or "stiff" sounds like it would be jolty/not enough bounce. I talked to my mechanic today and it seems like it is the other way around.

Before I bought my fz-07, I read many reviews which raved about the little bike but warned of too soft suspension. When I bought it, I immediately noticed that any bump or unevenness in the road would send mini violent jolts up my body and compared to all the other bikes I have owned, (zx6r/ex250/ex300/en500) this one is by far the worst. Annoying, but I figured I could get used to it. The other night I was entering the highway through a corner around 50-60 mph and a patch of uneven pavement made me feel like I would go flying.

Fed up, I brought my bike to my mechanic today and he said the front is non-adjustable (true, from my research) and the back can only adjust preload, which might even make it worse. He said perhaps we could add half my weight in oil to the forks, but it would be quite costly to drain and fill and may not even help. This mechanic seems to turn away jobs that are too complicated or time-consuming but at least I trust him not to charge me for unnnecessary jobs.

I told him I was also interested in the new 2017 Z650 (maybe going back to Kawi is the way to go), and he told me not to expect too much out of it. :cry

Sorry for the tangent, I'm feeling a little down right now. Does anyone have experience working on the bike that could bring some insight as to whether pre-load adjustment, fork oil, or anything else might help me not feel like an earthquake is shaking the bones out of me? For reference I'm roughly 140 lbs with all my gear and I understand these bikes are typically set up for 180 lbs.
 
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Setting preload is always the first step. You may not be able to get it correct for your weight, but do the best you can.

Step two is ride the bike and see if it got any better. The answer will probably be "Yes, but..."

Do you really love the bike other than the suspension? If so, plan on spending some money.

I'd call Super Plush and talk to them about what can be done inexpensively. My bet is that a spring change for the shock (maybe the fork too) and an oil change for the front will do wonders, and only set you back a couple of bills.
 
Soft to me means undersprung (fork dive to the stops on braking or bumps blowing through the rear shock against the bump stop) and underdamped compression wise (no hydraulic support during compression, further exaggerating a spring issue).

I'm assuming your FZ-07 has never had the fork oil changed. That can tune the damping to a degree as the stock fork oil from the factory is really light weight and has essentially very little damping properties. It's a bike built to a budget price point, and the suspension is where they cut costs and end users vary wildly in size, requirements, etc. My R3 was actually kind of scary on the track as it felt like a couch that wandered and the rear would slide and skip during rebound because of the lack of damping.

Upgrades for the forks can start out with an oil and spring rate change, cheapest to emulators to full on cartridge replacements. That thread should cover the range and provide options. I'd say at least emulators, but realize you'll probably need a shop to install them so just seeing a $3-400 price isn't the full story, expect another couple hundred for the install.

Upgrade for the shock will have more of a sticker shock initially but it is definitely a swap you can do at home with a rear stand and some jack stands. More information on the various options available to you. Somewhat sad that you can't retrofit an R6 shock (can be found all over used for $50-80) in there as easily, but there is mention further down in the second post about some modification (probably not something you'd tackle by yourself).

I really wanted an Fz-07 with R6 forks, I thought the platform was excellent for what I wanted out of a bike. But alas, it's not really feasible.
 
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Take it to a suspension shop and have them adjust the springs to your weight and proper preload. There may not be preload adjusters but they can still adjust the preload with internal spacers the way we used to do it...

Changing the oil is a great way to cheaply but inconveniently adjust the damping rates.

A better way is to get better valves (e.g., racetech, Traxxion Dynamics, etc.) and caps with external adjusters so you can adjust them from outside the fork.
 
Looks like the FZ07 has damper rod forks ( old style). They can be pretty soft, installing emulators, correct springs and proper oil will help a lot. Just springs and oil will help a lot. Basically the fork tech is fifty years old. I'm sure people are replacing them with cartridge forks.
 
afm199 said:
Looks like the FZ07 has damper rod forks ( old style). They can be pretty soft, installing emulators, correct springs and proper oil will help a lot. Just springs and oil will help a lot. Basically the fork tech is fifty years old. I'm sure people are replacing them with cartridge forks.
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this right here!
 
Whether you love or hate a bike depends entirely on how much you weigh, how you ride it and what you're looking for in it.

I just sold a 14 FZ09 - the suspension debate was a similar discussion. I put an ohlins shock in the rear and stiffer fork springs with heavier fork oil in the front.

Ohlins sorted the rear out tremendously but the fork springs and heavier oil in the front was an improvement but still got a lot of chatter under hard riding or track riding. It wasn't confidence inspiring but that's as much a reflection of the rider as it is the bike imo.

The rebound was the biggest issue - I think I went with 7.5wt fork oil if I remember correctly and I was getting too much rebound. The fork would compress, bounce back and compress again. With rebound dampening screwed all the way in, it was still an issue. My buddy had the same bike and same rear shock but put in cartridges in the front. It was better but still not like a sport bike.

The fz07 has even worse suspension compared to the 09 - front forks aren't adjustable at all I believe. I rode one for 40 miles or so and while the engine was a blast - the suspension was super soft when you started hanging off the bike.

The reality is - if you are looking to ride it hard - you can dump a lot of money ($1500) into it for a result that may not completely satisfy you.

I knew a coach here who did the $7k track conversion on his fz07 and while all the components were great, the chassis couldn't really handle aggressive track days. Extreme scenario but there are many factors that go into a soft handling bike and you have to ask yourself how far you're willing to go to address them.

I ended up selling the 09 and now have a bike that feels like it's on rails. Just what I wanted with no mods but never regretted owning the 09 for a second.
 
I had an FZ-09 and like the FZ-07, the suspension was Turrible as Charles Barkley would say. I did a budget build on it, so I went with an eBay ZX6RR shock and Race Tech gold valving with heavier springs and oil. The ride was so much better.

I don't know if you can do a shock swap as I think the rear shock is an odd length (312mm)...could be wrong. I'd probably throw a Penske shock on the back and put heavier fork oil in the front based on your weight.

There were some guy who were putting R6 forks on FZ-07s. I think there's a company down in SoCal that does it. I believe it changes the rake though. Just depends on what you want and how much money you want to throw at it.
 
DTM74 said:
There were some guy who were putting R6 forks on FZ-07s. I think there's a company down in SoCal that does it. I believe it changes the rake though. Just depends on what you want and how much money you want to throw at it.
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The R6 fork swap requires you to use clip ons (shorter forks, R6 triple clamp which can't accept bars). So it's a pretty radical change from the stock riding position.
 
your weight should be good to go for the FZ07.the suspension is crap,no adjustment is going to help.do you like the bike otherwise?if so, if you put new suspension it will transform the bike.new shock,penske,ohlins,jri have cheaper versions than double,triple adjustables that work well.traxxion dynamics have a nice solution with a fork kit-damper,spring,emulator that doesn't break the bank.gregg spears can get you a ricor intiminator that would work well,or you could go with a andreani cartridge.hard racing seems to have good prices on components and a large selection.i think any bike at this price point will have suspension issues.the bonus is on the fz it's super easy to swap out the shock and pull the forks.i forgot-there's a guy- forks by matt on the fz forum who does a retro fit cartridge of showa parts for about 400 bucks,heard good things,but you have to send forks out of state to him.i would hang in there with the fz,once you get the suspension sorted it's an amazing bike.
 
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i just read the review on the Z650 in the cycle news-it has the the same suspension as the FZ- has better brakes + abs and slipper assist which is nice.a little heavier,but looks good.specs look pretty equal.
 
Phanuel said:
The R6 fork swap requires you to use clip ons (shorter forks, R6 triple clamp which can't accept bars). So it's a pretty radical change from the stock riding position.
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Cant you just drill through the triple and mount the bar risers though?
 
Hooli said:
Higher bars/controls usually means longer brake lines and clutch cable.
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Yeah but the r6 forks are shorter. And were talking about a bike that came from the factory with bars.. I don't see why you would need longer anything.
 
Hooli said:
Higher bars/controls usually means longer brake lines and clutch cable.
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And for about $25 each Motion Pro will make custom length cables that are at least as good of quality as the OEM and some would say better quality. Custom length brake lines are cheap and easy as well, just go to the local hydraulic line shop like Royal Brass or order them from your favorite brakeline mfr.
 
The stock R6 upper just isn't thick enough to comfortably drill through it. The FZ-07R guys do a few chassis tweaks to get the longer 08+ forks to work. But it's race bike so they don't care about dirt bars.
 
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