Okay, so I have an '85 1100 - one of the models known for not having the best front suspension. Now a racing buddy of mine who rides late model R1s recently told me my front end feels far too sloshy and weak and demonstrated to me by pushing the bars down then the front spring up then bogging down again. Its never occured to me as I have thought this to be "normal".
Is it normal? What could I do to make it less sloshy? I have read threads to do with fork oil and dampering but I dont want to assume things and then skrew everything up. I already set my back suspension a little stiffer, but havent tried with the dampener yet
It's all about personal prefference if you ask me.
I do all my riding with a pillion, but not loaded with gear, and have it set on the 2nd or medium setting, front and rear.
Try it on the various settings and see which you prefer.
The hardest settings seem too bouncy for me and the softest see's the suspension bottoming out. So i've got a happy medium.
You're R1 riding friend probably likes to ride hard and fast and will probably need the harder settings.
This is why I need a manual! Second setting :-?
I cant see anywhere on my forks where t adjust settings. I took a look at the very top og the forks and there was a cap that says "programm suspension", after lifting that it doesnt look like anything set. I would like to say I hope I have stock forks. I am not sure if they are original as they were rebuilt/exchanged, but they are definitely FJ forks
Under that cap that says programme suspension there is a slotted bolt that can be turned with a large flat head screwdriver when it's pressed down upon.
There are only 3 settings, the hardest being when the bolt is turned fully clockwise, and softest is anti-clockwise. The settings are in slots and when you turn the bolt you can feel it riding over a cam-like cut-out in the cap.
I'll post you up a picture of one in a bit.
Thanks, sounds a lot easier, mine are probably set very low, but its nice to know I dont HAVE to rebuild the forks and put new oil in YET
(http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww116/FJ111200/001-15.jpg)
(http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww116/FJ111200/002-5.jpg)
The top shot shows the bolt and slot and the bottom shot the position on the adjuster.
Hope it helps. :good2:
Yours looks a lot cleaner than mine.. I circled the part I think I am supposed to insert skrewdriver and turn. Am I right?
(http://fjowners.com/gallery/2/1788_29_09_11_7_50_45.jpeg)
No no, insert the flat head screwdriver into the middle, there's a large slot. Clean the oil away and you'll see it better.
Oh yes I see from your picture. Now that I have the go ahead to clear out that oil I will> I was just concerned that I may have a problem with oil being their in the first place... Thanks for the help :good2:
I can see how it will click in place and wont have to worry about getting both sides very equal:)
Yeah, i think you have a problem with the oil being there, as it looks like the oil is getting past the o ring in the fork cap.
SHIT! not ANOTHER problem to sort out. God I give up:(
Jesse,
Deal with all your other problems first. Then you can start on this one. :-)
The 3 position adjustment varies the preload on the spring in your fork. You want to have both forks with the same preload. This will make your forks (a bit) harder or softer.
Then you have the damper setting to adjust AND you can change your fork oil as well as the level of the fork oit to further change the damping and progression of the spring rate.
The more you learn, the more you realize you have to learn.
Cheers,
Arnie
:biggrin: That's it mate, 25 year plus bikes don't look after themselves. I've also got a couple of XS1100's which are 33 years old now, and they were a pain, but once you get on top of everything it'll be a lot easier. :empathy3:
All of this is explained in the Owners Manual, which might be available for download on the Yamaha factory site. If it is, download it and READ IT!. If not, then it's available for on-line read somewhere. Again, READ IT then start asking questions about what you don't understand.
Next, get a Service Manual which tells you how to work on something. When you encounter a problem, read the appropriate section, THEN start asking questions about what you don't understand.
You need to put a little effort in learing how to fish, otherwise you won't learn squat.
DavidR.
@ David, I searched the internet sites for a big period of the day yesterday but as it seems my work server blocks all these sites and downloads. I had some luck in a guy saying he would convert everything into pdf for me and send it on a cd in the post but I must wait for him unfortunately, can't kick a gift horse in the mouse. Now I'm on my phone so my posts may be a little crappy. I opened up the cap of the forks to adjust as fj1200 had said, however when I use a skrewdriver and push the rod all the way down it won't allow me to turn it clockwise or anti clockwise. With it halfway in I can turn it millions of times in either dierection without change, same if the skrewdriver is just sitting in the slot. I know I need to get both manuals and I have tried believe me.
Sorry Jesse,
But you're asking a bunch of basic questions that you need to have some reference knowledge to start with. Otherwise it's going to constantly blow up into a multi-page thread that's confusing for you and will spiral out of control in frustration.
Do you have a public library? Someplace where you can do some computer research?
Take fork work, for example. You need to familiarize yourself with the components and terminology a bit before you start asking a bunch of random questions. That way you will have a much better chance of understanding any answers that you receive. These guys are patient and will answer anything you ask, but it helps if you meet them halfway with some knowledge of the subject.
Again, I'm not trying to be mean, but I'm beginning to skip most of your questions just from the sheer frustration of "where do I start" when trying to answer what you're asking. Some of your questions show you have no idea of the subject, components or purpose. That's frustrating for someone like me, because in order to give a useful answer, I have to also give you a lot of background. Most of this background information is available in manuals and if you know some of it up front, we can have a much more useful and informative dialog.
Otherwise, questions begat more questions and so on, and soon it's just not worth the effort anymore. I appreciate you quest for knowledge, but study up some and take some time to familiarize yourself with the topic before asking questions like: "How do I rebuild my engine?"
Here's a link to the page where you can order a Yamaha Owners Manual for the 1985 FJ. $20 seems like a lot and if someone has offered to get you a copy, then wait for it. In the mean time, be patient and try to do a little research to narrow your questions down a little and meet us halfway.
DavidR.
http://www.yamahapubs.com/index.do (http://www.yamahapubs.com/index.do)
Jesse, read SlowOldGuy's reply carefully. BUY a SERVICE MANUAL and an OWNERS MANUAL. Get the actual ones printed on paper and you will have a great resource of information. Learning requires some effort on your part. At an average of over 4 posts per day, your asking other people to do your research for you. I understand that you want to learn more about your bike and how to deal with the various issues but this also requires effort on your part. Now about you front end. Since you haven't changed your fork oil yet do so now along with some new o rings to stop the obvious leaks. Your fork springs are now 26 years old and where not great to begin with so change them out for some new single rate springs. The preload adjusters give a limlted amount of adjustability and will not compensate for a set of bagged out springs. Do your research and keep on working on the bike and it will all come together. Hein.
With the age of the forks and unkown condition, better do everything......
http://www.rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=M%2FC%3AForkR%2FBKit (http://www.rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=M%2FC%3AForkR%2FBKit)
Get a service manual 1st, then rebuild the forks.
Sorry my one point I am not good at is patience. But I will listen to everybody especially Arnie and David. I will go about solving one problem at a time - its cheaper. Its just that when I see something wrong I panic and want to fix it. But patiance is a virtue and something I WILL learn.
I have found a few links with downloads that work, but my work server speed is too slow to download them. So I am going to find a a good place to download or ask a friend, rebeiw the manual extensively(do a little homework) and then see what I can fix myself and where get stuck ask questions so that I have the knowledge, the experience of what I have tried and what I am working with.
my racing buddy invited me to a track day and said I must try his bike out, but before I do I want to be able to handle the FJ well and then maybe even surprise my buddy. So far I have a very long list of parts I want to order from Randy and the beauty is that some of the parts have CHEAPER shipping than that of within America! So that brings a smile to my face.