RPM Rear shock update

[Bozo]

Just a quick update for anyone wanting a new rear shock on their FJ, I have done over 45,000kms on my RPM shock (yes I know its in for a service randy ) and I have nothing but praise for this item, it works as well as the day I bought it.
I honestly believe that for General riding on crappy roads this is the best shock to use, some might be better under certain conditions BUT not overall without constant adjustments.
The only addition I made was for a slightly harder 750lb spring for the Australian roads.
The best comparison I can give was my brother bought a 2015 BMW 1200GS adventurer, and he rode my FJ while I took his bike for spin. His comment was " I can't believe that suspension is as good as mine" (NOTE: the front forks are also fitted with RPM emulators and springs)

Well done Randy, I wish you made a shock like this for the GPZ1100 I just put together, I'd buy one tomorrow.

Just to add I do not work for RPM or have personal relationships, I am strictly a customer.

[ribbert]

......The best comparison I can give was my brother bought a 2015 BMW 1200GS adventurer, and he rode my FJ while I took his bike for spin. His comment was " I can't believe that suspension is as good as mine"

Geez Bozo, do you live on the Hume? I have both those bikes in the garage and the ride is chalk and cheese.

Remember, in the US they drive on left of the road, in Australia we drive on what's left of the road.

Noel

[Bozo]

......The best comparison I can give was my brother bought a 2015 BMW 1200GS adventurer, and he rode my FJ while I took his bike for spin. His comment was " I can't believe that suspension is as good as mine"

Geez Bozo, do you live on the Hume? I have both those bikes in the garage and the ride is chalk and cheese.

Remember, in the US they drive on left of the road, in Australia we drive on what's left of the road.

Noel

Noel, exact opposite I might ask you the same question but in reverse, have you got the shock set correctly (I find it hard to believe by your comment). We have some nice rough roads, actually my Kawasaki's allow me to taste my tonsils while riding, the FJ at any speed hardly feels any bumps. I stand by what I say. I would NEVER make comments like this about any product unless I thought highly of it.

I have been in San Diego , big bear etc and actually they are smooth compared to the Northern Perth  roads. I lived in Victoria for around 25 years so I can compare your roads to Perth outer roads

If you are down my way I'll be glad to to prove you wrong.

[ZOA NOM]

I gotta go with Bozo on this one. Same front/rear suspension on my '93. Spirited commute almost daily (no freeways) and twisties as often as possible with the Renegades, and I'm fresh as a daisy after every ride. (Well, except that one time up on CA-108 in the heat. Thanks to Ramos I had a place to puke.)

[ribbert]

I gotta go with Bozo on this one. Same front/rear suspension on my '93. Spirited commute almost daily (no freeways) and twisties as often as possible with the Renegades, and I'm fresh as a daisy after every ride. (Well, except that one time up on CA-108 in the heat. Thanks to Ramos I had a place to puke.)

Zoa, The forum abounds with testimonials to the excellence of the RPM suspension and my comment to Bozo was not a slight on it but an opinion on the comparison he drew, as I ride both those bikes and it was at odds with my own experience.

And yes, I never cease to be amazed at the miles I can cover in a day on the FJ without suffering, which given my fitness level is saying something.

Noel

[ribbert]

Noel, exact opposite I might ask you the same question but in reverse, have you got the shock set correctly

If you are down my way I'll be glad to to prove you wrong.

How could it not be set properly?

Yes, I would love an excuse to ride over your way but a 7000km ride to be proven wrong probably doesn't cut it. 

Noel

[ZOA NOM]

I gotta go with Bozo on this one. Same front/rear suspension on my '93. Spirited commute almost daily (no freeways) and twisties as often as possible with the Renegades, and I'm fresh as a daisy after every ride. (Well, except that one time up on CA-108 in the heat. Thanks to Ramos I had a place to puke.)

Zoa, The forum abounds with testimonials to the excellence of the RPM suspension and my comment to Bozo was not a slight on it but an opinion on the comparison he drew, as I ride both those bikes and it was at odds with my own experience.

And yes, I never cease to be amazed at the miles I can cover in a day on the FJ without suffering, which given my fitness level is saying something.

Noel

No worries mate, just my $.02

[Pat Conlon]

Noel, remind us, what suspension do you currently have on your FJ?

[aviationfred]

I will throw my 2 cents in here. 

I have had the RPM rear shock on my '89 for 2 1/2 years or so with approximately 15,000 miles of usage. Having just recently purchased a '90 model from a fellow forum member. I will comment on noticed differences.

The '90 FJ came to me with a rear shock that has been sourced from a Honda Goldwing. The previous owner raved on about how much better over the OEM shock it was. Now that I own the FJ, I will have to say the statement is correct. The Goldwing shock is much better than OEM. I did ride the '90 exclusively for a month straight, specifically to get a good feel for the bike and to see if any gremlins would surface.

Now lets get into comparison to the RPM shock. The Goldwing shock does not do anything really wrong, it just is not up to the standard of the versatile, meet every road condition RPM shock.

Here is the Moral of the story......You like what you have because you have not experienced what's better. When an owner makes mods/upgrades to their FJ. RPM rear shock, RPM fork valves, 17" wheels, Blue dots, Buell foot pegs, etc.etc.. Many times the owner will not really notice any difference after the mod is installed, especially after a couple of years. BUT when given the opportunity to ride a completely stock FJ......Holy smokes.....Now all of a sudden the mods are GREATLY noticed. Compliant, smooth rear end while on a bumpy road, leave from a stop and your feet MISS the foot pegs because muscle memory tells you the pegs are 1 1/2 inches lower. After a 20 minute ride, you start to feel a tiny bit of tightness in your lower back because there are no RPM handle bar risers. I am not even going to touch on the front forks or brakes.




Fred

[Mike Ramos]

Gentlemen,

If I may chime in: From my experience the RPM shock is an excellent all around performer.  As I have mentioned previously, over the road ride smoothness to spirited back country riding, I never change the suspension settings.   

And let's put to rest two things: First - rough roads are not found exclusively in the land down under; get off the Interstates (which themselves at times are rather beat up) and often road conditions are poor. 

                                               Second - the nonsense about the "best you know is the best you have experienced"...  Perhaps such a statement is valid in the context if only one motorcycle is experienced. However over these last I have had the opportunity to ride a variety of motorcycles from different venues and without exception, when once again on the FJ as it is configured to me nothing can compare in all around performance.

Case in point: at the last Renegade Rally, I rode a borrowed FJ equipped with the RPM Fork Valves and a Penske rear shock - after a brief ride to acclimate myself with the machine, I set the forks one notch in and it brought the front end to life.  At the rear the Penske, although competent, was not up to the the performance of the RPM shock, now be gentle with me Penske owners but in my estimation, not nearly so.   

Thus perhaps the suspension set up procedures should be addressed.  Questions in this regard have been asked before, however usually deferred to the gentleman from RPM.  If I may add my suggestion which, although it has worked for me, perhaps it will not for others... okay, here goes....

Keep in mind that sometimes the adjustments may seem counter-intuitive... e.g. If you are having too much float in the rear suspension, do not increase the spring preload, decrease it GRADUALLY until the internal valves are able to fully come into play.  It should be noted that a simple 1/4 (ONE QUARTER) turn can make a big difference.  As the ride became close to where it suited my demanding parameters, at times even less that a quarter turn was noticeable.

Also, a positive aspect of the RPM suspension is that the spring rates are softer than the rates of other suspension.  At least initially do not be overly concerned if the suspension seems too soft - wait until the opportunity presents itself to try the same seemingly soft settings on some back country road under sporting conditions - and give the same settings a workout on less undulating but rough surfaced, choppy roads. 

1) Set the tire air pressure to 42 psi and LEAVE IT THERE - the reason being this will be the one constant that the remaining components are adjusted to.

2) Set the front forks - if (as on the recently borrowed FJ) they are set too soft, the front end compresses too much in an unsure manner when in a turn and feels very unstable; over the road was only adequate - one notch in on the adjuster and it was very, very excellent.  To be honest, I do not worry about the sag numbers - while initially I diligently followed the sag parameters, for me they became inconsequential - when rolled off the stand and sitting static, about 1/4 to 1/3 of the suspension is used.

3) Finally set the rear - it has been my experience that the key to any suspension is to have front and rear suspension in harmony aka "balanced".  It may, as it did with me, take some time and patience, but it is a simple yet rewarding process.

Allow me to reiterate: this is what has worked for me, hopefully it will work for others as well. 

Ride safe.

Mike Ramos

 

[Bozo]

Gentlemen,

If I may chime in: From my experience the RPM shock is an excellent all around performer.  As I have mentioned previously, over the road ride smoothness to spirited back country riding, I never change the suspension settings.   

And let's put to rest two things: First - rough roads are not found exclusively in the land down under; get off the Interstates (which themselves at times are rather beat up) and often road conditions are poor. 

                                               Second - the nonsense about the "best you know is the best you have experienced"...  Perhaps such a statement is valid in the context if only one motorcycle is experienced. However over these last I have had the opportunity to ride a variety of motorcycles from different venues and without exception, when once again on the FJ as it is configured to me nothing can compare in all around performance.

Case in point: at the last Renegade Rally, I rode a borrowed FJ equipped with the RPM Fork Valves and a Penske rear shock - after a brief ride to acclimate myself with the machine, I set the forks one notch in and it brought the front end to life.  At the rear the Penske, although competent, was not up to the the performance of the RPM shock, now be gentle with me Penske owners but in my estimation, not nearly so.   

Thus perhaps the suspension set up procedures should be addressed.  Questions in this regard have been asked before, however usually deferred to the gentleman from RPM.  If I may add my suggestion which, although it has worked for me, perhaps it will not for others... okay, here goes....

Keep in mind that sometimes the adjustments may seem counter-intuitive... e.g. If you are having too much float in the rear suspension, do not increase the spring preload, decrease it GRADUALLY until the internal valves are able to fully come into play.  It should be noted that a simple 1/4 (ONE QUARTER) turn can make a big difference.  As the ride became close to where it suited my demanding parameters, at times even less that a quarter turn was noticeable.

Also, a positive aspect of the RPM suspension is that the spring rates are softer than the rates of other suspension.  At least initially do not be overly concerned if the suspension seems too soft - wait until the opportunity presents itself to try the same seemingly soft settings on some back country road under sporting conditions - and give the same settings a workout on less undulating but rough surfaced, choppy roads. 

1) Set the tire air pressure to 42 psi and LEAVE IT THERE - the reason being this will be the one constant that the remaining components are adjusted to.

2) Set the front forks - if (as on the recently borrowed FJ) they are set too soft, the front end compresses too much in an unsure manner when in a turn and feels very unstable; over the road was only adequate - one notch in on the adjuster and it was very, very excellent.  To be honest, I do not worry about the sag numbers - while initially I diligently followed the sag parameters, for me they became inconsequential - when rolled off the stand and sitting static, about 1/4 to 1/3 of the suspension is used.

3) Finally set the rear - it has been my experience that the key to any suspension is to have front and rear suspension in harmony aka "balanced".  It may, as it did with me, take some time and patience, but it is a simple yet rewarding process.

Allow me to reiterate: this is what has worked for me, hopefully it will work for others as well. 

Ride safe.

Mike Ramos

 

Ribbert, Since I started this I was questioning whether my bike is just a freak, I talked to my brother (with the GS) and he still commented that he was blown by the way my bike rides over rough roads.

SO why do we differ in our comments as I'm sure Victorian roads are as bad as the WA roads. Answer is simple -

After emailing both Arnie and KTMdude Pete they convinced me to change the rear tyre to a 17" GSX750, yesterday it arrived. To my amazement it was (approx) 600mm dia with a 150/60 x 17" tyre. My FJ 16" has 650mm dia, as you know the larger dia should/ will ride a lot better over bumps, now add to that the 16" tyre has more wall height which at 35psi has a lot of flex. I'll stand corrected but you have a 17" wheel with around 70 espect ratio tyre. Randy I'm sure designed his suspension around the standard wheel weight / height etc.
Notice I left the front end out as that is fantastic with the RPM emulators and 0.85Kg springs




I also occurred to me why I made a comment about my GPZ needing an RPM shock, it had an 18" rear wheel with 80 aspect tyre so it also had more flex. I now have 17" both front and rear and the difference in ride is out of this world, I have now changed the oil in the rear (std) shock and dropped the air pressure down and it still doesn't compare to the previous ride (I might add I have a slight back issue, that's why softer suspension is critical for me).

[ZOA NOM]

No one should underestimate the impact of air pressures. 42 psi and leave it there. The RPM front and rear suspension depends on it.

[ribbert]

....convinced me to change the rear tyre to a 17" GSX750, yesterday it arrived. To my amazement it was (approx) 600mm dia with a 150/60 x 17" tyre. My FJ 16" has 650mm dia.....

Bozo, something doesn't seem right there. It has always been generally accepted, that the OD of the 16" with the taller standard tyre is much the same as a 17" with a 180/55, which is what I run, and I would imagine was the most commonly fitted size. 50mm is a huge difference.
From memory, the gap between the wheel and ground barely changed when I swapped, certainly not a significant amount or enough to affect anything.

....and he still commented that he was blown by the way my bike rides over rough roads.

I travelled the corrugated gravel roads between Wilpena Pound and Arkaroola mostly at 80 - 100 kph and at times hitting 160 on the dirt, the suspension was great.

The Kwaka looks like a lot of fun.

Noel

[ribbert]

Noel, remind us, what suspension do you currently have on your FJ?

RPM front fork goodies and a gas shock.

Noel

[Pat Conlon]

Noel, remind us, what suspension do you currently have on your FJ?

RPM front fork goodies and a gas shock.

Noel

Ok, gotcha. The reason I ask is....

Through the years I've had cartridge emulators and 3 sets of full cartridge forks, both conventional (CBR600 F3) and USD's (FZR1000 and current YZF750) along with 2 different Penske's, double clicker 8983 (compression/rebound) and the current Penske triple clicker 8987 (high/low compression/rebound) on my FJ. I've had both light shock springs (900) and heavy springs (1100) on both Penske's.

All those components are very much and upgrade over the oem FJ suspension, no question.

Almost a year ago, Randy gave me the keys to his FJ for a morning ride thru the foothills of the Sierras.
That was the smoothest FJ I've ever ridden. I'm not saying it was soft, it wasn't. It was well composed. The suspension's reaction time on bump compliance was near instantaneous.

I've ridden BMW's RS/GS and RT bikes and those suspensions **are the best in the world** heck, the entire bikes are the cream of the crop. Randy's IAT valved FJ was just as smooth. Of course the BMW's suspension is more versatile with more adjustments* as it should be, but I can believe a BMW owner comparing a RPM valved and shocked FJ to his BMW. It's really that smooth.

Noel, it sounds like you are 1/2 the way there. A RPM IAT valved shock is what you need.




*some height adjustability on that RPM shock would be perfect for the non dog bone '84-87 folks (hint)