Suspension

[Nordboy]

Ok, I fancy having an upgrade on my Fazer 1000's front and rear suspension. To start, I have limited spannering skills, I'll have a go but average to say the least.

There's a bmw s1000rr rear shock mod that I'm looking at, hopefully this is just minor messing, even though drilling may be required!!!

Front forks, my main questions,

1. how easy/ hard is taking the forks off, changing the springs, changing fork oil, new seals etc

2. What exactly would I need? any specialist equipment?

I'm not in any hurry, can take a bit of time over it. But, if it's going to be too much/ difficult, then I'll maybe think about getting them done, but I'd really like to keep costs down. Paying someone may push well over any budget I may have.

The bike is probably only worth £1k so spending £5-600 on suspension may not be worth it.

[Skub]

Speaking personally,good suspension is a huge part of what makes riding a bike enjoyable,so in my book it's always worth it. Especially so if you keep the bike long term.

Years ago the old right way up style forks were easily removed,dismantled and refreshed. I always had to make a tool to put down inside the forks to loosen the damper rod,otherwise it can be a faff.

Modern forks I don't bother with at all,they go to a specialist,so I'm not sure what tools are required,or their cost.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Taking the forks out is pretty easy, especially if the bike has a centre stand, changing springs is easy, it's probably cartridge damping, leave the cartridges to some one who knows what they're doing.

[weeksy]

YOu'd be surprised at the cost, new springs and oil was only £145 on the XSR. That's not really worth risking doing yourself consdiering the springs and oil are going to cost about £100, so only £45 to get someone to do the work.

[Mussels]

If the bike is with a grand then probably a great upgrade is just servicing it with basic standard pattern parts, don't get stuck in the buying bling trap. Do you really need springs?
On the back end it's worth checking the swingarm bearing, I pulled mine out and it was a pile of metal dust.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Just changing the oil in the forks will make a big difference, you don't need to take the forks out to change it.

[DEADPOOL]

Ok, I fancy having an upgrade on my Fazer 1000's front and rear suspension. To start, I have limited spannering skills, I'll have a go but average to say the least.

There's a bmw s1000rr rear shock mod that I'm looking at, hopefully this is just minor messing, even though drilling may be required!!!

Front forks, my main questions,

1. how easy/ hard is taking the forks off, changing the springs, changing fork oil, new seals etc

2. What exactly would I need? any specialist equipment?

I'm not in any hurry, can take a bit of time over it. But, if it's going to be too much/ difficult, then I'll maybe think about getting them done, but I'd really like to keep costs down. Paying someone may push well over any budget I may have.

The bike is probably only worth £1k so spending £5-600 on suspension may not be worth it.

Hyperpro springs give you the best compromise between plush ride and firm suspension when you need it. Slightly heavier oil helps too though fresh oil might dial out any sloppiness. Loosen off the top clamps before you take the forks out of the yokes. Tie the calipers out of the way. Check the headstock bearings and steering action while you're at it.

Invest in a cheap syringe for when you're messing with the oil level. 99p off eBay (do it now).

Don't know about the mod but if it's an old bike, the rear shock will be knackered so anything will be better. Make sure you get the correct spring rate. You can't dial that out, it is a fixed parameter, adjusting preload merely changes the ride height.

[Nordboy]

Thanks all, the bike has done over 40k miles and i’m not sure that the suspension has ever had anything done to it, so it’s tired and I can easily push it beyond what it’s capable of and where i feel in control. Oh, and i’m not little either!

I can (and will) service it myself over the next month or so, that’s sorted.

Better start planning ringing getting some quotes then. I guess I’ll have to learn how to take the forks out anyway to send or deliver them?

[Skub]

An Abba stand with the front lift kit is a decent bit of gear which allows you to do most jobs.

[mangocrazy]

Pardon my ignorance, but are the forks on your Fazer1000 USD or conventional? If they're USD you will generally need a special tool to hold the internal collar down so you can separate the top and bottom parts of the damper so you can get at the rest of the internals. If they're conventional, things are easier. In terms of what spring rate you require for the forks, Race-Tech have a useful calculator on their site (as long as the bike in question was sold in the US) that takes into account your weight and riding preferences. They have data for the FZR1000 from 1987 to 1996, but don't seem to list the Fazer 1000 (is it a different model ?)

This is their calculator:

https://racetech.com/VehicleSearch

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Fazer 1000 has rwu forks but they're probably cartridge as it was made in the early 2000s, with 40,000 miles on it the springs will be tired and the oil will be brown piss

[Nordboy]

Pardon my ignorance, but are the forks on your Fazer1000 USD or conventional? If they're USD you will generally need a special tool to hold the internal collar down so you can separate the top and bottom parts of the damper so you can get at the rest of the internals. If they're conventional, things are easier. In terms of what spring rate you require for the forks, Race-Tech have a useful calculator on their site (as long as the bike in question was sold in the US) that takes into account your weight and riding preferences. They have data for the FZR1000 from 1987 to 1996, but don't seem to list the Fazer 1000 (is it a different model ?)

This is their calculator:

https://racetech.com/VehicleSearch

In the USA it was called the FZ1. Great tool, thanks

[mangocrazy]

Great, glad you can get data for it. What type are the forks, RWU or USD?

[Nordboy]

Great, glad you can get data for it. What type are the forks, RWU or USD?

RWU, there is a USD Yamaha R6 front fork conversion but that's too much for me.

[mangocrazy]

That's probably no bad thing - RWU forks are easier to work on. You should hopefully be able to dsmantle them without special tools. I would definitely strip them down as far as you can and clean all the nasty black gunge out. Don't just rely on changing the oil - you do need to get all the crap out. And you will need a full set of bushes and seals. After 40k the oil will be absolutely minging...

[mangocrazy]

You will need something to drive the new bushes and seals home, though. If you can find a piece of thin wall tube of the right internal diameter that will do, otherwise you'll need a seal driver. They come in various i.d. to suit the size of your fork legs.

[SSR Suspension]

40000 miles will not cause an issue to the springs mechanically, but springs appropriate for your weight is a different thing altogether!

Please see the thread in my forum section about why you should not use shocks from other bikes. As for the Racetech calculator it gives some very inacurate results and can not always be trusted, I spent a very long time building an excel based system for my company which was 100% accurate, plus there are other variables that come into it, its not just all about weight.

The forks are cartridge based and not damping rod design, please also be very careful what you use for a seal driver as I have seen people damage their seals. Cheap seals are also cheap for a reason use 'NOK' nothing else, I can supply seals/fluids and tools.

The other problem with cartridge forks are that people do not set the caps properly, they rebuild them and loose half of the adjustment in the rebound adjuster, I often get called asking what the problem is yet and how to solve it people seem to expect to recieve free advice. If your going to do a job yourself to save money just ensure you know what your doing first and how to do it, a bit like sawing a bit of wood - measure twice cut once!