Hi all, I bought a '89 end of last season and finally got a chance to ride her a bit. I notice the front end is a bit soft. I'm not that big at 5'7" 160lbs but the diving worries me a bit. I think the springs are just old. What are my options here in Canada? I know Racetech makes springs for FZR400 and wonder if I can just use those? Thanks!
Japanese Domestic Market bikes are under damped and under sprung. Probably best to sort out the damping first and then get heavier spring if you still think it is too soft. Your fork damper rods will have 4 compression damper holes instead of 2. The rebound holes will be larger than export model bikes too. Weld up the rebound holes and redrill them smaller around 1.5mm diameter (no more than 2mm). Get some Gold Valve emulators or YSS PD Valves. Their instructions will say that you need 6 compression holes to work with them so drill 2 more in each damper rod. Try 2 turns on the Emulator valve to start with and 10wt fork oil. More turns will give more compression damping and heavier oil will give more rebound damping. Adjust the fork static sag by cutting the fork spring spacer or get some TZR 250 1KT fork caps that have preload adjusters. Or drill your original fork caps and fit tubeless tyre valve stems. A few PSI will increase the spring rate progressively. It would be a good idea to read up about setting up suspension. Race Tech do a very good book and so do Wilbers.
Thanks for the replies. I don't think I can handle welding rebound holes and all that work. I'll take a look at that thread to get some better/cheaper solutions Thanks.
I would start with just draining the oil and having a good look inside .... the inside could be just sludge or the wrong amount ....missing washers and / or spacers etc etc On one of the FZRs here we just used heavier oil and it made a noticeable difference .... I think its discussed in that thread I linked The stock front is definately marshmellow though
Just curious, why are JDM bikes have such soft front ends? What's the advantage of it and why do they love soft setups?
