I have a 2000 that i dont think is as planted and confidence inspiring as it should be. It just feels unsettled in some way and I dont have the rider experience to understand where to start looking for issues...but I want to do this myself.
Does anyone have a systematic method to troubleshooting handling issues? Perhaps a checklist of issues or symptoms/suggestions to look for, it can be generic to any bike as I'd like to understand what I am feeling and pinpoint possibilities....
I'm ready to learn, edumacate please.
the first place to look is tyres and inflation.
yes, i suspect tires are a bit puck like, they are 2008 and had recently sat outside a season in the sun without being ridden....they are 1B on to replace list (need a battery too).
But more than just pinpointing my issue, can you guys give me some general handling rules/symptoms...trying to gain a reference point for symptoms
Well, let's see go down the road do some zig-zags and see if it's doing what you want. Try applying the frt brake and release, and see if the front comes back up and settles quickly(and doesn't pogo)......... Take it though some turns , is it going where you want it does it stay leaned over, does it take much to turn it, does it turn easy(that's a good thing).
1st I'd have new tyres with 36/42 f/r air..... Then set up the suspension for your wt......... take it out again and see if any of these things makes it feel better than it did before.
^^^ +1 Excellent resource. Great info. Thanks!
Good stuff, Miguel
Do you have some front end/handlebar shimmy/shake while decelerating?
When I changed out tires the last time I thought my front end felt a little funny and slight handlebar wiggle upon deceleration. Nothing I could put my finger on and I finally attributed it to the different tires. But it never did feel exactly like I thought it should. I recently installed new steering head bearings and now things are back the way they were supposed to be. All is smooth as glass now.
Set air pressure, set SAG, ride.
You have NO suspension adjustments on the VFR after setting Sag other than the rear shocks rebound screw.
We would need more info on what and when your bike feels bad and only after you do the first two things mentioned here.
But as mentioned, a bad set of tires can Destroy any positive handling the might actually underneath those bad tires, So if the tires are shot your wasting your time doing about anything else IMO.
BR
I know the 43mm forks on the 6th gens are set up soft, so I bet the 39mm 5th gens are even worse, setting sag on the stock shock is a fools game, thats why most cant make the stock shock work. it offers alot of adjustablity if you ignore the sag reccomend. ALthough Id like a new shock, at 100,000 miles why bother, time for a new bike, is a better direction.
But stiffening the front end, if stock is a good start
People sometimes adjust the ride height by flipping the triangles to raise, or using something to lower the rear. Sometimes it works great. Make sure you have stock front and rear ride height, good tires properly inflated, properly adjusted steering nut tension, and go from there.
i thought flipping the triangle LOWERED the bike. no one asking, how much do you weigh? i weighed 250 when i bought the bike. setting it up helped, but until i put in springs up front and one shock, it could only go so far.
So what exactly is the recommended SAG for a 5th gen? Having this same issue myself with my 98, and just trying to get by till i can gather funds to send off to Jamie for a 929 shock and front rebuild/respring.
[image: View Post]Higgin, on 25 August 2012 - 08:44 PM, said:
So what exactly is the recommended SAG for a 5th gen? Having this same issue myself with my 98, and just trying to get by till i can gather funds to send off to Jamie for a 929 shock and front rebuild/respring. 30 to 35mm
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End of thread · 14 posts recovered Wayback Machine snapshot 26 Aug 2012