OK, I weigh 180 Lbs, so only 10 Lbs heavier than you.
On the FJR with standard settings, I find the front springs are too soft, resulting in too
much sag, which reduces the amount of suspension travel available to absorb bumps. So I set
the spring preload to maximum hard, wind them down to the last mark. Even so, I think the
springs are still too soft and should be replaced with after market springs, but they are
just good enough for me.

I think the compression damping is too hard, resulting in too much jarring when you hit
bumps. I wind the compression clickers (the ones at the bottom of the legs) out by 4 clicks
from standard.

I think the rebound damping, which stops wheel chatter, is about right. I leave the top
clickers at the factory setting.

At the rear, I set the hard/soft lever to hard, and leave it there. Again, I think the rear
spring is too soft in the "soft" position, resulting in not enough travel to absorb bumps,
and reduced ground clearance for cornering. The increased height at the back also sharpens
up the steering.

The clicker at the bottom of the rear shock is for rebound damping, and I think the factory
setting is about right, and I leave it alone. There is no adjustment for compression
damping, so if you want improved performance, you will have to buy an after market shock.

I believe that front suspension is much more important than the rear when looking for
comfort and handling, and I don't think it is worth spending mega dollars on a back shock.

 

For some reason, I am betting AZguy may have a GenIII Bernie. He mentions his settings on the rear shock, and then mentions adjusting the lower right shock.... but bet he means fork. And if he is only adjusting one compression setting.... it is probably a 13'.

AZguy.... I agree mostly with what Bernie suggests above, however be advised that the springs in the forks on the 2013 are a bit stronger that those in Bernie's bike, so you may not need to crank the preload adjustment as much as he did. Also, on my 06' the compression settings were really sensitive. 4 clicks out from factory was too much. I liked 2 clicks out from factory.... but I am considerably heavier that either of you. Using Bernie's settings should get you to a good starting point. Just take your time and only adjust one thing at a time so you can really get a feel for what you are changing. You can always go back to your starting points if you get it screwed up.

 

Sorry about that. I ask for help and then don't give you the key piece of info. Yes, I have a 2013. Turning things stiffer to get a better ride seems opposite of what a person should do but you have explained why so I won't question it.

 

I've come to one conclusion. The people that say going to harder settings makes the bike more comfortable, they have very good backs. I, however, have a very bad back. Turning to harder settings, hurt my back something awful. I stopped in 10 miles and switched them back to factory and felt like I had a Caddy ride. Healthy people can set their bikes up any way and likely it will work. But for me, the word soft on the bike means soft and the word hard means hard.

 

I'm about the same weight as AZguy and I just put mine on standard settings and ride it. Ok, the front might be judged to be a bit soft for some people in the twisties but I like a soft front end (cue lots of jokes etc!). You will find that it copes with wet surfaces better and gives a better feel on broken up road surfaces. So you've set it up nice and rock hard and then it starts to rain hard and you've got a couple of hundred mile to do to get home?
What are you gonna do then? Start crawling around it with a screwdriver?

 

Guys.... you know suspension settings (just like oil and tire brands) are purely subjective. Some folks like the "floating 80s Cadillac" feel and some like the tightness of a sports car. I myself like to find the compromise of reasonably comfy and smooth on the freeway, yet firm enough to not wash me out and hold a tight line on a high-speed twisty. So I guess I have to ask you barnstormer..... do you get your screwdriver out when changing from highway to twisty? My settings never seem to get too far from factory either.

To me, it is simply trying to find the balance for both. As far as rain goes, I have not found softer to be any better...... as a matter of fact, the extra front end dive and suspension movements tend to cause more troubles that helping..... but that may just be me.
Long and short of it is: Set it up the way you like it..... but never be surprised if everybody doesn't agree. AZ asked, folks answered...... what he does with the info is up to him. <grin>
As long as we all ENJOY them... right?

 

I see how my response could be taken as a complaint and I only made it as an observation. I asked for a response on how to set up the suspension on a FJR and that's what I got. And, I appreciated the time and effort people provided to give me that information. It just didn't work for me and suspension setups are highly individual. The next person will likely love the settings suggested. So I was only commenting and likely should have clarified that. And, I should have mentioned an extremely bad back.

 

The original or previous owner's settings on mine gave a lot of nose dive when stopping, felt a bit squirrely in the turns and may have been the cause of some cupping on the front tire (when combined with low tyre pressure). The settings from the thread copied below solved many problems on my bike and give a great ride for me... I'm thinking maybe they'd be a good way to synchronize your settings and then back off to where its comfortable for you.

Anyway, hope you get more insight and success with some experimentation and please post your recipe when you get it right!

JIC:

So yesterday I serviced my forks, steering head bearing, put on a new tire and decided to do some tweaking on the suspension settings. But first things first...

If you have never checked your suspension settings (clickers) you should. If you don't have a service manual then take it to the dealer and get it done. Many dealers assume incorrectly that Yamaha accurately sets the suspension on every bike released. I've seen several brand new bikes, both dirt and street, that have clickers set wrong or worse, set differently from right to left forks.

Rickster recently posted a reply that contained this reference:
QUOTE
SPortRider.com shows for the FJR:

Front 2 lines
rebound 4 clicks out
compression 7 clicks out

rear preload - hard
rear rebound 3 clicks out
(rear compression is not adjustable on stock shock)


Now I consider those settings to be a bit "harsh". I especially don't like running the rear rebound that stiff. My personal experience is that anytime you adjust suspension clickers to near their limit, performance becomes questionable and the suspension behaves erratically. So I devised compromised settings as follows:

Rider weight: 183 lbs.
Typical Bike Payload: Yamaha side bags and top bag, 25 lbs. added cargo
Riding style: Moderately aggressive, frequent 3-digit speeds, rapid braking and acceleration common.

FRONT
* Preload, Line-2 (this means one line exposed above the cap, one line flush with the cap/adjuster). Stock setting is Line-3.
* Rebound, 6 clicks out. Stock setting is 12-clicks out. (this is the top adjustment)
* Compression, 8 clicks out. Stock setting is 12-clicks out. (this is the bottom adjustment that protrudes off the side of the fork)

REAR
* Preload - Hard (find the lever!)
* Rebound - 6 clicks out. Stock is 10-clicks out. (think of the rear rebound clicker as a right-hand thread)

OBSERVATIONS FROM TEST RIDE
Wow! The very first thing I noticed yet never expected, was that the bar vibration is reduced. Apparently a lot of the bar vibration comes from the suspension being so soft and allowing small, rapid movements in the fork tubes. The stiffer suspension settings seems to force the tire to soak up a bit more.
No more weebles! I've always hated that "weeble" feel when driving hard into corners, especially high-speed sweepers with elevation transitions. The front tended to "wobble and weave" with a washy feeling that I called "weebling". You know... Weebles wobble but they don't fall down. That somewhat freaky thing seems to be drastically reduced if not gone!
Dive Dive Dive no more! I can now roll hard to a stop and get a smooth return to the top. No more diving of the front end when tapping the brakes for a high-speed corner setup. Just tap the front and the forks settle into slightly lower position with no rebound. You can definitely feel the added wheelbase in the turns. This must be what the 06 guys feel all the time.
Perhaps less tire pressure? I normally run 40 rear, 38 front. I could easily see running 38 rear and 36 front, providing the tires don't do something stupid with mileage. This would give me a slightly better footprint and improved traction.

Overall the new settings have a much crisper, yet not uncomfortable feel. I don't have a lot of twisties to test around here. But this weekend I plan the NorthGA run and we'll see for certain how the new settings play. Yamaha has a well-earned reputation for flexibility in their suspension packages. I would encourage anyone interested in doing some careful experimentation. CHECK AND RECORD YOUR EXISTING SETTINGS, KNOW WHAT YOUR STOCK SETTINGS SHOULD BE, WRITE DOWN YOUR CHANGES. All it takes is two minutes and a screwdriver to set everything back if you don't like it.
5

 

Works well on a 2001 standard FJR

FRONT
* Preload, Line-2 (this means one line exposed above the cap, one line flush with the cap/adjuster). Stock setting is Line-3.
* Rebound, 6 clicks out. Stock setting is 12-clicks out. (this is the top adjustment)
* Compression, 8 clicks out. Stock setting is 12-clicks out. (this is the bottom adjustment that protrudes off the side of the fork)

REAR
* Preload - Hard (find the lever!)
* Rebound - 6 clicks out. Stock is 10-clicks out. (think of the rear rebound clicker as a right-hand thread)

Wow. FineJollyRide. Thank you so much for posting this - I appreciate it was posted some time ago, but I've only just bought a 2001 FJR and having lots of experience on a Blackbird (similar-ish) and loads of experience on a zx7r (quite dissimilar!), I had assumed the "weeble" was normal behaviour until I found your note!

So for others out there reading this thread, I had a very similar experience on a completely stock 2001 FJR on UK roads.

 

Thanks for the info guys this is what I was looking for but my question to you all is what do you do when you add a passenger? I have been using the soft setting in the rear and flipping the lever to hard when I have the wife along for the ride.

 

My bike is always on the stiffer setting. My better half is a lightweight and is only good for 30 min rides once in awhile so I don't have to do anything...

Plenty of tire and shock info available here with a bit of searching.

 

To FineJolyRide... Do you happen to know if those settings will work on a 2012?

 

06-12 should be the same. Best for a '12 to confirm.

 

My bike came set to soft

My 2013 was set at the soft setting at the time purchased. I always ride one up at 225 pounds. I'm going to the hard setting this week to see what's up any recommendations appreciated

 

I went with these setting from factory settings the other day on a 2014. I am 190 lbs, a lot harsher ride than before which is expected. Have only rode 129 miles so far after the change and am going to leave it here awhile to see how it works in different riding conditions.

 

Seek, and darn if you won't find it here. In CA with 4200 mi on my '14 A mode. Left PA with 150 on the clock! As I have ridden mostly slab, but threw in some nice twisties, suspension has become an issue. Like the general consensus here, the front is def too soft. Also, the excess dive and hence, rebound, made controlling the bike at walking speed a real bitch. With gear (prob 100lbs and my own senior fat 200 ) bike is mega top heavy and the front end mush aggravates the tendency.

 

Heavier rider settings?

I'm a fair bit heavier than others who have posted in this thread. I'm 260. Do any other heavy guys have advice about suspension settings? Or how about you experienced lighter guys based on changes to the settings you use? My goal is for the most controlled ride on pavement of poor quality.

 

I'm a fair bit heavier than others who have posted in this thread. I'm 260. Do any other heavy guys have advice about suspension settings? Or how about you experienced lighter guys based on changes to the settings you use? My goal is for the most controlled ride on pavement of poor quality.

I 2nd that request DLC!!

For larger riders, set preload on top at one ring showing.
Rebound at 4 clicks out. (adjust to 2 if it's not enough)
Compression at 6 clicks out. (adjust to 4 if it's not enough)

Im right around 260, solo rider, some gear in the bags. I set my front preload to one ring showing, rebound to 2 and compression to 6 and wow what a difference. The stock settings were way too soft and I got the pogo effect through corners. For the rear, I just moved the slider to hard and checked the sag the way Dave Moss shows in his videos, and the bike doesnt drop in the back now. Now i feel more in control of the bike and corner entry is by far the biggest improvement for me.

 

I 2nd that request DLC!!

 

For larger riders, set preload on top at one ring showing.
Rebound at 4 clicks out. (adjust to 2 if it's not enough)
Compression at 6 clicks out. (adjust to 4 if it's not enough)

 

I'm a fat-azz, and I approve these settings.

Seriously though, I'm 5' 9" ~240 lbs and my suspension was way too soft. 3 rings showing on the front preload, rebound 12 clicks out, compression 10 clicks out, and the rear was also 12 out. I set them to Mad's suggestion up front and Jolly's rear and just 25 miles in I can feel a huge difference.

It's a double-edged sword, though. I can now feel the road a lot better and the bike handles like it's on a rail, but at the same time, I'm really feeling the road a lot more.

Going to take some time to get used to, but I already love the handling improvement.

THANKS MAD AND JOLLY!!!!!!!!!!!

 

if the ride is too harsh you might try a few more clicks out on compression damping.

 

After these adjustments have already likely saved my life? No way. 2 lanes of the freeway were being closed ahead and I was keeping an eye on the azzhat in the lane that was about to end on him as he hovered just behind my periphery (Thank you blind spot mirrors for letting me know he was there). When I glanced up to check on the traffic ahead, I found it was already stopped. I'm pretty sure the bike wouldn't have stopped if it had still been a mushy little beast. Rock solid stop, ABS even kicked in twice, and I went from 60-0 in about 2 seconds without even the tiniest wiggle. I'll get over the stiff ride if she keeps handling like that!

 

Would someone be willing to offer a suspension setup for the most comfortable ride; non-fast riding for a person of say 170 lbs? And if someone would be so kind, would they do it in settings from factory front and back?

I have read a few articles on suspension setups. I have read the threads here. I seem to either get too much info or not enough. It's either been pretty technical or - try different things until you are comfortable.

I'm saying would anyone give me a starter setup from factory for a 170 lbs guy and I'll play with the settings from there. I have set the rear lever to soft, counted the clicks on the shock itself. I have checked the front settings and the one on the right lower shock. All are factory set.

suspension should be compliant

you did NOT state how you ride predominantly

any bike will handle significantly differently solo ......

2 up / 2up loaded

standard settings at your weight should be close

you mentioned ' comfort '

if youre NOT cornering aggressively / draggin ur footpegs

no need to set ur bike up like ur anticipating track days

stiff doesnt always = performance

so the realistic ?????? what type riding ????

 

I've got a question/problem: 2014 ES
FJR, riding HARD and FAST through backroad twisties, cornering at about 80mph.
Theres a depression in the road, mid-corner almost like a large, gently sloping and not fully formed pot-hole...you get my description?
Bike hits it, cuz it's right in my line, and the thing starts "bouncing" and won't recover from the bounce.
Still solid in the lean, and no steering wobble, just like I'm on a pogo stick, ya know?
This was a right hander and I bounced left into the oncoming traffic lane...probably two to three "hops" before she dug back in.
I'm 170 lbs, soaking wet.
Suspension was on Medium/0
Preload was single rider plus bags (but they were empty)
What's my issue?
Thanks,

 

I think the individual parameters are adjustable within each overall category by using the menus, except preload of the front forks. Instead of forum suggestions, I would take it to a suspension shop and have one of the categories professionally set up for when you're in the mood for a certain riding style.

 

road1dog, his is ES model, I don't think Racetech or Traxxion makes anything for it.

 

Yes...and my friend on his BMW RT had NO such issue...same road, same line, same speed...watched him hit it and ride right through, smooth as silk.
I just started bouncing like a kangaroo.

 

I have an 06. The settings were gleaned from another post that was getting harder to find as years went by and was worth preserving. I printed the process and keep it in my FJR folder with notes, JIC.
The references are a merely a guideline as stated. Everyone should systematically adjust the settings +/- for their riding weight, style and personal preferences.

 

New to me 2011 FJR w/ 36K mi.

My riding style is single rider, casual, - when I do go fast, it's interstate..

The front end seems squirrely in corners - my throttle hand tends to feel numb at times. Based on one of the above comments, I'm wondering whether the suspension is set too soft and I'm getting too much feedback from the bar.

I've watched some Dave Moss videos on youtube. Yes, I have a repair manual.

Q1: I'm looking for suggestions on suspension setup (at least as a starting point) for 240lbs fully loaded or do I just reset it to factory and go from there?

Q2: 32K mile maintenance recommends valve adjustment. What are the common symptoms if they're in need of adjustment in the first place?

Input is appreciated.

drm

 

This starting point may be helpful. 2005 Fjr1300 no abs I'm 160 lbs( Note; I installed Race-Tech springs in the front at 10% over stock) and ride very aggressive in twisties and triple digits at least once a day on most days. Other than that I'm pretty chill.
I had the opportunity to have Dave Moss help me adjust my suspension last week. I too had watched hours of his videos. I told him this and also said that I was pretty sure I had it dialed in. He said that I was close but inspected my tires and suggested the following;
Front forks
I had my rebound adjustment two clicks out.
My damping set at three clicks out. I changed it to seven clicks out.
Rear shock
I was 45 clicks from the top and 36 clicks from the bottom and he recommended 54 from the top.
He said the next time I take a long sweeping corner between 70-75 I'm to push the handlebar with one hand off to see if I notice a rear wobble. I did, it did. The adjustment recommended was to go from 54 to 50. I went to 52 and all is good.
He also said that It is time for me to buy a 750.
Best wishes

 

In my opinion Dave Moss (and other suspension set up gurus) sets up bikes more for for track days than causal street riding (although some use the street as tracks lol) and would be too stiff for someone who describes himself as you do, but the nice thing about adjustable suspension is you can undo any changes you make, so just track your changes to see what feels best. At 240 pounds I think you would need your suspension set up stiffer than it comes from the factory though. At 180 I set mine up a little softer than factory settings, and would describe my riding style as solo, casual as well.

What tires are you running and at what pressures? Your issue may be there as well. Play with your tire pressures. some like the recommended 36 others as high as 40 or 42.

Harder starting and a drop in gas mileage would be good indicators of valves being out of adjustment. At least that is what I have been told.

 

Not completely true. You have to tell your tuner what kind of ride you want. I pulled my forks and brought them to Dave Moss's house yesterday to have him change the fork fluid. They had 40,000 miles on them and I figured it was due. I describe what type of ride I wanted ( on the soft side because I ride a lot of goaty roads), the kind of roads I ride (goaty) and what style of riding I do (B group street). He used 20 wt oil and adjusted the air gap by oil volume. He then bounced on the forks, adjusted rebound and compression, put a zip tie around one leg and gave me instructions on how to measure fork travel in real riding conditions.
I returned home, reinstalled the forks and went for a ride. What an amazing improvement. I told Dave what the fork travel was and he gave me instructions to dial in a 1 1/2 lines of preload and reduce compression by 4 click and send him a picture of my front tire after 400 miles so he can fine tune things.