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Topics - tommyardin
26
« on: 10 January 2017, 05:18:20 pm »
Hi guys someone was asking about cheap/sensibly priced sports cams suitable for recording trips and ride outs. I saw this little beast in Robert Dias this afternoon in Petersfield, (See Picture) I'm sure all stores can get them. Don't know anything about them but from a store like Robert Dias you will certainly be able to take it back if it does not do what it claims, worth a look anyway if your thinking about one. I noticed also that in Alton, Hants, that 'Aldi' also have one for £39.99 that they claim is 4K  I personally have no knowledge of either of these cameras, but fitness for purpose and merchantable quality laws must come into play, if you are unhappy with your purchase you can always take it back and get a refund if it fails to perform as stated.
27
« on: 05 January 2017, 10:30:29 am »
After recently doing some suspension modding on my FZS600, I have been reading a lot about bike/suspension set up and there is one thing that is confusing me.
Nearly all stuff I have both read (On-Line) and watched (YouTube) say that it is important to set the static (Just weight of motorcycle) sag before doing anything else.
This procedure is:
Raise the front of the bike off the ground, to allow front forks to be fully extended. (Centre stand with a prop under the engine) measure from the top of the fork leg oil seal to the underside of the bottom yoke. Mine is exactly 150mm fully extended (Now there a coincidence)
Set the bike back on its wheels (Off the stand) and bounce the bike up and down a few times without using the front brake and allow the bike to settle under its own weight and remeasure the distance from the top of the fork leg oil seal to the underside of the bottom yoke again. Deduct this figure from you fully extended measurement and you have static sag. Mine is 126mm giving me 24mm of Static Sag on the front end.
The procedure for the rear of the bike is much the same by getting the weight off the back wheel (Just centre stand will do that ) but you will need to stick a parcel or paper label on the rear seat fairing vertically above the rear wheel axle, measure the fully extended measurement up from the underside of the axle (Sprocket side is easier as no exhaust can in the way) and put a pen mark on the label as a datum point (I used 450 mm)
Set the bike back on its wheels, bounce up and down on the back of the bike a few times just to settle the suspension and allow the bike to come to rest under its own weight, then measure the distance from the underside of the axle to your datum mark you put on the paper label earlier. Mine is 432mm from the original 450mm measurement giving me 16mm of static sag.
The next procedure is to set the Rider Sag, again this is taken from the full extended suspension measurements. My front forks full extended 150mm as above, my back shocker fully extended (Using datum mark 450mm), now the rider with all his riding gear on, leathers, boots, gloves and bucket sits on the bike bounces a few times, without touching the brakes and the measurements are taken again, this measurement is then deducted from the fully extended measurement and the remainder is your rider sag.
Ideal rider sag, now there seems to be a plethora of opinions on this and I think it could be to do riding style, or whether the bike is used for commuting or for track day events, or maybe just personal preferences. The figures I am going to aim for and that seems to be the most commonly occurring figures for a road bike (spirited riding style) is 40mm front rider sag and 30mm rear rider sag.
Now here is the rub, that which causes me confusion, why do we have to go through the static sag process at all? Because if the rider sag is not within the measurements we are looking for, we adjust our pre-load to get to those measurements, we have now undone all the static sag setup we went through. All the measurement for Static and Rider Sag are taken from the fully extended measurements.
A couple of mates are very useful when setting up these sag measurements to hold the bike upright without either applying up or down force when the measurements are taken, plus you will be sitting on the bike for rider sag measurements.
28
« on: 29 December 2016, 05:42:28 pm »
Hi Guys,
I have been working on my suspension of late and have done a few significant modifications to both the front and rear ends.
The Rear Modifications:
Firstly I purchased a new Nitron rear shocker, it was built with the correct spring and settings for my riding weight and riding style.
Whilst replacing the shocker I stripped out the linkage and cleaned all the needle bearings and repacked with grease, I was surprised as there was still quite a bit of the original grease still in the bearings, they were showing no sign of wear :-)
The Front Modifications:
For the front forks I purchased a pair of YSS Cartridge Emulators from Wemoto.com.
(YSS Model PD310 for the 2002-2003 FZS 600 Fazer)
To facilitate the operating of the Emulators the Damper Rods need to have more holes drilled through them to overcome the damping effect of them. YSS recommend that 6 X 8mm holes be drilled in them to achieve this.
I went a slightly different route because the damper rods on the 2002-2003 FZS 600 are shorter (190mm) than the earlier Boxeye model (210mm), I was concerned about encroaching on the upper chambers of the forks when the forks are on full compression by drilling the 3 X Double (6) 8 mm holes. 3 X 8 = 24mm, plus 2 X 10 mm minimum spaces between holes = 44mm extension up the damper rods.
(using the centre of the original damper hole as a datum point)
I opted for 2 X Double (4) 10mm holes with one 15mm spacebetween them = 35mm, also to give me a little more lea way I used a fine chain saw file to lower the original 5mm damper hole centre by another 3mm, before drilling the 10 mm holes. 2 X 10mm = 20mm, plus 1 X 15mm space = 35mm, and as I had lowered my starting point by 3 mm, the extension up the damper rods is now 32mm as opposed to 44mm.
The general settings for the YSS Emulators is two full turns in (For lighter (?) togged rider) on the Emulator adjusting screw from initial emulator spring contact with the valve, I set mine to 3 full turns as I am 88-89 Kilos togged ready to ride (14 Stones).
This setting I am fairly happy with although 3.5 turns might have been better coupled with 15 weight Silkoleen Pro Fork oil.
Whilst doing this work I replaced the original Yamaha progressive fork springs with Ohlins 8.5 N/mm linear springs, again more suited to my weight.
The Outcome:
Firstly I am really pleased with the overall improvement with the bikes handling, I have heard terms like ‘The bike feels more planted’ and ‘I feel more confident cornering now’ and that ‘The bike turns in better now’ and to be honest I think the terms that have been used are accurate.
There is a twisty bumpy lane near me (1/3rd mile Rat Run) that has quite a few holes and uneven surface areas (Not fair to call them Potholes) but it’s a lane that I ride at about 35 - 40 MPH because it shakes the crap out of me and because I know that the bumps and pits are coming up I tend to brace myself ready for them (Wrong, I know) and the bumps travel up the forks and give me stick in wrists, elbows and shoulders and generally p----s me off.
I found myself riding down said lane the other day at about 50 mph thinking to my self could go faster,
Of course I was still feeling the bumps, but, they are not jarring anymore and the bike feels much more stable.
Since then I have taken the bike out on the infamous A272 in Hampshire (Petersfield to Winchester) a sweeping road that is great for biking, (Be warned speed cameras are a regular feature along its length)
I have noticed that powering hard out of corners the forks tend to feel as if they topping a bit, so I may need to replace some of the fork oil with a higher viscosity oil or is that lower?, to stiffen/slow up the rebound as bit. This should also help with the compression damping and might mean I have no need to adjust the emulator setting by another ½ a turn.
I have 30 weight Silkoleen Pro fork oil on order. I will replace 100ml of the 15 weight with 100ml of 30 and see how that feels, I understand this to be fine tuning.
I feel that this a worthwhile mod and I also feel that it has been a great improvement to the bike, not just the handling but also the comfort.
The only setback is that without purchasing another set of Damper Rods this is an irreversible mod.
There are often sets of Fazer FZS 600 forks on eBay for sale, and if they are bent in some ways so much the better as they will be cheaper. The stanchions usually bend from the point where the stanchion enters the bottom sliders so the damper rods should be unaffected.
There is always a disclaimer with any information or advice:
Anyone doing this mod, especially the front forks does so entirely at their own risk.
I have only put pen to paper (Finger to keyboard) as an information sharing exercise and not as a guide or a recommendation to anyone.
One last thing.
Some say there are better and financially cheaper ways of improving the rear suspension.
There is a member on FOC-U (DevilsYam) that can supply you with a modified R6 mono shock to fit your Fazer and he will set it up for your weight and riding style, he also will supply the necessary dog bones and fitting instruction for considerably less than I paid for my Nitron Mono shock.
You might find you can save yourself a small fortune.
There is nothing wrong with the Nitron but it is pricey.
There is also a serial front suspension moder on here (Kebab19) You can search for his advice on the front fork mods.
I have used his advice in the fork mods that I have done.
I am now looking forward to seeing those 5/8 inch chicken strips on my back tyre slowly diminishing.
tommyardin
29
« on: 24 September 2016, 03:34:27 pm »
I'm sure it has been covered on many many occasions, but here goes again, an old chestnut. My FZS600 Foxeye 2002, 03 registered (That's the silver one, yes you got it, the fastest colour) is a great bike and I love it, it has been in my possession for 3.5 years now. I purchased it with about 28K on the clock, it had been used for commuting, but to be honest the previous owner had treated the bike well, and, I believe it was always been garaged when not in use. He had a top end service done on the bike about 1K before trading it in (Valve clearances, new inlet manifold rubbers, carb tune and balance) plus a full engine oil/air filter service, including fuel filter and coolant change. Looking through the bikes history, engine servicing was something of a regular theme with him, he appeared to change the oil and filter every 4K, and air filter every 8K.
So basically the bike was cared for, if not loved as it was a workhorse to him.
I purchased the bike from a dealer at £1,900, knowing I would need to spend some time on her if not money.
I have done the usual things to her, after a full day of washing and polishing and half a tube of Solvo polish on the alloy and chrome, I then purchased a set of S/Steel down pipes and collector, added a S/Steel link pipe and a Pipeworks sports can.
Other upgrades have been blue braided S/Steel brake pipes, back and front. Fitted a S/Steel FAZER radiator gaurd
Front carbon fender extender and matching rear huger, upgraded the headlight bulbs to 100 watt hint of blue units, replaced the side light bulbs with bright LED hint of blue bulbs and added two 50mm 30 watt Cree LED projector spot lights (I want to be seen, I ride with all on in the daytime, plus a bright yellow Full Face Bucket). I have mid blue pin stripped the wheels, matching blue bar end weights and front screen screws, standard screen has been replaced with a flip screen (Not really sure it made any real difference) all the engine case screws have been replaced with blue S/Steel allan screws and other odd bits like the oil filer cap has been replaced with a blue alloy filler cap.
I have the 12 mm front sprocket nut and washer kit waiting to go on.
I have the Nitron gas mono-shock on order, OUCH! £414-00, but have been informed by a number of riders its much better than the Hagon unit, watch this space. Now to the front end, The Forks, now this in itself is a minefield, some say progressive springs , some say get springs that are matched to your weight, other say stick with the standard springs and drain and clean out the forks and just replace the oil with something like Silkolean Pro fork oil at about 10 -15 weight.
I am open to suggestions from guys who have a valid opinion, IE: Have done the job themselves.
My riding style? I like to crack on a bit but definitely not a scratcher wanting to scuff knees, The old Fazer still motors on, I have had 140 out of her and I honestly believe she has another 5 mph in her.
Handling is OK at best that is why I want to do the suspension upgrades, the back end is up and down like a whores drawers, never thought I would be sea sick on a bike  but the Nitron should sort that out.
So any opinions on the front end would be much appreciated.
Cheers guys its a great forum with a shed full of knowledge and experience. 
Tom (tommyardin)
30
« on: 11 April 2016, 08:50:36 am »
Hello Gentlemen, Can anyone tell me how the f--k do you get the front sprocket off my 02/03 fzs600. I purchased the new modified sprocket nut and washer from Yamaha and have tried a couple of times to undo the sprocket retaining nut, I think the Incredible Hulk fitted it originally. I am assuming it is a standard right hand thread. 32mm socket and a 500mm extension lever, I am frightened to apply any more force than I have thus far for fear of snapping something. I have left it for now as I have rightly or wrongly reasoned that as its that tight it's not likely to cause a problem. I have read about all sorts of nasty things happening when problems occurred with the nut. I am 12st 10lbs in weight and a retired bricky so I am not adversed to applying a little force, but have shivered at the thought of snapping or stripping a thread on the shaft. Am I just being a tart and should I go for it? Advice welcome and I am aware that the ultimate decision rests with me. Someone said put a gas torch on it but not going down that route as it seems to me to risky, firstly removing any hardening and tempering from the shaft itself and or screwing any oil seals in the vicinity. 
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