The difference between dino, semi and fully synthetic oil (other then price) is how long it takes to break down. If you are going to ride around the world without a service, or go 9 years between changes, then fully synth is the only choice. If you are going change the oil and filter every 2 years or 8000 miles (which ever comes first) then semi-synth is ideal for your needs. If you change every year or 5000 miles (which ever comes first), then dino is perfectly good for your needs. It is your bike, so it is your choice.

Bouncing around is not the spring, it is damping. I have not heard of anyone using the ZX10R suspension on a Fazer before, do you have a write up anywhere?

I did a write up on another forum about adjusting suspension that I have reposted below. Sorry it is so long but it was part of a long conversation. The actual process is easy. 

Mis-information regarding motorcycle suspension is legendary, the most fundamental issue is that suspension is not about comfort, it is about handling. It is just a pleasant coincidence that a good handling bike is usually much more comfortable then a bad handling one.

The purpose of suspension is to keep the wheels on the road. The reason that this is important is because you can not brake, accelerate or steer if your wheels are not on the road. Things trying to push your wheels off the road are bumps, imperfections, dips, potholes, braking, accelerating and cornering.

The wheels have a range of motion that they can travel through before the rest of the bike must move. The normal range (known as 'static sag') is 30/70 (or sometimes one third/two thirds). That means that when the bike (and its payload, ie you, your pillion and/or your luggage) are not doing anything else, the suspension is using 30% of its travel. This leaves the wheel up to 70% of its travel to move up if pushed by a bump, or 30% that it can move down to fill a hole. This adjustment is made with the spring preload. A heavy rider with a pillion will need a different amount of preload to get the same sag as a light solo rider. If the weight is too much for the spring, or the spring is too strong for the weight, or if the preload is not correctly set, then the sag will not be in the required range, meaning the wheel wont be able to move as far before the bike has to move. Despite what you will read elsewhere, preload doesn't do anything else except adjust the sag.

A spring is like a pendulum, once you get it moving, you need to apply a force to stop it again. When suspension moves, oil is forced through a valve which dampens the movement by resisting the flow of oil. Rebound and compression are one way valves so you can have different amounts of resistance when compressing the spring and when expanding (rebounding) the spring. Additional valves and bypasses can be added to control high and low speed behavior separately.

The amount of dampening you need is dependent on the weight on the bike and on how you ride. If you have too much, the spring can not return to its neutral position quickly enough to absorb the next shock, so the ride will feel harsh and get progressively harsher on rough roads. If you have too little, then the spring will continue to bounce for longer then is comfortable. This affects you for example when you brake into a corner (compressing the front spring). As you come off the brakes, the spring will extend making the forks longer and opening your turn, but without enough damping, they will contract again, shortening the forks and making the turn tighter, they will then extend again, and so on.

If you think this is a lot of work, it isn't. There is one simple objective step, setting the sag. All you need is are two friends and a tape measure. And there is one simple subjective step, setting the damping to suit your taste. That involves turning a knob and if you don't like the result, turning it back again.
If you want to call this rocket science, then it is the sort of rocket where you drop some 'Mentos' into a bottle of cola and run away laughing.

Whether you want to do this once every time you get a new bike or once every time you ride out is your choice. I choose to do it once every six months or so and then once before I go on a trip with my missus and/or luggage.

The process I use is pretty simple and works on the road and the track. There are others ways to do it but this works for me.
Rule 0. Set the Sag.
Rule 1. Stop when you cant tell the difference.
Rule 2. Write down your starting point.
Rule 3. Halve the remaining range.
Rule 4. If you don't like what is happening, go back to your starting point.
Rule 5. Same as rule 1.
Rule 6. Write down what you did.


Setting the Sag:
Nothing else will work right until this is set. And remember, close enough is good enough. If you have set it before (and remembered to write it down) then you already know the target height you are looking for, so it is just a case of checking you are there. If you don't know your target, look up the specs for the suspension travel of your bike. Your target is 30% of that range. For the SX it is 120mm front and 135mm rear giving targets of 36 and 40mm respectivly (remember near enough is good enough).   
This needs two mates to help so can be a nuisance to arrange, but if you group together, you can help each other. One thing to be aware of, you need to measure the actual movement of the bike, not the movement of the control as a) the control moves the bike and b) the control might be geared.

To set the front sag if you have a center stand, put the bike on it and get a mate to push the back of the bike down so the front wheel is off the ground. Measure from two fixed repeatable points (I suggest axle to dust seal) write this down as your MAX. If you don't have a centre stand, you and your mate can simply lift the front of the bike until the wheel is in the air and then measure the length. Now take the bike off its stand and sit in it. Get one friend to hold the bike stable so you can lift your feet onto the pegs, and get your other friend to measure the same length again. The difference between these two is your current sag. Adjust your preload up or down to get it closer to your target. Setting the rear sag is the same procedure but there is no easy place to measure. I would suggest you and one mate lift the back of the bike off the floor and get your other mate to measure from the axle to a point on the grab rail vertically above it. The reason to get your mate to do this is so they can measure exactly the same place when you are sitting on the bike with your other mate holding it stable.

Setting the damping:
Step 1. Pick a test route. It should include the type of roads you typically ride. There is no point in setting your suspension for a dirt track if you only ever ride on motorways and vice versa. I prefer a route in a figure eight so I can bail out early if I have fecked up.
Step 2. Ride the route a few times. This is because you will get used to it and come to anticipate the bumps and imperfections and this will change your sensitivity to them. You don't want to think an adjustment is better or worse just because you knew where the bump was and braced for it.
Step 3. Record your starting point. Count the clicks to max. Then count them back to your starting position. Then count the clicks to min and the clicks back to starting position. Doing both only takes slightly longer but protects you from failed adjusters that don't stop at the limit.
Step 4. Pick one adjuster and put if half way to the further limit. For example, if your rear rebound has twenty clicks and you are on seven, then 20 is further away then 0 and half way between 7 and 20 is 14. Ride your test route. The change is clearly better, clearly worse, or not noticeable.
   If it is better, then your starting position becomes your new limit. ie you are now looking between 7 and 20.
   If it is worse, then your current position becomes your new limit. ie you are now looking between 0 and 14.
   If the change isn't noticeable, you are done. Time to move on to the next control.
   If you don't like what is happening, put is back to the starting position and move on to the next control. You can always come back later if you want to.
 
The only difference between you doing this and Valentino Rossi doing this is that the Dr. is able to notice changes that you can't.
If you really want to be like the Dr., get a mate to make the adjustments and you tell him better/worse/didn't notice. He should send you out with no change a few times to check if an improvement is real or imagined.
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Can you tell us more about why you don't get on with the Tiger? (and which Tiger do you ride?). I would have said the FZ1S is as different from the Tiger as it is from the FZS600

Silly question time. What size are the copper seals on the brake lines?

I have a replacement master cylinder on the way and want to do a full strip, clean and service including replacing all seals and I don't know what size to order. 

The connection block where the ignition wires plug into the main harness can show signs of rot.

Thanks guys, I guess I'll go with 8, 10, 12mm spanners, 4,5,6mm Allen keys, pair of general purpose pliers, and a magnet on a stick   Luckily I happen to have a 32mm spanner for the rear (with extension) so I'll check out a plug spanner. Anyone happen to know what size they are othe gen 1?

Cheers

Markie

It is not the size that matters, it is the bendy design that allows them to reach the parts that others fail to reach.

The sun has come out, the missus is away, I have a weekend to myself and an excuse to have an overnight in Dublin, so I plan to take the scenic route and then go visit a couple of bike shops. In particular I want to see the new Versys 1000 in the flesh, and maybe a KTM Super Duke or Adventurer (may as well dream awake as in bed).

My 12 year old Fazer must have heard me planning to visit the bike shops because it decided to play up. Not in a bad way, but more like a girl friend dressing sexily when she catches your eye starting to wander. When I headed off on Saturday morning, she felt fine but when I hit the good roads, which were B and C roads with variable surfaces, pot holes, blind junctions and blinder drivers, the bike just came to life. Smooth, relaxed, comfortable, powerful, accurate, fast and in control. OK it was my first major ride out in months but it really, really felt good.  After a ride like that, the Versys looked sort of... meh. Nice but nothing special, and the shop selling the KTM's had closed early so I only got to see them through the window. I could swear that the Fazer was purring when I finally got back home on Sunday evening. Maybe, instead of a new bike, I should spend a few bob on the Fazer. Perhaps some suspension upgrades? Maybe clean her now and again? What do you think?

There are two adjusters on the cable and they can be used to do different jobs. The handle is used to adjust reach, the engine is used to adjust bite point. The way I was shown was to set the adjuster on the handle roughly in the middle then adjust the bite point of the clutch with the adjuster on the engine so that the clutch starts to engage just after the slack is taken up. The handle is then adjusted until the reach is comfortable. Doing it this way also means that you can loosen the handle connector to disconnect the cable for lubing without having to adjust the bite point again afterwards.

The clutch cable is adjusted at both ends. The other adjuster is on the clutch cover (by your right ankle). Loosen it off a little to change the bit point.

Given that the cables were slack and it didn't rattle before you 'fixed' it, i dont think you have a problem with the valve itself. I would suggest that you tighten up the cable that opens it until the valve is just not quite closed. If that doesn't clear it, take it apart again and put it back together making sure the spring is correctly positioned.

Can anybody else say if that calculator is any good? I put in my figures (street riding, 88Kgs) and it is suggesting 1Kg/mm front and 15Kg/mm rear. Stock springs are  0.8Kg/mm front and 7.6Kg/mm rear, and the strongest rear they do is only 11.6Kg/mm
 

I fitted HIDs. Best safety improvement I have ever made to any bike.