New fzs600 rider who is heavy

[rwalker66]

Hi,
I am just in the process of buying a FZS600 as i have always admired the bike. However i am a big guy. 6'3" and 22stone. Will be a 2002/3 bike so i am pretty worried that at 12/13 years old the suspension will not cope with me! After just buying the bike i am not wanting to spend loads upgrading straight away so what is the cheapest way to toughen up the suspension? Looking through forum looks like progressive springs and 20wt oil in forks is the best for front but what about the rear? Any suggestions.
Thanks
R

[rhinoeli]

R6 shock conversion with a heavy spring would do the magic trick.
http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php?topic=8167.0[/url]

[rwalker66]

Thanks for the suggestion. Is it worth looking at just changing spring on the original shock or will this just ruin the damping? I have never messed with suspension before, how do i calculate what rate spring i would need?

[Punkstig]

At that age the shock will be getting past its sell by date anyway.
I appreciate you don't want to go spending more money but tbh it'll be worth asking kebab about what he can provide!

[sinto]

Thanks for the suggestion. Is it worth looking at just changing spring on the original shock or will this just ruin the damping? I have never messed with suspension before, how do i calculate what rate spring i would need?

Not worth the hassle,  you'd come across more problems stripping it down and rebuilding it as it's of an age that most internal stuff would be shot.
I'm only 11 stone and my boy who's about 9ish stone, I appreciate you say your 22, but with my boy on it, my bike feels a wee bit iffy at the back compared to when I'm on it myself, and I'll need to look into another shock at some point soon.
I certainly will be looking at a straight swap or upgrade to an R6 shock when that time arrives, too much hassle trying to go the way your thinking.
Oh, my original shock is on a 24000 mile 1998 model.

[HarryHornby]

MIDDEN?????????? This is your ball park, is it not? 

[fazersharp]

I just dont think the 600 bike is made for you.
You would be far better on a thou.as you and it would be perfect.
Me ? im too small for the thou and perfect for the 600 at 9.5 stone and 5'8" and happily still running 17 year old shocks 

[rwalker66]

Looking at other threads kebab seems to be the guy in the know. think i will wait until i have the bike then look but r6 with stiff spring seems to be the way,  or a fzs1000.
cheers

[riedrider]

or a fzs1000.

This would be the better choice independent of suspension issues.
I am also not a lightweight guy with 5´9" and 15 stone but I think my 600 is just o.k. for me.
My mate (driving a ZRX 1200 R) with 6´and 20 stone recently sat on my little 600.
The proportions of bike and rider did not fit. It looks a little bit strange. On his ZRX everything was fine....

[rwalker66]

I have sat on fzs600 and seems ok, for a tall guy i am actually pretty short in the leg. Also not ridden a bike in anger for about 10 years so plan is start fzs600 then possibly move up to fzs1000 once i am comfortable riding again.

[sinto]

I have sat on fzs600 and seems ok, for a tall guy i am actually pretty short in the leg. Also not ridden a bike in anger for about 10 years so plan is start fzs600 then possibly move up to fzs1000 once i am comfortable riding again.

In that case,
why don't you just turn up the rear shock to full, ride it for a while, get used to being back on a bike again then trade up for a FZS1000?  That way you've not spent money on a shock upgrade that you aren't going to use long term

[rwalker66]

I have sat on fzs600 and seems ok, for a tall guy i am actually pretty short in the leg. Also not ridden a bike in anger for about 10 years so plan is start fzs600 then possibly move up to fzs1000 once i am comfortable riding again.

In that case,
why don't you just turn up the rear shock to full, ride it for a while, get used to being back on a bike again then trade up for a FZS1000?  That way you've not spent money on a shock upgrade that you aren't going to use long term

I did think about this but was worried may be pretty terrible until then. Guess i won't know until i try. A diet may be cheapest option 
If i get the R6 shock on stiffer spring does anyone know if it could be transferred onto a fzs1000 if i did upgrade?

[darrsi]

The FZS600 has a recommended top weight limit, with everything included (top box, passengers, etc) of 29.4 stone (187kg), so the bike is more than capable, but the rear shocks are notorious for pegging out around the 20,000 mile mark.
As said above, a replacement rather than a refurb is probably your best option but unfortunately it's one of the few things on these bikes that are not cheap to sort out.
Once done though the results can only be to your benefit and are certainly worth splashing out on.

[sinto]

The FZS600 has a recommended top weight limit, with everything included (top box, passengers, etc) of 29.4 stone (187kg), so the bike is more than capable, but the rear shocks are notorious for pegging out around the 20,000 mile mark.

To use your term darrsi,
How do you know it's 'pegging out'?

I get different feelings from rear while on my own and while my boy is on pillion, obviously I understand it's more weight etc

But I must have it set properly while he's on the bike as it seams more 'planted' while it's just me, seams to move out a wee bit while cornering

[darrsi]

Was my first ever bike, and i've had many, that had any noticeable shock issues.
There's a large roundabout on my way to work and i kept feeling as if the rear wheel was losing grip, it freaked me out for a while but i unwittingly got used to it. Bear in mind it's a commuter so i'm not chucking it about every day.
Then finally i realised it wasn't normal behaviour and on inspection saw that there was an oil leak and i'd been riding the spring without any damping qualities.
Sounds daft now, but as i said, i'd never had shock issues before so knew no different.
I was lucky at the timeas a fellow foccer had a refurbed shock going spare, which was perfect for my needs, so it was a straight swap with minimum fuss.
Once changed though i felt quite embarrassed that i hadn't realised earlier that there was an issue because the difference in riding it was huge.
I did used to frequently take passengers out for a spin quite often so that probably speeded up the demise of the shock.
That and 15w fork oil made a world of differenceto the overall feel of the bike.  [size=78%] [/size]

[sinto]

I've no oil leaks at the rear, slight oil leak on left fork at seal, another job on an ever increasing list
Maybe look at replacement rear then

Do you know if I was to tighten up the spring if that would help for the time being?

[darrsi]

I've no oil leaks at the rear, slight oil leak on left fork at seal, another job on an ever increasing list
Maybe look at replacement rear then

Do you know if I was to tighten up the spring if that would help for the time being?

That's the normal thing that people do.
My advice would be to stick a few quid away each week/month just for a shock absorber fund.
You won't feel so hard done by when you finally shell out for it then.


After that start putting money away for a brake disc fund, 'cos the price of them ain't funny either.   

[sinto]

I've no oil leaks at the rear, slight oil leak on left fork at seal, another job on an ever increasing list
Maybe look at replacement rear then

Do you know if I was to tighten up the spring if that would help for the time being?

That's the normal thing that people do.
My advice would be to stick a few quid away each week/month just for a shock absorber fund.
You won't feel so hard done by when you finally shell out for it then.


After that start putting money away for a brake disc fund, 'cos the price of them ain't funny either.  [size=78%] [/size]

Yeah I think biking costs as much as my mortgage

[darrsi]

Once you get the essentials sorted out it's actually not so bad, and obviously prevention is better than cure so keeping an eye on things with a bit of light maintenance every now and then can keep a bike running sweet.
The chain and brake calipers for instance need a bit of TLC every now and then which will result in them serving you well.
If you neglect them then it gives us a new topic to talk about on here. 

[sinto]

I'm not scared of a bit of ongoing maintenance, I've had bikes for years although not for the last three
Totally agree with "prevention is better than cure" sentiment but I do most of my major work over the winter as the bike is off the road and I can strip it right down without having to think 'i need it back on the road tomorrow' syndrome
I like tinkering about on it and not scared to ask for help and it's good to have an input too as I've already done.

[Punkstig]

The bike itself is more than capable to hold your manly figure so don't worry about that side of things!

[midden]

MIDDEN?????????? This is your ball park, is it not? 

What gives you that idea

[His Dudeness]

MIDDEN?????????? This is your ball park, is it not? 

What gives you that idea

Think he just called you a fat cunt

[midden]

MIDDEN?????????? This is your ball park, is it not? 

What gives you that idea

Think he just called you a fat cunt

sad part is any objection from me wouldn't stand up in a court. The judge would see clearly I am a Cunt

Anyway  20k plus riding (not too slow) and the 600 serves me well enough.   Even loaded with luggage and on the one occasion with a pillion.  Rear tyre 11k miles and just an mot advisory

[ponkster]

I'm 6'4" and 20 stone - bike copes with me no problem and I thrash it within an inch of its life.
I did find the back suspension was a bit soft and upgraded to the 1000 shock ( which was the "in" conversion at the time) and I also put progressive springs and heavy oil up front .


It a great bike with plenty of legs but aint ever going to handle like a sports bike in the bends.