Anyone else notice, that looks like one big, ass, billy goat. :lol:
Here's a cut and paste which expands of the FJRtech article:
(It helped me to get my sag exactly right) (sorry pictures missing)
Thought I would write this to encourage those folks who are thinking of doing this bit of work, but aren't sure they have the skills. BLUF - when you break this into its component parts it is a pretty easy task and well within the capabilities of someone with average wrenching skills.
I took the Total Control class in Jun (Tracy Martin//(3dogs) instructed) and learned about suspension particulars there and became interested in doing some upgrades. I wanted to start with the easiest and frankly, the cheapest step. That, to my mind, is new fork springs and it was time to change the fork oil anyway. I started by going to the Race Tech home page
https://www.race-tech.com/ sport bike - spring rate search to find the correct spring rate. For me at 185 lbs neked , yes, neked (neked being w/o clothes for a reason!) the correct rate is 1.165. Now, here’s a switch, per Tracy the spring listed for the FJR on the site is actually too small (dia), 43mm vs 48mm. He gave me the correct part number (EDIT FRSP S4031 XX -XX is the spring rate) and I ordered the 1.1kg spring.
I followed the instructions given here:
https://www.fjrtech.com/getdbitem.cfm?item=47 (FJR Tech) as well as these for taking off the front wheel (ABS):
https://www.fjrtech.com/getdbitem.cfm?item=31 again, FJR Tech. Here’s a picture of the parts once the fork is apart:
"New" springs are on the left and as you can see are around 2" longer than OEM. Fork Cap, then top to bottom the lock nut, spacer, washer (the silver washer if from the RT kit and I removed it as it was pinging against the side of the tube when I hit bumps - the darker washer is OEM and that's what's in the fork now). The thin rod on the right is the "plunger" and moves up/down when you turn the damping knob. Inside the fork is a rod threaded at the top - it is connected at the bottom and doesn't need to come out. You put the spring, washer, spacer, plunger over the rod - actually the plunger goes inside the rod. When you turn the preload knob that pushes the nut which pushes the spacer which pushes the washer which pushed the....yup, spring!
Since I was doing this after work and during the week of 100 degree wx and 300% humidity here in N. VA, I did this over 3 nights. Night 1 – remove front wheel/fender. Night 2 – remove forks and drain oil (I hung them overnight although this is overkill). Note: I bought 2 x qts of Bel Ray 5wt fork oil. I wasn’t sure how much I would end up using so I used probably 5 or 6 ounces to kinda flush the forks. Once done, I ended up with about 2/3 or so of a quart left. Night 3 – measured, figured, cut spacer and put the whole mess back together.
As to measuring, I was advised to start with 20mm of preload in the tube. So, (before adding oil and with the fork compressed) put the spring into the fork, washer on top of spring and measure from the top of the washer to the top of the fork (107mm for me); then measure that part of the fork cap (w/preload all the way out) that is inside the tube (53mm); subtract = 54mm and add the 20mm preload = 74mm. That’s what I used to cut the spacer (w/a hacksaw – sand and smooth inside and out). Luckily enough, the OEM spacer is 150mm so I just cut one in half. I put 130mm of oil in each fork (fork compressed w/o spring) and put the whole mess back together. No one was home so I couldn’t measure the sag. Up early and out the door Sat AM - could immediately feel the difference, more planted and actually more harsh. Back home and got Lorie and our daughter to help me measure the sag – 20mm! At the class in Jun it was measured at 58mm (too much) and now 20mm (too little). Adjusted the preload all the way out and only got to 23mm. Tracy recommended ~40mm of sag.
So, I clearly needed to cut the spacer more. Did some math and figured I could cut 20mm off to give me the 40mm sag – nope, it’s not a linear equation! Didn’t have to take everything apart this time – jacked up the front end to extend the forks, took the handlebars off – loosened the top fork pinch bolt and then loosened the fork cap, lowered the front end to push the fork cap and locking nut out so I could get to it.
Here's what it looks like with the fork cap clear of the tube:
You can see the fork cap, the locking nut, and the spacer (you can tell from the top of the spacer it's been cut and sanded smooth.
Cut the spacer to 54mm – put it back together and measured sag again ----30mm, damn! Had enough at that point. Rode with the 30mm to work today and while not bad, I’ll go back and cut some more off of the spacer. Think I’ll probably cut it to about 25mm or less and hope it’ll get me to ~40mm of sag.
Notes:
1. One thing I did differently from the fork oil FJR Tech instruction – I did not remove any plastic. I hate removing plastic and I was able to do this whole evolution w/o any real problems. I used my Husky 3/8” drive and easily loosened the left side (all references are sitting on the bike looking forward) and the 1st of the 2 lower pinch bolts on the right side (there are 2 x lower pinch bolts). I removed the right horn and got the upper pinch bolt easily. I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to get my torque wrench (snap on) in there to complete the job. As it turned out, the head on the torque wrench was not as deep as my regular socket wrench and it fit better and I didn’t have a problem – tight, but no problem.
2. Fork oil: Tracy recommended the next higher Yami oil as I was still using the stock valves. I used the chart here:
https://www.peterverdonedesigns.com/lowspeed.htm . On the final chart I went down the left hand column and picked an oil next to the next Yami oil up from the 01 oil. Plus I could get the Bel Ray.
3. The springs do not rattle inside the forks. Apparently if you get the springs listed for the FJR they’re smaller and will rattle.
I hope this will convince those who would like to do this but are concerned that they aren’t able because they aren’t sure of their skill level to go ahead and git ‘er done! While I didn’t do these things, it’s a great time to also do: steering head maint//clean brake calipers//install new horns//drink beer!
Jim
I wanted to update my experience changing springs and pass on a couple of things I learned (or re-learned) for those interested or those who may be considering changing fork springs. 3dogs provided much needed and appreciated guidance/counsel during this whole effort.
I went with Race Tech fork springs that were not specifically listed for the FJR. They were the 403111 (final 11 being the 1.1kg spring rate). The 4031s were recommended as they are larger and fit the 48mm FJR tubes better than the 43mm springs listed for the FJR. Another reason is that the FJR specific springs only go up to a .95 spring rate - I’m 185 and the RT calculator says I need a 1.165 rate. The 4031s go up to a 1.2kg spring rate.
I went through 3 or 4 evolutions of this process before I got it right - mostly changing spacer lengths to little avail. A math error (double subtracting the fork cap measurement), skipping a step called for in the service manual when changing fork oil, and not fully realizing and understanding the spring diameter/spring seat difference and the impact of that caused me some unnecessary frustration and “do overs.”
The OEM spring is a progressive rate spring and is wide in the middle and narrower on the ends. The 4031 is a single rate spring consistent in length from end to end (same dia as OEM center part). Within the fork tube the bottom of the spring rests on the “spring seat” that’s on top of the cartridge in the fork. Here’s a picture looking into the empty tube – you can see the spring seat at the bottom and you’re looking at the damping rod in the center (a smaller rod fits into the center hence the hole in the rod).
The spring seat is sized for the smaller end of the OEM seat. I initially had great frustration in that changes in spacer length did not result in similar changes in “sag” measurements. After several spacer changes didn’t produce satisfactory results, I started the entire process from the beginning – yup, took the whole shebang apart, drained the oil, remeasured the spacer measurement, cut the spacers (again!) and put it all back together.
During the redo I noticed that there isn’t a washer under the spring, only the spring seat and that is sized for the smaller OEM spring end. RT provides 2 x washers (same dia as the spring) and about 6 x aluminum spacers (didn’t use these at all) with the springs. I installed 1 x RT washer under the spring in each fork. I went to Lowe’s and bought 2 x schedule 8 washers of the same size and put them on top of the spring. Here’s a picture of how everything went back into the fork tube from the bottom up. RT washer/spring/RT size washer/OEM washer/spacer/nut/fork cap. You can actually see 2 x spacers. That’s because I cut the spacer a few times and wound up having to stack them together to get what I needed. As long as they’re cut square, I don’t think there’s a problem stacking them.
I followed the service manual directions for fork oil (put in before installing the above) – pour it in, cycle the damping rod at least 10 times (didn’t do that the first time), compress/release the fork a couple of times, then wait 10 minutes for the oil to settle/let air out. I measured 130mm vice the OEM 100mm oil level from the top (forks extended) due to the increase in the spring size from OEM (take up more space - ~50mm longer).
I put it together, took a test ride and lo and behold it works! Hallafrigginlullah! I “think” what was happening before was that the spring was getting pushed over the spring seat and didn’t have any support on the bottom. The spring couldn’t function as designed and was over stiff. Not sure if adding the “cycle the damping rod at least 10 times” step during fork oil loading added to the solution or not, but I didn’t do that the first time.
Lessons I learned or re-learned. A. Read the directions. B. Read the Service Manual. C. Use the FJR Tech articles as a reference. D. Repeat A, B, C until you understand as much as humanly possible about the task before you. Take your time – whatever time it takes! And, there’s never enough time to do it right, but there’s always enough time to do it again!
Here’s something that might help you and did help me in troubleshooting. I noticed when the springs were way too stiff (little sag) that I could pop ole Maxine on the centerstand without any problem at all (front wheel way to high). When, after a couple of frustrating results, I whacked a good chunk off of the spacer I found it was extremely difficult to get her on the centerstand (front wheel way to low) – way too much sag.
I am not an expert in motorcycle suspensions and this is not an effort to sell myself as such. I offer this as a means for others to learn from my experience / mistakes. I am glad I did this even with the frustration involved. I’ve learned more about my forks, spring rates, sag, taking the whole mess apart than I ever would have otherwise and Maxine does handle better than before. If anyone is considering undertaking this I would be happy to talk with you if you like. PM me and I’ll send my phone number.
:angry: 
