2006 Yamaha FZ6 was lowered by previous owner, how to put back to stock or even make it a bit taller

CanadaFZ6

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I am quite tall and the bike was lowered. What is the technique used to lower the rear suspension? I want to remove whatever it is. Am I likely to need an original part, or is the lowering link setup just an add-on that can be removed and put back to stock without buying some original part that is now missing? Sorry if this is confusing. Blah

The front forks were also pulled up through the triple clamp, maybe an inch and a half at least is sticking out out of the triple. The tops of the forks should be flush with the triple right? I will be looking into fixing this of course, just need to figure out how I'm going to jack up the bike, as I can't use my jack considering the bottom exhaust.

I just got the bike today and love it already, so fun. Just way too low for my height, I look ridiculous on it. If anyone has further tips to accommodate a tall rider I am all ears!

Thanks so much
 

TownsendsFJR1300

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I suspect they put lowering links on the bike.

The rear shock : https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/yamaha/motorcycle/2006/fz-6-fzs6v/rear-suspension shouldn't have any thing bolted to it but the bike.

There's also a spring pre-load (addressed in the owners manual) you can tighten to pick the rear up.

Your kick stand is also likely shortened(or after market) and you'll need another stock kick stand. Hopefully you still have the center stand and they didn't hack that up.

The bike will have to be supported (preferably by the center stand) when putting the rear (and the front) back to stock..


**BTW, a scissor jack, or other, (I use a flat 2" wide piece of aluminum to spread the weight) under the header won't hurt anything.
You can easily and safely lift the nose up to move the forks / maintenance.


There is a bit of sag in the stock forks. You might consider addressing that. I added Schrader valves (with pressurized air) to each leg and that solved the dipping nose:




Other's replace the forks altogether..
 
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CanadaFZ6

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I suspect they put lowering links on the bike.

The rear shock : https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/yamaha/motorcycle/2006/fz-6-fzs6v/rear-suspension shouldn't have any thing bolted to it but the bike.

There's also a spring pre-load (addressed in the owners manual) you can tighten to pick the rear up.

Your kick stand is also likely shortened(or after market) and you'll need another stock kick stand. Hopefully you still have the center stand and they didn't hack that up.

The bike will have to be supported (preferably by the center stand) when putting the rear (and the front) back to stock..


**BTW, a scissor jack, or other, (I use a flat 2" wide piece of aluminum to spread the weight) under the header won't hurt anything.
You can easily and safely lift the nose up to move the forks / maintenance.


There is a bit of sag in the stock forks. You might consider addressing that. I added Schrader valves (with pressurized air) to each leg and that solved the dipping nose:




Other's replace the forks altogether..

Thanks for the in depth answer! I saw things like https://www.amazon.ca/Soupys-Yamaha-FZ6-Lowering-Link/dp/B00INCJ3QO so I suspected mine might have something similar to make the seat sit lower. Just going to tear into it a bit today to see if I can get a look at the top of the shock somehow.

That is good to know I actually can jack it up under the header, provided the weight is spread out. Center stand is still on it but I am having a hell of a time getting the bike onto it alone.

I will definitely be doing some reading around the forum, I saw something here already about possibly lowering the pegs, which would be great.
 

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Hi! I have the same problem on my fz6. The previous owner added a lowering kit, I am not 100% he did that bit I feel that is too low.
I will look onto it. Op please post here anything new,I will do the same.
 

TownsendsFJR1300

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It's hard to get on the CC because it's so low.

Once you get everything back to stock, it'll easily go back up on the CC..

Don't forget to get a STOCK kickstand.

One I shortened for a member that lowered the bike:



 

CanadaFZ6

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Hi! I have the same problem on my fz6. The previous owner added a lowering kit, I am not 100% he did that bit I feel that is too low.
I will look onto it. Op please post here anything new,I will do the same.

Sounds good will do!

I measured how much of the forks are sticking out past the triple clamp, and its almost 2"!!! I could just put them back to normal but then the bike will be very mismatched, so I'm waiting until I figure out how to fix the back so I can do it at the same time.
 

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:welcome: new members! If the rear shock height has not been modified and the front has been dropped steering will be effected because the geometry has been modified. If the seat was lowered instead of the rear shock lowering, the bike will probably have quicker turn in characteristics.
If I remember correctly, The shock can be modified my fitting it with it with a different spring (shorter) in order to lower it. Some bikes have a different system using links and by changing the link length the rear suspension height is changed with little or no effect on the rear shock compression linearity. The FZ6 shock and suspension swing arm are directly connected to the frame/subframe so there are no links to contend with. One way to determine if the shock has been modified might be by measuring the spring length.
 

CanadaFZ6

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Here are a couple pictures of what the bike looks like. Silly question but cranking the preload nut down will cause the bike to be lower, yes? And the forks speak for themselves.

forks.jpg
shock.jpg
 

CanadaFZ6

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:welcome: new members! If the rear shock height has not been modified and the front has been dropped steering will be effected because the geometry has been modified. If the seat was lowered instead of the rear shock lowering, the bike will probably have quicker turn in characteristics.
If I remember correctly, The shock can be modified my fitting it with it with a different spring (shorter) in order to lower it. Some bikes have a different system using links and by changing the link length the rear suspension height is changed with little or no effect on the rear shock compression linearity. The FZ6 shock and suspension swing arm are directly connected to the frame/subframe so there are no links to contend with. One way to determine if the shock has been modified might be by measuring the spring length.

Thanks :) Glad I found this active forum. In reference to the shock not being able to be dropped besides with a spring, what about that doohicky in the link I posted above from Amazon? I'm just not sure what the OEM setup would look like, so I'm trying to figure out what aftermarket stuff to look for.
 

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Thanks :) Glad I found this active forum. In reference to the shock not being able to be dropped besides with a spring, what about that doohicky in the link I posted above from Amazon? I'm just not sure what the OEM setup would look like, so I'm trying to figure out what aftermarket stuff to look for.
Exactly! A mechanic looked on the rearshock and told me it is not lowered,at least not from the rear shock,as is doesnt have links,or whatever they are called.
But,still...that amazon kit...eh...

Le: I just measured the seat height, not verry precise but its about 782mm; it should be 795mm in the manual.
 
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CanadaFZ6

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Exactly! A mechanic looked on the rearshock and told me it is not lowered,at least not from the rear shock,as is doesnt have links,or whatever they are called.
But,still...that amazon kit...eh...

Le: I just measured the seat height, not verry precise but its about 782mm; it should be 795mm in the manual.

Are your fork tube sticking out of the top too? If so how much?

I think that it would be easy to spot an actual drop link added onto the shock, but if someone replaced the actual top mount that is attached to the shock (like the Amazon one) it would be a lot harder to notice. The whole top side is covered in plastic so I can't see it.
 

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The rear shock pictured is NOT stock.

Might want to look up the brand and get spec's and see if it alone is shorter...You also have adjusting threads on that shock.
Try tightening those un-less the shock is ALREADY FULLY EXTENDED...

As Motogiro posted earlier, with the stock set up, the rear shock simply bolts between the frame and swing arm. ANY other doo dads are aftermarket.
Get rid of them..
 

Motogiro

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Silly question but cranking the preload nut down will cause the bike to be lower, yes? And the forks speak for themselves.


View attachment 69792

Tightening the spanner nuts against the spring will increase stiffness of the spring hence you will have less compression of the suspension. When you sit on the bike it will be stiffer as well as perform differently.

Overall length of that shock assembly is what governs rear suspension height.
 

CanadaFZ6

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Tightening the spanner nuts against the spring will increase stiffness of the spring hence you will have less compression of the suspension. When you sit on the bike it will be stiffer as well as perform differently.

Overall length of that shock assembly is what governs rear suspension height.

Got it, thanks. So if I want the seat higher (make the shock longer/less compressed) I turn the ring out, I will also make the suspension softer at the same time. It feels very very hard right now on small bumps, I guess that is because its cranked down to make the bike sit low?
 

CanadaFZ6

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The shock is a "Wilbers" brand. Found a thread on here talking about it, it has preload and rebound adjustment. Unsure whether this shock makes the bike lower, I have not found any mention of that though. And this is a shortened kickstand I assume? Also here is a picture of how the bike is sitting. Not ideal for a 6' 2 rider.... Thanks everyone for the help so far.
thumbnail_image1.jpg
thumbnail_image2.jpg
 
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CanadaFZ6

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Well as you can tell I know nothing about suspension adjustment what so ever. I moved the nut up the threads towards the seat, thinking this lengthens the spring and therefore gives me a higher lift on the seat. I moved it up quite a bit with no change at all to the height!
 

Motogiro

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Got it, thanks. So if I want the seat higher (make the shock longer/less compressed) I turn the ring out, I will also make the suspension softer at the same time. It feels very very hard right now on small bumps, I guess that is because its cranked down to make the bike sit low?
If you crank down or loosen the spring it will not change the length if the shock. It will not change the seat height. Adjustment of the spring will change the rate of compression of the entire stroke but not the length of the assembly.

Sent from Moto's Motorola
 

CanadaFZ6

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If you crank down on the spring it will not change the length if the shock. It will not change the seat height. Adjustment of the spring will change the rate of compression of the entire stroke but not the length of the assembly.

Sent from Moto's Motorola

Thanks. Been reading all night trying to understand it all more. I don't really know where to go from here. Now I know the shock is aftermarket, but I have no idea why it looks and feels so low in the rear. Or what I can do about it.
 

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Thanks. Been reading all night trying to understand it all more. I don't really know where to go from here. Now I know the shock is aftermarket, but I have no idea why it looks and feels so low in the rear. Or what I can do about it.

The shock that is on it now is an aftermarket shock that probably has a shorter length. The short length mean the there is less distance in height between the swing arm and the top off the shock where it is mounted to the frame. This means the frame of the bike will be closer to the ground and the seat height will be lower.

The stock shock will be longer and will increase the distance between the swing arm and the top of the shock where it is mounted to the frame. This means the frame will be farther from the ground and your seat height will be higher,

That means if you remove the shorter shock that has been installed a put the OEM factory shock in, Then drop the fork tubes back down through the triple clamps and the height of the bike will be the height of a factory FZ6. :)

If you have trouble with the technical ideas or experience you might want to get someone to help walk you through the mechanical on this. You can end up injured if you try working on your own with out guidance and/or experience. Completing work correctly on a motorcycle is very important to yours and other's riding safety.

We want everyone to be safe and have a great experience riding.

There is a wealth of collective knowledge and experience on this forum and we want everyone to have a great experience. :)
 
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CanadaFZ6

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The shock that is on it now is an aftermarket shock that probably has a shorter length. The short length mean the there is less distance in height between the swing arm and the top off the shock where it is mounted to the frame. This means the frame of the bike will be closer to the ground and the seat height will be lower.

The stock shock will be longer and will increase the distance between the swing arm and the top of the shock where it is mounted to the frame. This means the frame will be farther from the ground and your seat height will be higher,

That means if you remove the shorter shock that has been installed a put the OEM factory shock in, Then drop the fork tubes back down through the triple clamps and the height of the bike will be the height of a factory FZ6. :)

Makes sense :) Darn, more money spent. I wonder if I could sell this one or something.
 
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