Spent some money on the old girl

Gary in NJ

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I got some very good advice in my thread titled “New Bike Time?”, especially from Bigborer. Rather then spend $10k on a new bike I’ve decided to spend a fraction of that on complementary upgrades to the FZ6.

Today I ordered an Öhlins STX46 (model YA403) shock. The shock has adjustable rebound damping and the spring is infinitely adjustable for preload. The shock is shipped with a spring rate suitable for the rider (in my case 175 pounds). I’m not happy about it being an Emulsion Shock, but my bike is ridden 100% on the street and I don’t think cavitation is an issue for street bikes. This shock should complement my forks with GVE’s quite well.

I also ordered a fresh set of Dunlop Q3+ tires. I was torn between a sport bike tire and a sport touring tire such as the T31 or Road 5’s. I currently have Dunlop Qualifiers on my FZ and I really like them. They warm up within a mile and give great feedback. In the end I decided I wanted great grip over great wear. the newer Q’s are supposed to wear long and have linear turn in.

I’ll post photos as I get stuff.
 

trepetti

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I am a lot further from replacing my FZ then you were, but the few times I entertained the idea, I could not think about something I would spend a lot of money on that would be that much better than what I expected from the FZ.

I am so tempted to pull the trigger on the Ohlins, but my REAL interest is in the Q3+'s. I have been using Metzler M7 RRs and have been pretty happy with the grip level and have been getting just shy of 7,000 miles on a set.

So a question to those who have some history with the Dunlops.... How many miles do you get from the Q3+? I realize that mileage will vary, but I'd like to see what the spread is.

Thanks
 

Gary in NJ

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I got an email from solomotoparts that my shock is on back order and delayed 2-3 weeks. I t was supposed to arrive today. No problem, my bike isn't gonna see the streets for another 8-10 weeks. I can wait. In the mean time I need to make a small bracket to keep my instrument cluster from vibrating. I might re-wire the headlights too. Right now I'm running two H4 LED's that are always on high-beem. I might see about replacing one with a H7. I'm gonna have to take it all apart to figure it out because I can't recall if or how I hacked the OEM light harness.
 

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Hey Gary, well done sticking with the fizzy, the only bike I'd replace my FZ6 07 is a street triple, I was test driving the new models last summer but was a bit squeezed onto the bike, I'm 6.2ft I was surprised how small the bike was, My FZ6 fits like a glove , your getting Ohlins rear excellent, what have you got on the front Gary? Aftermarket springs or R6 change over forks?
 

Gary in NJ

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Paul, the forks have RaceTech Gold Valve Emulators and 0.85kg/mm springs. I’m using 15wt fork oil with an air gap of 130mm. I also installed adjustable fork caps for preload adjustment. I’m very pleased with the performance of the forks.
 

Gary in NJ

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Well it finally arrived, dropped shipped direct from Ohlins USA, just in time for spring (I think there's a pun in there). It is a thing of beauty. Time to pull the wheels to install the new rubber, making for easy access for shock installation.

The spring rate is 14 kg/mm...which is almost exactly what is recommended by Racetech for a rider of my weight (175-180 lbs).

IMG_0414.jpg
 

Motogiro

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Well it finally arrived, dropped shipped direct from Ohlins USA, just in time for spring (I think there's a pun in there). It is a thing of beauty. Time to pull the wheels to install the new rubber, making for easy access for shock installation.

The spring rate is 14 kg/mm...which is almost exactly what is recommended by Racetech for a rider of my weight (175-180 lbs).
That is art!
 

Gary in NJ

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I always like new tire day. Dunlop Q3+

I went to my favorite local independent shop today to order tires...and they had them in stock - with only 9 months on the date code. That's why it's my favorite shop. 30% off list, mounted and balanced while I waited.

I need to clean the rims and degrease the sprocket. I should have it all together this weekend. Dunlop Q3+.jpg
 

aussiejules

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Well it finally arrived, dropped shipped direct from Ohlins USA, just in time for spring (I think there's a pun in there). It is a thing of beauty. Time to pull the wheels to install the new rubber, making for easy access for shock installation.

The spring rate is 14 kg/mm...which is almost exactly what is recommended by Racetech for a rider of my weight (175-180 lbs).

View attachment 73403
So pretty.
 

Gary in NJ

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My plans to ride this weekend were thwarted by the dreded lower shock bushing. I've hit a couple of times yesterday with PB Blaster and I'll try to remove it later today. If it doesn't come out I'll heat it up. I assume that I should heat the bushing and not the swing arm.

Any other methods if these don't work? There's not a lot of room to maneuver down there.lower bushing.jpg
 

TownsendsFJR1300

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Heating the inner steel bushing will only expand it (not a help- as you already got it broken loose)..

They make some stuff (never used it) that put out very cold air. Spraying that on the inner bushing should help shrink it a tad. Perhaps some ice in a zip-lock baggie, placed up against the bushing may be enough to get it out..

Also, perhaps some penetrant on what's showing and knock it back in and then again back out (of if there's room, keep going in THAT DIRECTION...

.
 

Gary in NJ

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Wait? Are you saying that bushing is supposed to be flat with the swingarm mount surface? The way you see it in the photo is how it looked when the bolt was removed.
 

trepetti

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Wait? Are you saying that bushing is supposed to be flat with the swingarm mount surface? The way you see it in the photo is how it looked when the bolt was removed.

No, the bushing stands proud on 1 side. Getting it out is easy if you have another one. When I swapped my swingarm I didn't need to reuse the bushing, so it was heat on the swingarm, vice grips on the bushing and lots of love taps with a slammer.... I mean hammer.
 

Gary in NJ

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I got lucky. After letting soak with the PB Blaster for 24 hours, it slid right out as soon as I was able to get some "twist" on it with a vice-grip.

I think that's the only time penetrating oil has actually worked for me.

I'll be able to reuse the bushing/collar. I don't expect that I'll need to ever get the shock off again, but just in case that is going back together with healthy helping of never-seize.

I was hoping to get out today to enjoy the 70 degree weather...but my wife just asked if I wanted to go walk the dog this afternoon. I learned a long time ago (the hard way) not to put motorcycles ahead of the misses. My ride report may have to wait a few days.
 
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Gary in NJ

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Just to have correct info out there, the OEM collar is not reused with the Ohlins installation. The lower bearing is pressed in to the shock as well as the bushing, making the through hole just large enough for the bolt. I initially went into "ah crap, more work" mode thinking I'd have to cut and true the old collar down to about a 15mm length. Then I decided to look at the instructions provided in the box to see if Ohlins addressed that issue.

I opened the box and saw that I missed the spanner that Ohlins provided to adjust the spring preload. How nice of them. Then I saw that they provided two swingarm stickers announcing to the world that this rider spent good money on a quality shock. Those will go on the bike for sure because as we all know, aftermarket stickers are more faster. Hey...what's in this little bag...well it's a replacement bushing/collar that is 15mm in length. Oh look...instructions...don't need those now, do I.....
 

Gary in NJ

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I got the bike out today. Just a few miles. I was hyper sensitive about the ride because it's only 55 degrees out, the tires are new...and I hate breaking in new tires - especially on a cold road. I haven't taken any time to set sag or make any other adjustments. Nor did my 5 miles ride take me over any unsettled roads.

So nothing to report other than the bike rolls down the road. Hopefully I'll have a 70+ day next week to properly scrub in the tires. My son will be home for spring break this weekend so he can help me set sag. With 5.1 inches of rear suspension travel (130mm) I'll be shooting for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches (32-39mm) of total sag.

Oh, I also installed a LiFePO4 battery. Damn that starter motor spins now. Even the fuel pump sounded happier during prime.
 
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