Hitting bumps feels ROUGH!

[theconsciousness]

Hey just bought my first FZ, has 16k miles on it. As I was driving it home from the guy, I passed over quite a few seams in the concrete on the interstate. You know the ones that transition from concrete to asphalt around bridges?
Well upon hitting a few of those going ~60mph, they almost knocked my grip off the handlebars!

I know the FZ doesn't have the best suspension, but has anyone noticed their bike handling jolting bumps the same way?

[mossrider]

You maybe could try snapping a notch or two of preload outta the shock of it's stiffened up but those expansion joints are the worst bumps on the surface of the planet to ride over/compare against. Stay off the interstate and ride the back roads. Better scenery, better roads, better all around.

[Pursuvant]

Somebody (I think here) described the stock suspension as like a burnt marsh-mellow, crusty on the outside gooey soft inside

[elmo]

Shock or fork issue? I had a similar experience with interstate concrete joints. My penske  shock  had way to much damping and quickly packed  down to zero rebound  and was getting bucked out of my seat. Opened up the rebound  and all was good.

[theconsciousness]

12 hours ago, elmo said:

Shock or fork issue? I had a similar experience with interstate concrete joints. My penske  shock  had way to much damping and quickly packed  down to zero rebound  and was getting bucked out of my seat. Opened up the rebound  and all was good.

Is that adjustable on the rear shock adjuster?

[elmo]

My shock is after market with rebound adjustment, I made matters worst by initially adding damping rebound . If your shock does not have rebound damping,  its likely not the issue. Make sure the bike and rider sag numbers, are in the acceptable range.

[maz20]

The FZ-07 is not designed to be a "bump-friendly" bike, at least at the rear. Sure it's pretty lightweight for "its class", but those weight-savings are largely in the sprung mass (i.e., above the suspension) -- meanwhile your rear wheel sporting 180" tires is wider and heavier than the other bikes "of its class". So -- with that nice low sprung mass but greater unsprung mass -- those bumps & imperfections on the road can really give the rider quite a beating! Physics-wise, your suspension will have to handle a lot of momentum from the wheel that your lightweight chassis will happily transfer over to you.

In other words (compared to other bikes), it would really pay off to fix up the suspension especially if your streets are far from smooth and perfect. Many aftermarket shocks will allow you to adjust rebound damping, but you may also want one with adjustable compression damping too if your area is extra bumpy and/or you like to ride aggressively through it.

Edit: the purpose of the compression damping is to prevent one bump from taking up too much of the spring so your shock is quickly ready for the next one, without having to decrease your rebound damping and sacrifice stability over smooth terrain. Alternatively, smooth terrain aside(!), if you're the kind of the rider that like to run through speed bumps, that extra compression damping can also help by letting you decrease your rebound damping without suffering too much instability as well -- which should allow you to tackle those bumps without "getting flung off the seat" as much (which is a side effect of both using too much of the spring for a single bump (too low compression damping) and too-high rebound damping trying to pull the seat away from you down towards the rear wheel, during the rebound phase!).

In a way, I'd say compression damping is kind of a "bailout" tool of the shock -- preventing riders who like high-rebound damping from packing-in their spring too much, and likewise riders who prefer low-rebound damping (possibly due to bumpy terrain?) from pogo-ing around too much (from the lack of damping). The tradeoff, of course, is feeling a little more initial force from a bump during the compression stroke.

Edited August 13, 2020 by maz20

[firstyammerha]

I think he's talking about the fork action. The fork does have too much compression damping in the first few inches of travel alright.

[michigan400]

Hit the gas as you hit the bump. It helps.

[Raven]

I went 2 notchs down on the rear preload helped with bumps. Tried going up to see what happens and it was really bumpy. But great for monos as it pops right up no sag.

[FZ not MT]

On 11/25/2020 at 11:32 AM, michigan400 said:

Hit the gas as you hit the bump.

.... or hit the brakes sharply, and release them just before you hit the bump. If you are lucky enough to see the bump before you hit, that brake trick will unload your suspension minimizing the hit.

If you are a new rider, don't try this until you have practiced hard braking in a parking lot/deserted road. It's arguably an advanced riding maneuver. Heck, if we were riding a 09 or 10, we could pop a wheelie getting the front wheel up before the bump at any speed

Edited January 8, 2021 by FZ not MT

[tavisb]

On 1/2/2021 at 10:05 AM, FZ not MT said:

.... or hit the brakes sharply, and release them just before you hit the bump. If you are lucky enough to see the bump before you hit, that brake trick will unload your suspension minimizing the hit.

If you are a new rider, don't try this until you have practiced hard braking in a parking lot/deserted road. It's arguably an advanced riding maneuver. Heck, if we were riding a 09 or 10, we could pop a wheelie getting the front wheel up before the bump

Um...the 07 will lift that front wheel up no problem :D.