My suspension upgrades

[jjmaine]

I have not seen many suspension threads on the forum so I thought I would try to document what I do to my bike as best I can. My plans are a Nitron R1 shock for the rear and a set of Andreani fork cartridge kit for the front.

I ordered my Nitron from Brooks Suspension in the UK and it arrived today. Took about a month as these shocks are built to order and set up specifically for your weight and riding style etc.

The shock install will be very straight forward as its only a couple bolts but the fork kit will be another deal altogether. I believe I will need to do some grinding on the fork tubes to remove some parts so the carts fit. I’ll cross that road when I come to it but Brooks shipped my Andreani kit yesterday so I should have it on Monday according to the tracking.

My new shock! . Brooks even tossed in a couple english biscuits! I like how the put the preload adjuster on the bottom of the shock so you can access it without taking the shock off. I almost ordered the hydraulic adjuster with it but glad I didnt as it is not needed.

 

[jjmaine]

One note on the Nitron shock. It only has 1 adjuster on the bottom of the shock but it controls both rebound and compression. Most shocks like these only allow for rebound adjustment and while being able to adjust them separately is ideal, I’m sure for spirited street riding I will be able to find an adjustment where it works well.

 

[jjmaine]

New shock in, took me a couple hours taking my time. The fz6 center stand did the trick, I just tied it to the front wheel so it wouldnt collapse on me.

Looks great and fits perfect, hopefully it works well! Really I think what will make the biggest difference is the forks and the kit should be here monday. Trying to get it all installed and tested before winter strikes

 

[jjmaine]

Spring rate they supplied is perfect for my weight. Set my sag (10mm free sag/35mm rider sag) and went for a ride. Easy to turn the preload adjuster with the tool they give you.

Already much better than the stock shock and it should get sweeter when its broken in!

 

[milepig]

Looking good! I'm sure it'll make a big difference. Enjoy!

 

[jjmaine]

Thanks! I think it’ll make for a much more enjoyable ride. I have 3 bulging discs in my lower back and one in my neck so to me its well worth the money for a plusher ride.

 

[Marthy]

Look sweet!
Reb adjuster only?

 

[jjmaine]

Thanks! Yeah only the one adjuster but supposedly they combined it so it adjusts both compression and rebound with the one knob…

 

[jjmaine]

Got the cart. kit today. Looks pretty good though not as high quality as the Ohlins kit I put in my Ninja 300 forks. Those are awesome and I wish they offered them for the Fz6r. They are made to drop right in with no modification to the forks unlike these Andreani’s.

No matter, from my research these are not too hard to install and I have no worries about getting it done. Should be 100% upgrade over the stock forks which on my bike are abysmal! I’m sure my bike still has the original 10 year old fork oil in it (because nobody ever changes it lol) and that is not helping. I have a new set of fork seals and 5wt oil to go in!

 

[jjmaine]

Some photos of the Ohlins kit for my Ninja. I’m not sure anyone cares but I figured Id share them so you can see the differences. See how Ohlins puts their valving higher up so they can leave the bottom part of the cartridge slender enough to fit through the hydraulic stop in the bottom of the fork stanchion? Not sure why Andreani doesn’t use a similar design so there would be no need to modify the fork tubes? Must be a money thing.
Interesting to me and I like looking at shiny parts so I thought someone else might too! Quality was just a step above on the Ohlins…

 

[jjmaine]

It begins…. Forks stripped and started the (not for the faint of heart) grinding process. Looks dont matter on bottom of the fork tube, so long as you clean up any burrs and sand smooth. The bottom of the tube is rolled inwards anyway so it should never touch the inside of the fork lower no matter what…. Just looks awful

Certainly no going back to stock though because the piece you are removing is what stops the fork tube from popping right out of the lower. The cartridges have their own stop and top out spring internally.

 

[jjmaine]

Hydraulic stops tapped out, grinds cleaned up of any burrs. Time for a good cleaning and re-assembly.
May wash everything real good tonight and put the carts in tomorrow morning. Then test ride!!! 75 degrees tomorrow🥹

 

[jjmaine]

Got the carts installed. I had an oopsies on sunday and could not get it done. I had forgotten to install the washer underneath the fork seal on the second fork I put together and when I pulled the fork back apart to install it, the fork tube and bushing, pulled right through the bushing installed in the fork lower and the fork seal. It also scored the bushing pretty good. Thanks to Amazon though I got a new set of All Balls bushings one day shipping. Not my first choice but oem are not readily in stock anywhere and these will get me back on the road. Next time I have to strip the forks I’ll have oem bushing on hand to replace these. They seemed okay quality and fit perfect so they will work for now.

The rest of the install was not too bad…. Can’t wait to try the new forks out.

 

[milepig]

We went the emulator route. It was an improvement, but I'm sure this is going to be way better! Love what you're doing, nice job!

 

[jjmaine]

Thanks! I bought emulators to start and then decided to use Traxxion Dynamic’s Ar-25 damping rods until they refunded me and said they wont fit the Fz6r forks. Since I was commited to something a lottle better than emulators and the cartridge kit was not much more than the damper rods I went with them.

I have a set of emulators if anyone wants them for a decent deal. Or I’ll keep them and use them on something else eventually.

 

[jjmaine]

Would anyone be interested in a new set of Racetech gold valves w/ a pair of damper rods set to drop in?

Since I’ve switched to cartridges there is no way I can go back to damper rods so these are no good to me. I’ll drill, chamfer and de-burr them so they are ready to install with the gold valves and you can keep your stock rods stock lol.