Stock suspension...

10703 Views 33 Replies 15 Participants Last post by Pard, 6 mo ago

Patricio

Discussion Starter · Aug 2, 2016

This really sucks!

Cobblestone Road surface Flooring Walkway Sidewalk

This kind of streets makes me feel I'm riding a jackhammer!

What's the upgrade for suspension?

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Old Goat Ninja

· #2 · Aug 2, 2016

Haha, so many options for suspension, and they are ALL better than stock. Racing Bros, Ohlins, YSS, Race Tech, that I can think of off the top of my head. I love Race Tech, and have used them in the past, but I'll probably go the YSS route with the Grom. I just can't see spending a bunch of money of such an inexpensive bike. I just want it better, doesn't need to be great.

Anyways, I'd start by searching either the internet or this site with what I listed, and go from there. I'm sure those searches will lead to other options as well.

Reactions: 3

BuenosNoches

· #3 · Aug 2, 2016

I agree with OGN. Just got my YSS in the mail yesterday. If I had more discretionary income, I probably would have purchased the Ohlins.
The dampener dial that allows you to customize the stiffness looks kinda cool, but again, that is a pretty high performance shock.
I am not an experienced enough rider to probably tell much of a difference in the feel on the road.
That being said, I am an expert at feeling whether my bank account has been dampened or not!
My main deciding factor was price. For me, personally, the YSS gave me the most for my limited funds.
Now to get that glorified slinky installed on Shadynasty!

Reactions: 3

nd4spdbh

· #4 · Aug 2, 2016

BuenosNoches said:
I agree with OGN. Just got my YSS in the mail yesterday. If I had more discretionary income, I probably would have purchased the Ohlins.
The dampener dial that allows you to customize the stiffness looks kinda cool, but again, that is a pretty high performance shock.
I am not an experienced enough rider to probably tell much of a difference in the feel on the road.
That being said, I am an expert at feeling whether my bank account has been dampened or not!
My main deciding factor was price. For me, personally, the YSS gave me the most for my limited funds.
Now to get that glorified slinky installed on Shadynasty!

where did you get your YSS shock from?

Reactions: 1

BuenosNoches

· #5 · Aug 2, 2016

nd4spdbh said:
where did you get your YSS shock from?

I got mine from GOGROM.COM
Unfortunately I think I got their last one. I went back on after I purchased to check some other parts and the YSS with the reservoir shows "sold out".
But I imagine they would restock if enough people were interested in a somewhat more budget friendly rear shock option.
PLUS, the shipping was insanely fast. I ordered it on Friday, July 29th.
It was at my front door when I got home from work on Monday.

I imagine other places have them in stock. I did get a 10% discount through GOGROM, their end of summer sale or something.

I just bought some jack stands at lunch so I have a way to prop up my bike to make the switch when I get home.

I will report back. and pics.

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BuenosNoches

· #6 · Aug 2, 2016

MV Agusta F3 800 said:
On motorcycles in general, the rear suspension is more critical than the front.

But when starting out with a completely stock Grom, the front suspension is SO bad, that you pretty much have to fix the front, just to be able to ride it. My wife didn't even want to ride hers, until I installed the full Ohlins kit with the correct springs for her weight. After doing the front end, it's like a new motorcycle.

On any motorcycle, suspension set-up begins with getting the correct springs in it for your weight. You may be able to work around the crude damping up front by switching to thicker fork oil after you have the correct springs in it.

You're not going to be able to afford a complete fork kit (springs and damping upgrades) for any $200. But you can do the correct fork springs for your weight and thicker fork oil.

This is something I am very interested in as well. I watched Hard Racings Ohlins front fork install video last night.
My only hesitation is the lack of tool bench, vice, blow torch and or other relatively good heat source.
Is Ohlins pretty much the only option for front fork kits?
I'm gonna be doing some more research.
Are their any brands you would recommend looking into further, other than Ohlins?

Reactions: 1

ozzypatrol

· #7 · Aug 3, 2016

BuenosNoches said:
This is something I am very interested in as well. I watched Hard Racings Ohlins front fork install video last night.
My only hesitation is the lack of tool bench, vice, blow torch and or other relatively good heat source.
Is Ohlins pretty much the only option for front fork kits?
I'm gonna be doing some more research.
Are their any brands you would recommend looking into further, other than Ohlins?

Seriously mate, just punch it into google. Heaps of options

AzizaVFR

· #8 · Aug 3, 2016 (Edited)

OGN, after looking at your picture from track day, it is in your best interest to reserve enough funds to procure the Ohlins front and rear susension, plus fork oil. If you can make the two specialized tools, or purchase/rent them from Hard Racing, the whole process will take you less than two hours. Hard Racing has the ideal instructional video for this procedure. On the track, I was going through all the suspension travel either with hard braking leading into the corner or the increased pressure as the lean angle increased. It will make the bike feel more rigid and in control as your confidence and speed increases.

Also, do not settle for good. Make that bike great!

Reactions: 1

Old Goat Ninja

· #9 · Aug 3, 2016

AzizaVFR said:
OGN, after looking at your picture from track day, it is in your best interest to reserve enough funds to procure the Ohlins front and rear susension, plus fork oil. If you can make the two specialized tools, or purchase/rent them from Hard Racing, the whole process will take you less than two hours. Hard Racing has the ideal instructional video for this procedure. On the track, I was going through all the suspension travel either with hard braking leading into the corner or the increased pressure as the lean angle increased. It will make the bike feel more rigid and in control as your confidence and speed increases.

Also, do not settle for good. Make that bike great!

Oh yeah, definitely need something. Ohlins in the front for sure, not sure on the rear yet.

The biggest hangup is the actually the pegs right now. Any more lean angle than what I was doing would drag my pegs and feet. The pegs hit before I hit the tires edge. In it's current set up, I can't get to the edge of the tire. It's hard to see in the picture, but that's as far as I can go on the tire. Right there is hitting pegs, and I still have a fingers width between the edge I got to and the edge of the tire.

Tire Automotive tire Synthetic rubber Alloy wheel Wheel

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BuenosNoches

· #10 · Aug 3, 2016

YSS installed!

The first thing I noticed was the height difference in the bike. The back feels taller for sure. The ride is smoother as well.
I pulled the trigger on this purchase after bottoming out my rear shock doing stoppies.
I am happy to report that I no longer am rocking my shock!
I am happy

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Vehicle Supermoto Automotive tire Rim Tire

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Funny story time.
I get the shock installed and immediately take it down the road to test it out. I can feel the difference in the bike's stance, taller in the back now. But I gave no thought to how this might affect my stoppie mechanics.
In retrospect, I am guessing the taller back resulted in less weight in the rear/over the rear tire.
ANYWAYSSSSS, to the point!
I have done many stoppies (or whatever the kids call them these days) without any problems. Some better than others.
I felt confident until I hit my front brake at the end of my test-run road.

The back end came up so easy it caught me about 86% off guard. Before I knew it, that "oh s***" feeling hit me.
Am I really about to wreck? Noooo....you gotta be kidding me. Welp, looks like i'm wrecking. Hello ground!
Luckily my back broke most of my bike's fall, because yes, I did a front dive over my handlebars. But since I was pretty much at a stop once I finally went over, and my bike's booty was on it's way over the top, it was basically a retarded somersault with me as the star of the show!

I thought it was hilarious, but once again I wrecked and no one got to see it

Only injury was my shin that smashed against the crash cage.

Shadynasty took a beating to her face. Scuffed up the display and bent it backwards. A little muscle got that back into place. I lucked out and the bike landed on the left side, so no scratches on the exhaust. The left side crash cage saved my plastic!!! So I am considering this a crash cage review as well. Thanks Zeus Armor for saving my baby!

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Shadynasty didnt want scuff marks so she opted for temporary stickering.

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Old Goat Ninja

· #11 · Aug 3, 2016

"retarded somersault" - hahahahahahaha, awesome description. I'l literally cracking up at my desk right now. Great story haha.

Grats on the shock install.

jrode237

· #12 · Aug 3, 2016

She used to be Sha-dynasty....now with all them scratches on her, she shadynasty. Great story man.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

HardRacing

· #13 · Aug 3, 2016

Old Goat Ninja said:
The biggest hangup is the actually the pegs right now. Any more lean angle than what I was doing would drag my pegs and feet. The pegs hit before I hit the tires edge. In it's current set up, I can't get to the edge of the tire. It's hard to see in the picture, but that's as far as I can go on the tire. Right there is hitting pegs,

.

Time for some Rear Sets.

.

Reactions: 3

AzizaVFR

· #14 · Aug 4, 2016 (Edited)

In all honesty, the Grom is the least expensive bike to prepare track riding you will ever own. Even with all the modifications I have done to the Grom, it is still cheaper than the rear shock I had custom-made for my VFR800 to do two-up track days. The suspension is the most important customized equipment to your riding style contained within the bike. You want to get it tailored to you, in the same fashion as a good racing suit or running shoes. You really want to spend the time and money to get it fitted to you. At this point, your suspension does work, yet not at an optimal level.

Like yourself, I took my Grom for a run around the go-kart track in stock configuration. It was having more pitch and yaw to it than my KTM supermoto with its 10" of suspension travel front and rear. I did learn quite a bit on its handling characteristics and what can be done to make them better for my big-kid behavior on it. Changing over to the Ohlins allowed me to edge out the Vee Rubbers, with only the footpegs limiting the lean angle. If you are still using the Vee Rubber, bring the pressures down to 21psi front/20psi rear. It will get them to flex better into the surface and take the additional heat without feeling greasy.

Here is how far I was able to lean into my front Vee-rubber after my first session with the Ohlins suspension.

After that, a set of rearsets or the adjustable footpegs from ebay will be your next improvement.

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asume

· #15 · Aug 28, 2016

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Does anyone run this rear shock on their grom? Anyone know anything about this rear shock or should I just get something a little better?

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Patricio

Discussion Starter · #16 · Nov 2, 2016

Had anyone modified (soften) the stock front suspension? How?

nd4spdbh

· #17 · Nov 2, 2016

patricio said:
had anyone modified (soften) the stock front suspension? How?

SOFTEN IT?!?!??! stock front springs are sprung for like a 130lb rider!

HardRacing

· #18 · Nov 2, 2016

nd4spdbh said:
SOFTEN IT?!?!??! stock front springs are sprung for like a 130lb rider!

.

More like 110 lb

.

Patricio

Discussion Starter · #19 · Nov 2, 2016

nd4spdbh said:
SOFTEN IT?!?!??! stock front springs are sprung for like a 130lb rider!

About my weight...

MSX UD ITA

· #20 · Nov 2, 2016

Patricio said:
Had anyone modified (soften) the stock front suspension? How?

why?

U want to destroy your front end at first hole ? crazy

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