Hi everyone, I'm new here. Just picked up an F3, because it was such a good deal and I needed a track bike. I'm getting it ready for a track day in a few weeks and doing all the usual stuff, new fluids, tires, brakes, chain, sprockets, etc, but I was wondering about the suspension on this thing. Sounds like a few of you have raced and/or do lots of track work. What is typically needed on the suspension? I will probably have the forks re valved, maybe springs if needed, but what about the shock. Is is workable or have most racrs gone to an Ohlins or some other aftermarket? Have you found a steering damper is needed?

I used to race a little but now I'm too old and the bones break too easily, so I just want to putter around the track some

Dale

 

I personally wouldnt think you would need a steering damper on a bike like that. They are pretty stable, and wont pull the front hard enough exiting a corner to shake it's head. Just my opinion. My 900RR never needed one and they were known for being sketchy. (maybe I'm just slow) As for the shock, if you are just doing track days, I would think respringing (if needed) and maybe simply having it revalved and cleaned up would be enough. Otherwise, Ohlins is good (expensive for simply cruising around a track) as are Penske. Both are nice. I dont have either for my bike, just the stock shock and forks. But again, maybe im not very fast. I take the time to set up my suspension for me and I like the way it works. If I put an Ohlins on I would probably never go back to a stock one, but if I never uses one, I'll never know how great they are. Hell, that's 4 track days for the price of an Ohlins. I'd rather ride on the track and have fun that buy a shock Im probably not good enough to use to it's potential anyway. Every racer I know has aftermarket suspension. A few track day riders do also. It depends on what you wanna spend. If you're racing, Ohlins is probably worth the money. Messing around, it may, it may not.

 

Thanks, I actually had an F4 a few years back, hard on the throttle over a bump (this one particular spot at Lagine Aeca) , it woukld shake it's head, nothing serious, but at the time I had money to waste so I put one on. Worked fine.

It's good to know that the shock can be reworked, some of them can't . Good advice, spend money on track!

As far as being fast, I'm brilliant on the staright aways