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[Edipo76]

Hello, everyone,
does any of you use the Zero FX to go off-road? If so, how do you adjust the compression and extension of the forks and rear shock absorber? What about the springs? It would be interesting to find a guide or a standard that can make the bike go at its best, obviously the basis of weight (then everyone has their own riding style, of course).

[GoThere@50]

Edipo76;

Setting up motorcycle suspension properly (setting SAG) is somewhat detailed but it can make a big difference in performance. If the procedure is followed properly it will also cover variables such as your weight verses the stock spring rates, etc. This is true of any motorcycle including your FX. I’ll post a link to an authoritative set of instructions. I would strongly recommend doing this before listening to the many people who will try and tell you the stock suspension isn’t up to the task. Most of todays motorcycles can easily outperform their riders. Follow this procedure to get your own proper settings and you should do fine:   https://racetech.com/articles/SuspensionAndSprings.htm
If you actually enter any events please let us know how it goes. 

[stargazerinwg]

That is a nice guide for suspension setup - thanks!

I used my 2017 FX off road only once so far.  I didn't adjust the suspension but I am just about the weight the stock setup is for.  I did remove passenger pegs and brackets, mirrors, turn signals, side reflectors on forks, the metal bracket and side reflectors on the rear, and removed the ABS fuse.  The bike weighed around 270.  I just put my stand on the bathroom scales and then subtracted the weight of the stand.  Although I have a chain kit for it, I haven't installed it yet so I was careful about not abusing the belt.  The bike handles well for off-road.  As GoThere@50 said, the bike easily out-performs me.  I also have a KTM 350 EXC-F that I use regularly off-road.  I think I could have as much fun on the FX as the KTM.

Anyway, I put a little video of part of my ride on you-tube if you want to look:

[ZNRL]

I took my '19 FX to ride some trails near Mammoth/Owen's River off 395 last week on a camping trip with new dirt tires MT21's front and rear.
It was a blast. 
Since the bike is brand new, suspension stock preload,rebound damping and  compression damping for the forks and shock was set pretty hard.

The rear was wiggling quite a bit on the trails, and after doing some research the general consensus was to set front and back as soft as you like.

After setting the SAG and also messing with the settings ride after ride (we used a Yamaha 2000 generator to charge it up) the final configuration I set for trail (pumice terrain, here and there) was:

Shock:  Pre-load set to as soft was possible, Compression Damping 3 clicks from Softest, Rebound Damping 3 clicks from Softest.
Forks:  Pre-Load set to one complete circle of the dial Soft, Compression 3 clicks from Softest, rebound 3 clicks from Softest.


I noticed the back end stopped wiggling as much, and for small whoops and bumps got alot better.   At the softest settings I did notice that the front end didn't track as precise as to when it was on stock settings but overall the bike was lower.  The key word is really not soft but make it Plush.


For Desert like terrain, it would be the opposite and the settings would be reversed if you cover alot of sandy, sand like terrain, you probably don't want it with soft settings so it floats over the sand better...    In general I felt the FX behaved differently over sand as compared to a Yamaha Enduro... the rear wiggled a bit more, maybe due to the constant torque of the electric motor on the rear wheel..


For Modes,  I felt Eco mode was the most ideal, for range and performance.  I tried different custom mode settings but I always went back to using Eco and sometimes Sport.
We really never went over 40mph and averaged about 33-40miles per hour on the trails.