Quercus Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 Hello all last year I became the lucky owner of an 02 sport. Always wanted one & it has not disappointed! I became more intimately acquainted during A 1600 mile trip around France. However whilst on one of my favourite roads (n85/ route napoleon) it became glaringly obvious that this bike does not like to rapidly change direction in the twisties. In fact anything other than leisurely direction changes were getting her tied in knots. I realise this is no sports bike. That's why I got her. Nevertheless it became really tiring trying to hustle the bike through the turns. The original shock has been rebuilt. Everything's set up pretty firm (I'm no light weight!) Has anyone dropped the forks through the yokes? If so by how much. What about re springing the front end. I'm off again this summer & really want to make best use of that brilliant motor. Any thoughts Cheers
czakky Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 I dropped my 02 Lemans' forks about 7mm through the yokes. Doesn't stand up in the corners as much. Never had a problem transitioning, they do take a wee bit of elbow grease to persuade. All part of the charm!
Craig Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 I haven't done it yet, but I have seen mention of ditching the steering damper. This would lighten the apparent effort.
Scud Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 I spent a lot of time fussing with the suspension settings on mine, which was absolutely worth the effort (and steep learning curve for me). As for quickening the steering: Damper: I turned the damper to the position of least resistance (it was set pretty tight when I got it). This made a huge difference - quicker steering with less effort. I value the protection from potholes and road debris afforded by a damper, so I just turned it in two clicks to give me a touch of protection. Tires: Some people said that the bike handles better with a 170/60-17 than the stock 180/55-17 (total tire height is about the same). I followed that advice and have the narrower tire on the back now. I'm pleased with it. Pre-load: Getting the spring pre-load adjusted was like magic (because mine was set too soft) - especially in tight downhill corners. Sounds like you may have already done this, but I thought I'd mention it anyways. Definitely not a sport/race bike, but I run it through every twisty road I can find and I love it.
docc Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 +1 on backing off the steering damper, 170 rear, and especially setting preloads. That last bit may require spring changes correct for your weight to get the right sag. Biasing the sag a little toward the front will plant the turns better. I also found that firming the air pressures slightly has helped (early Sports with Pirelli Dragon Corse were spec'd at 33/37 IIRC, and I keep 35/40 in my Angel GTs. Forks raised 5mm. YMMV!
Quercus Posted March 28, 2015 Author Posted March 28, 2015 Thanks to all. I will increase preload further & try a 170 on the back. I have already backed the damper right off. I found that with anymore than a few clicks the vibes would get unbearable! Sounds like it might be worthwhile dropping the forks just a little. Btw does anyone know the paint code for the grey on a red/grey 2003 (2002 crinkle engine paint) sport? My tail piece has been sprayed & soft lacquer applied. I bought a non slip blanket to protect the paintwork from my soft luggage & it stuck to the paint! Cheers
PDoz Posted March 28, 2015 Posted March 28, 2015 this bike does not like to rapidly change direction in the twisties. In fact anything other than leisurely direction changes were getting her tied in knots. . I have already backed the damper right off. I found that with anymore than a few clicks the vibes would get unbearable! Sounds like it might be worthwhile dropping the forks just a little. Have you checked steering head bearings and wheel alignment? I found transitioning was helped a lot by getting the bolts through the rear swingarm correctly set / wheel alignment correct. Nb by this stage I already had perfect suspension ( wilburs back / resprung front) , fresh tyres ( pirelli angels) , etc. The other thing that comes to mind when you mention the bike tying itself in knotts , do you have too much rebound ( or unmatched rebound)?
Quercus Posted March 28, 2015 Author Posted March 28, 2015 Guzzisti That's interesting. I've just had the rear wheel bearing replaced over winter. It was a cheap part & had fallen to bits. This couldn't have helped? I would strongly suspect that a review of rebound would not go amiss Cheers
Kiwi_Roy Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 you could try a tire with a smaller profile? Plus 1, I was talked into putting a wider tire on mine, when I wore it out I went back to standard size, what a difference.
GuzziMoto Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 My wife's V11 is a red frame version, so it is not direct apples to apples. But..... Her V11 takes very little effort to hustle back and forth through the twisty bits. In fact, that is the main strong point of the bike. It changes direction with little effort. There has been a lot of good advice thrown out here. I agree with most of it. One thing that catches my attention though is a comment about "adding more preload". That is not how you do it. You measure sag, both with and without you on the bike. You then compare the numbers and see where you are at. Proper sag is a good thing, blindly adding preload can be a good thing or a bad thing, 50/50 chance. I am not sure of the true nature of your issue from your description, it sounds to me like you are describing a wobble (tying itself in knots) but perhaps you just mean hard to turn. If it is a wobble, check the steering bearings (perhaps new tapered bearings set correctly) and steering damper. The damper needs to move smoothly with no binding, drag, or stickyness. I saw one fail (the wife's) and it would bind when you first tried to slide it and then it would let go and move easily. That caused the bike to wobble as it resisted your turning input and then let go and overturned. The way I found this was to turn it all the way down and slide it in my hands off the bike. If your issue is indeed a wobble then something is wrong. For the record, the wife's V11 has the forks at the stock height in the triples, a Penske shock that is slightly longer than stock, a 160 (instead of the 170) tire on the 4.5" rear rim, steering damper removed (after the original damper failed and caused steering wobbles, as mentioned), improved fork dampening, and air pressures at 34F/36R. It handles pretty F'ing well.
Scud Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 You measure sag, both with and without you on the bike. You then compare the numbers and see where you are at. Proper sag is a good thing. That's what I should have said. I was new to suspension settings and getting the pre-load set correctly made the biggest positive improvement. I was fortunate that the sag could be set within correct specs for my weight (with all riding gear) by adding pre-load; therefore I did not need different springs to get correct sag. The results of these sag measurements will tell you if you should consider different springs. If you want to read my newby-DIY experience and benefit from all the great advice I got along the way, it starts at the middle of page 5 (post 68) of my thread Brand New Scura and goes for a few pages. Post 70 has a picture of how to measure sag. It's for Ohlins, but there should be a similar page in the manual for the Marzocchi.
JRD Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 Quercus- When setting your suspension, don't forget to take into account the weight of the luggage you will be carrying while on the trip. I have found where the load is situated height and how far back can greatly affect the center of gravity and handling of the bike.
LowRyter Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 so far as rear weight goes, I can tell you, if you have a Red Frame bike, it will weave/wobble with the HB luggage packed when you're doing 80+. Especially when you get behind and 18 wheeler. It's a sad deal, when you are loaded up and can't keep with an Electra Glide that's nailed it on an interstate.
GuzziMoto Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 My wife's red frame bike has been dead stable on the interstate at, let's just say, over 90 mph with saddlebags fully loaded. Weight does matter and setting preload to match the loading of the bike can help. But we did not even need to add preload to compensate for the saddlebags. We just load up and go. No issues. If your V11 wobbles, weaves, or otherwise has a handling issue, something is wrong. They don't all do that.
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