| Author | Message | ||
     Sanjuro |
I’ve noticed this a few times now… I wonder if any of you have some insights to what may cause my 07’ Uly front end to feel squirrely, and maybe even skip a little when I’m leaned over in a fairly fast corner. The obvious answer would be the suspension setup… I’ve double checked it and they’re setup by the book. It may be just paranoia but it almost feels like one of the springs is softer than the other and that they are off-set enough to start to skip and get all out of composure under load. Any advice or knowledge of this happening to anyone else out there? Is it just coincidence or is it maybe the turbulence from my recently purchased Buell tall windshield? In either case, it’s a bit puzzling… or… Is it just normal for these bikes to do this at higher speeds and I’m expecting too much of these machines? I have about 7K under my belt on the Uly – coming from a Honda sport bike… | ||
| Tstone |
I think what you're feeling may be the difference in longer travel suspension and your old Honda's purpose built suspension & tire set-up. I set mine up a little on the stiff side and switched to Michelin Road Pilots. Man, what a huge difference. If I'd known how much better the Michelins are, I'd have used the Dunlops to practice wheelies & burnouts. | ||
| Greenamp |
Crank up your rear preload a few more clicks. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142838/377430.html?1217046397 (Message edited by greenamp on July 26, 2008) | ||
| Thesmaz |
Setting up your suspension by the book is fine but you still need to fine tune it to your riding style. I have added rear preload and decreased front preload and minor changes to the other adjustments to get it where I like it. Don't forget that when using the chart in the manual to include the weight of your gear. In your case it sounds like that you may want to increase rear preload and then make minor adjustments to the front compression and rebound setting until your chattering goes away. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Older Uly's or new Uly's? The older ones had a LONG soft travel, the new ones got a lot more progressive. If you are not spending much time on dirt roads, you could switch to the new XT front end and get it *really* tight. I'd consider it if I had a Uly. | ||
| Curly |
i have an '07 with the tall windshield but don't have any problems like you describe. try more fine tuning as others have suggested. | ||
| Stevem123 |
OK this may sound like a dumb question but how are your tires? Front tire wear will make a huge difference in handling and you'll notice a major change in the handeling when you put some new rubber on. As they wear the changes are so gradual that it's barely noticable until you get down to the triangular profile I see on mine as I live in the twisties. Once that happens, it starts fighting you in the corners. Increasing pressure helps but the true solution is new rubber. BC Steve | ||
| Windrider |
Sanjuro, You might want to take a look at your Steering head bearings. There is a procedure in the Buell Service manual (page 1-37 on the 06 manual) that checks for steering bearing resistance. I know that if this is not correct the front end will not not feel solid and will come offline if there is any disturbance in the road surface during a turn. Your Buell dealer should have checked this during the 5K mile service but some don't. If you do your own service, this should be checked every 5K miles. Buells have an extremely aggressive steering geometry and it doesn't take much being out of whack to make them handle badly. When all is tuned correctly though, they are great fun in the twisties. The tall windshield is not the problem. If everything is setup correctly the Uly is very stable and composed at high corner speeds so keep looking or take it to your dealer and find a good Buell mechanic to diagnose it. Your bike should still be under warranty. | ||
| Sanjuro |
The tires are stock with about 40% tread left; I don't think it's the tires...then again... The sensation when leaned over hard is almost a wobble.. Great advice everyone; I'll try messing with the suspension settings a bit more and check the steering head bearings. Thanks for all the great suggestions. |
