| Author |
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Tikiman1
| | Posted on Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 06:33 am: | 
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www.americansportbike.com
sorry about the wrong link |
Steveford
| | Posted on Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 09:36 am: |
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The damper that Storz carries for the XBs is a really nice piece and makes the bike feel longer if that makes any sense. You get more stability, less flickability.
It's made for the Firebolt but they can be fitted to the Lightning if you can live with the damper contacting the r/h headlight at full lock.
The XB9R is fine at 1 click, XB9S needs 5, can't offer any input on the 12s but I think that putting a damper on them would be prudent. Putting a steering damper on any sportbike is a good idea! |
Darthane
| | Posted on Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 12:06 pm: |
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Hitting the rear brake is no way to stop the front end from wobbling in any event.
Black, Tiki. You can NEVER go wrong with black. |
Dmuz
| | Posted on Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 03:13 pm: |
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Guys,
Having just had nearly the SAME incident as Tikiman at a touch higher speed (around 40 or 45-ish) I can say that the SAME thing happened to me. I've been riding for a long time and have had the experience of many road bikes as well as dirt bikes. I was on the gas, on a somewhat wallowy road going STRAIGHT. She just went into slappers. I wasn't trying to wheelie or do anything stupid. Of course, my situation ended up different because the tank slapper caused me to clip the curb with the bike which sent me flying and the bike hit the only solid thing for hundreds of yards (a fire hydrant) and split the bike into pieces. I had been paying attention to the suspension settings and finally had it to where it was balances and compliant and (what I thought was stable) for my size/weight. Commonality?... on the gas... steering got light... all hell broke loose (and I went over a very small dip in the road).
Details are in another thread on this board...
Be safe,
Damon |
Bubabuell
| | Posted on Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 06:11 pm: |
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I actually just read something from the British mag Superbike where it stated bikes with steep angled steering, bumps in the road and hitting the gas could equal tank slap. Also mentioned said bikes should have a steering dampener in their opinion. Sounds like good science to me. |
Tikiman1
| | Posted on Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 07:18 pm: |
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I also found another manufacturer that has a steering damper, they want $329 for it.
www.woodcraft-cfm.com/buell.html
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Bubabuell
| | Posted on Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 08:37 pm: |
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Interesting link regarding headshake and tire cupping.
http://will.mylanders.com/outdoors/motorcycle/notes/read.pl?file=144 |
Blublak
| | Posted on Sunday, October 12, 2003 - 08:52 pm: |
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Hey Tiki..
I know this sounds kind of odd.. But what about a Red Pearl or Deep Blue Flake? Something a little odd I know, but when done right, it could look really neat.. Or, perhaps you cold try Yellow. Might make you look too much like a canary flying down the road though. And as Darthane said, Black goes with just about everything.
Let us know what you decide on.. and don't forget pics when it's done..
Later, |
Opto
| | Posted on Monday, October 13, 2003 - 04:04 am: |
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Hi all,
Just wondering what brand tyres the riders are running who get some sort of headshake, and the tyres used by the riders who say their bikes are near rock-solid? This could be a large part of the picture?
M/cycle steering damper: a hydraulic damper fitted to ill-designed or poorly-setup street bikes.Just my opinion OK?
Ride safe... |
Mikej
| | Posted on Monday, October 13, 2003 - 08:55 am: |
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"bumps in the road and hitting the gas could equal tank slap"
"death grip"
Bumps in the road might cause someone to hang on tighter,
whacking the throttle might cause someone to hang on tighter,
running over road wobbles and wallows might cause someone to hang on tighter,
a tight hold on the bars tends to induce body movement into the steering equation,
any of this could lead to issues in control of the bike.
As an example, go for a ride, hold the bars with one hand, ride a straight line, breath deeply fully inhaling and exhaling and try to keep the bike on the straight line with just one hand on the bars.
Opto,
the majority of full-on race bikes use a steering dampner of some sort. Just my observation, ok?  But granted, a street bike shouldn't require one.
ymmv |
Dynarider
| | Posted on Monday, October 13, 2003 - 10:16 am: |
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As an example, go for a ride, hold the bars with one hand, ride a straight line, breath deeply fully inhaling and exhaling and try to keep the bike on the straight line with just one hand on the bars
Do it all the time, whats so hard about it??
As far as head shake, my X1 would get a small amount if I accelerated pretty hard where the front tire was just barely getting off the ground. The bars would start to shake back & forth a bit. Rough roads would tend to make it worse. |
Mikej
| | Posted on Monday, October 13, 2003 - 10:25 am: |
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But you tend to be a relaxed rider. The point is that many or most riders will begin to meander back and forth with the rhythm of their breathing. |
Dynarider
| | Posted on Monday, October 13, 2003 - 11:29 am: |
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Im relaxed because im not riding 11/10ths out on a public road. You are pretty relaxed yourself, thats one of the keys to being good at b-trax, relaxed & smooth. |
Steve_a
| | Posted on Monday, October 13, 2003 - 01:33 pm: |
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Any bike will wobble with a hard input into the front-wheel/suspension assembly. Almost all current bikes also damp these wobbles quickly -- Buell XBs especially so. The worst cases on all motorcycles tend to come when the front wheel is very light because of acceleration, particularly if you're accelerating out hard from a bumpy corner. That's when the natural wobble mode damping is light, because the front tire isn't making appreciable contact with the ground. No ground contact, no damping.
Steering dampers are not a panacea, and can increase problems with high-speed instability (weave). They are effective in damping the bumpy corner exit wobble, but at a cost -- they degrade steering feel and precision. New technology may open up better solutions with electronically controlled steering dampers that don't do anything except when needed.
Also, everyone on this board should know the first rule of rider control: ride lightly. You cannot damp an oscillation with muscle strength; its frequency is almost always so high you end up out of phase with it, and you will likely make it worse. You muscle the bars when you want to turn, and then relax once the bike is at the lean you want. Any attempt to overcontrol a motorcycle will have less than ideal results. Riding a dirt bike in sand or mud is good practice -- your illusion that you have perfect control of the motorcycle is quickly destroyed, and you learn to relax and let the bike do its job. Metaphorically, the bike knows how to go straight and stable better than you do; you just have to give it occasional inputs to guide it. |
Bubabuell
| | Posted on Monday, October 13, 2003 - 01:41 pm: |
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Very good points, Steve_a |
Martin
| | Posted on Monday, October 13, 2003 - 02:18 pm: |
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I have only noticed a shake when accelerating out of a bumpy corner but that is normal. In the UK we have 'cats eyes' reflective bumps in the centreline that really upset the bike when it hits one.It feels as if the wheel's going to tuck, but just for a second. I softened the front right off to check and found that it wasn't improved. It actually feels as though the forks are twisting. Hitting them faster seems to help!
I fitted some Rennsports and they are a little better but I think that that is because I am running lower pressures. |
Opto
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 06:43 am: |
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Talking about relaxed riding, try using only your left hand to control the throttle and steer your bike on a straight road (yeh, left hand on right grip), then a rider may realize how stable the bike is and how little input is required. It's an interesting exercise. I've done it, many times, just to FEEL the bike, but I'm also crazy.
Ride safe...
I am posting this even against my own intuition, because this will appear to be outrageous stupidity to many. But if I can't speak freely and with my own truth, what's the point of being here?  } |
Stubby
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 07:01 am: |
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Opto: Point is, there is no point! ">
edited by stubby on October 14, 2003 |
Darthane
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 14, 2003 - 11:41 am: |
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Martin, if you're hitting those you have bigger problems - you've crossed the centerline! |
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