| Author | Message | ||
     Lentuk |
I guess I am no suspension guru, I have tried so many settings from the manual, the tuning suggestions here, and on the web. Every time I brake fast into a corner or accelerate out of one I get a wobble, not tank slappers just an uncomfortable wobble. So I decided to buy a damper, I found this one on craigslist for $60.00 (you can see by the pic witch brand, I don't want to use its name brand) because it looks like S#!T mounted on the bike! I have not been able to take it out because of the rain, ya I'm scarred to fly around corners when its wet, so I hope it at least works.  | ||
| Ratbuell |
Have you checked your steering head bearings? They may be loose, causing a headshake. Either that, or you're hard enough on the gas to have the front end lifting a bit. Been there, done that. | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
throw the whole bike back to stock settings, by weight, and start from there. check tire pressure, and check if the wheel-weights are still there | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
I like a steering damper myself, and even have one on my Harley. However, the problems that you describe, are not normal for a Buell, and while a damper might cover them up, the problem you describe is normally caused by bad headset bearings, bad tires and/or wheel balance, or bad swing arm bearings, (which is something people often forget to check). or failed suspension. A steering damper on a properly set up bike will reduce wobble that is caused by cornering hard over bumps, rapid transitions from one turn into another when the front wheel gets light, and keeps the front wheel pointed straight, and not wobbling after it gets air born from hard acceleration over a bump, or landing after a wheelie. So, it might be a good idea to check for the problems listed above, and not try to cover them up with a damper. Adjusting the damper so it is stiff enough to "cure" other handling problems will make the bike less responsive. | ||
| Lentuk |
I have had this bike back to stock settings many times, I have tried the aggressive setting many times and everything in between, this bike is an 07 and only has 1100 miles on it, I have checked everything except the steering head bearings so I will give that a try. | ||
| Aptbldr |
Might be two different things. Shudder while hard-braking could be one, like uneven pad deposits on rotor. Shudder when leaned-over & accelerating-hard could be another thing, like scaring myself; instead of staying loose & trusting the mighty XB : ) | ||
| 03worc9r |
From the looks of it, you should be more worried about getting your toes ripped off by the front pulley! | ||
| Lentuk |
My toes are fine friend.  | ||
| Badlionsfan |
I experienced similar symptoms when I first got my xb. Had my MSF instructor ride it, he said it was fine. We talked and determined that I had a death grip on the bars. once I loosened up, she smoothed right out. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Excellent point, Lion's Fan. On a properly set up bike, very little grip on the bars is required, even when cornering rapidly. When I got my first Buell, I was guilty of holding on much too tightly, and in addition to ruining the handling, it made my hands numb. An exercise I developed to deal with this problem was to consciously relax my grip right in the middle of a corner. To my surprise, I found I was usually gripping much too tightly and just the pressure of my palms was all it took to maintain control. I subsequently noticed on Speedvision, that when there is a close up of the rider's hands, they do not seem to be gripping very tightly, even though they are motoring rather more briskly than we might. | ||
| Lentuk |
I will see when I ride today if I am giving the bars the gorilla grip, I already checked the steering head, it seems right were it should be. | ||
| Dobr24 |
If your front end is getting light when you are hard on the gas you can experience head shake. Trick to stopping it is to loosen your grip on the bars, the bike will settle itself down with out your help. Or use a steering damper. You will only exacerbate the problem by holding on. Also one of the reasons I run a steering damper. let the flames begin! I have to wonder about that mounting location though, that looks flimsy to me. (Message edited by dobr24 on November 28, 2008) | ||
| New12r |
Len, please tell me you did not bolt the steering damper to the plastic... (Message edited by new12r on November 28, 2008) | ||
| Skinstains |
That thing can't really be mounted like that ! can it ? It's all sorts of funky and backwards. The bike wouldn't even turn with it mounted like that. What's going on here ? | ||
| Lentuk |
That's the way they mount them on the XBs, Its backwards from all of their other applications. There is a little bracket with a threaded boss that mounts on the two small bolts that hold on the little plastic piece, I just don't have it bolted up in the picture. It was a mock up picture to show the beauty of this contraption that retails for $$$$$. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Contrary to what Steve Storz may say, it is perfectly possible to mount the Storz damper correctly. He is just too stupid and too lazy to do so. I told him years ago how it might be done.  It just requires a mount that is 90º to the one he supplies, Here is the mounting hardware I fabricated.  Now that I think of it, the damper isn't particularly effective either: I use Ohlins instead. It has a separate nitrogen reservoir, and no free play.  | ||
| Lentuk |
Gentleman_jon, I looked at doing something like that but my legs are so long it poked me in the shin. Did you have any leg clearance issues? (Message edited by lentuk on November 29, 2008) | ||
| Iamarchangel |
FWIW, I have never noticed a head shake on mine. I've felt the tires sort of skate but they'll be replaced with a different brand in spring. I've had scary head shake on other bikes so I know the feeling. I found the stock settings for my weight too harsh. The tire thing really showed up in cornering and high speed ripples. Going harder made no difference. I went softer and dialed it in to where I'm comfortable with the handling. I think the manual settings are set up for hard road racing. I'm considered an aggressive rider but I know there's a world of difference between me and an experienced track rider. One thing I've noticed that a lot of people misunderstand is the function of preload. It's usually set hard, mine was set to the hardest possible even though the previous owner weighed a lot less than me. Think of the preload as the setting that pushes the wheel into holes to maintain traction. It's easier to get the picture if you think of motocross or dirt riding. The ripples are still there on the road. The point is that it doesn't really affect level riding. (Well, it does but not for the sake of this picture.) It's weight dependent. My preload is set to the weight in the manual. It's the compression and rebound settings that I set softer for the best results. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Len - No I do not have any leg clearance issues. I used a different front clamp than the one supplied by Storz, which has a longer lever arm. I believe it was made by Attack. That allowed the damper to run more parallel to the center line of the bike, which reduces the angular movement of the damper. Now, when the bars are hard over on the right, the rod almost touches my leg, but of course when under way, the front wheel never turns nearly that much so it is not a problem. I am 6'-2' so I have rather long legs myself. One needs to carefully adjust the position of the fork clamp, the clamp on the damper, so everything works out right. | ||
| Gemini |
I did a mount job simular to Gemtleman_jon. i how ever did mine on the other side of the bike so it sits inside of the air scoop. i haven't noticed the bike run any warmer or a loss of power due to air flow reduction into the scoop | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Very clever Gemini, I would really like to see how that looks. I have Trojan's low profile scoops, port and starboard, so it wouldn't work, but still I really enjoy seeing original designs. | ||
| Lentuk |
Well, I took the bike out this weekend. I had the damper on the lowest setting and tried the loose grip and using my palms to steer. It did not help. I kept adjusting the damper a couple of clicks at a time(very difficult reaching way out there) After 8 clicks everything started to smooth out. I actually had one of the best most enjoying rides I have ever had on my Buell. Gemini, please post some pics of your installation. |
