| Author | Message | ||
     Sslowmo |
A couple of weeks ago I low sided at Sears Point. It slide on the left side first then flipped to the right. A few things broke and the sub-frame was pushed to the left. So, I stripped her on down took her to the 'Frame Man' in Sac. After they checked her over, she seemed to be twisted a little. That surprised me! I can see the sub-frame but the swing arm and the main frame? Those weren't touched. But that's the way it is!That was yesterday's news. Today, they have her in complete alignment. And things are looking really good. Oh, that's so good to hear! I should get her back by Friday or Saturday and start the 'put her back together' quest. One thing still bugs me? When my wife would ride with me, she would sit plum on the seat and to me she felt over the left. when she would scoot over to the right about 1/2 inch she felt like she was right. I'm wondering how STRAIGHT are theses frames to begin with. I can't wait to put her back together and have my wife with me on the next Ride to see how she sit's then.... Has anyone here stripped down a brand new bike and take it for a straighting. I'm really courious. The next bike I buy that will be the second thing I do. The first would be Ride those first set of 'Rim Protector' down..... Aaron P.S. Here's a couple of pics from the Track. }    Picture's one and two are turn 4 and before the crash. Last one is turn 11 after the crash. | ||
| Swordsman |
I've always felt a little off center on my '06 Ss. Seems like I have to sit a little to the left for the bike to be perfectly upright. And looking at the bike from the rear, the wheel seems to sit off to one side just a bit, but that may be an optical illusion created by the rear sprocket hanging off the side. I see yours was also built in 2006. I believe the '06 models were the first to have the 2 piece Chinese-built swingarms. Dunno if that has anything to do with it or not. ~SM | ||
| Teddagreek |
So that is true? 06+ Swing Arms are made in China...  I know the stock wheels are... | ||
| Oddball |
Chin-Lee! (smashes down cleaver)   | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
well the swing arm isnt attached to the frame, its attached to the engine.... like the Honda 954.... speaking of a 954, there was this guy I met that his rear wheel was +5degrees or so off cambered, his frame was perfect, but the engine mounting & swingarm mounting was way off. It made it so that it looked like he can lean 60degrees to the left and 40degrees to the right and with buell they talk about a frame/chassie rigidity, which is BULL because the bike actually has a live rear axle. Which when looking at the bike, the looks can be deceiving. It fooled me to believe the whole bike was rock solid stiff, when actually the bike has a live rear axle in short: check the jug, the engine mounting, and the swingarm for problems... (Message edited by ochoa0042 on December 17, 2008) | ||
| Froggy |
You don't want rock solid, it negatively effects handling. Same with not stiff enough. | ||
| H2owerker |
This thread is making me paranoid...What should I look for on my frame. I know it's been 'laid down', and has a couple dents. I have it completely torn down now. When I put it back together what can be adjusted? | ||
| M1combat |
"and with buell they talk about a frame/chassie rigidity, which is BULL because the bike actually has a live rear axle. " You obviously don't understand the engine mounts. | ||
| M1combat |
"You don't want rock solid, it negatively effects handling. Same with not stiff enough." But... A bike with more radical suspension geometry can have a stiffer frame than one with more conventional geometry. Correct about not wanting "rock solid" for sure, but the Buells can be more solid and still work right for a number of reasons. | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
You obviously don't understand the engine mounts I feel like being schooled (respectively), there are two places where the engine mounts to the frame, right? at the jug/neck and the space frame underneath the airbox.... yea I figured that a rock solid chassie was bad after reading magazines & such XB's work in that the rear tire is attached to the engine/tranny, so they all flex together. So that flex is transmitted from: the rear tire to the engine and to the jug mount which is pretty much directly around the steering head, thus transfereing the energy from the rear tire to the front of the bike, a simphony. (Message edited by ochoa0042 on December 17, 2008) | ||
| Bombardier |
Attached but which plane does it move in? By looking at it the vertical plane seems to stay pretty rigid. Destroyed my swingarm with a bike lock two months after purchase. Laid the bike down on its right side. The front tyre seems to wear on the right side more than the left. (Message edited by Bombardier on December 18, 2008) | ||
| Punkid8888 |
Anything manufactured is going to have tolerances and depending on how those tolerances stacked up it could give you some misalignment | ||
| Court |
>>>>Has anyone here stripped down a brand new bike and take it for a straightening. Yes. It is interesting to buy 17 bikes, take their spec sheets, tear them completely down to every nut and bolt and attempt to validate claimed numbers. Then take the frames and put them in a calibrated job and check marketing claims, tolerances, variance and rigidity. You learn a lot not only about THAT motorcycle but the culture of the company. | ||
| Boltrider |
slowmo, who did you take your bike to? I live in the Sacramento area, just curious. | ||
| Ducbsa |
On bikes, what is a live axle? | ||
| Sslowmo |
boltrider, http://www.motorcycleframestraightening.com/menu.h tml Very nice guy's. | ||
| Swordsman |
Can anyone confirm my earlier statement about the swingarms? I thought I'd read that here on BadWeb before, but I could be wrong. ~SM | ||
| Ceejay |
they've always been two piece ifnyer referring to the removable arm. They are made differently in that the pre-06's are boxed, where the post-06's use wider sections with gusseting/webbing instead of boxing. Supposedly the post-06's are stronger but I haven't gotten mine back up and running yet to see if there's any difference(which I doubt I'd notice in reality). The newer ones look noticeably different but I'm not sure about the chinese manufacture though. I can say that after being rearended by a car-I was stopped, she was doing 40, I was pretty impressed with the Buell's workmanship. I thought my swingarm was trash but after inspection/removal the only thing wrong with it was the swingarm pivot bolt. Her Honda accord had to be towed(broken tie-rod) I rode home... | ||
| M1combat |
There are three mounts like the one under the airbox, as well as the rear mount to the frame, and the front mount to the frame. It's all designed to allow the engine to move up and down a bit, but no flex or extremely little in the roll or yaw axis. The reason a bike with 21 degrees of rake can handle a stiffer frame is due to why you need some frame flex. It's because while leaned over at 45 degrees a 2" bump is 3" tall as far as the suspension is concerned. Generally suspension won't be able to perfectly conform to the bump, so you allow the frame to flex to absorb said bump... Enter Buell... The rake is steeper so the tire doesn't need to move quite as far in the first place, and the reduced un-sprung mass allows it to move farther with the same force. This allows the use of a stiffer frame that feels more solid in the turns. The frame doesn't need to flex as far to make up for the deficiencies in the suspension. Engineering brilliance  . |
