gumpt1oo
Manx
For England and St George!
Posts: 1,318
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Post by gumpt1oo on Nov 7, 2008 14:20:00 GMT -5
Scratch, you wrote that the squirminess in your front end went with a stering damper - would that be a grip issue or a tracking issue, or are they both related? I can't speak for Scratch, but my T100 used to shake 'her head' on bumpy roads often enough to throw you off line mid corner. I fitted a Norma Hyde steering damper and the front stays planted on line what ever the surface. Well worth the coin. Cheers Steve PS. Excellent post Scratch!
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Post by Midnight on Nov 7, 2008 15:25:03 GMT -5
my bikes standard bonnie with ikon suspension, and does not shake its head in corners or at all really? if it did i would fit the damper instantly! just wondering is it a scrambler thing that only comes into play on heavily corrugated roads?
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Post by oldscratcher on Nov 10, 2008 4:04:36 GMT -5
It's the bigger front wheel. Trail bikes with a 21" wheel are even worse. It's not that bad, & a long way from a head-shake. It's more of a slow gentle weave. But it's still disconcerting at 180kph+, on any surface.
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BluesRider
H.M.F.I.C.
A.K.A. CommandoRoadster Livin' the dream........
Posts: 2,765
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Post by BluesRider on Nov 10, 2008 4:36:14 GMT -5
Scratch,you're full of shit(see,I told you!). Bonne and Scram both have 19" front wheels. It's the longer shocks on the rear. They raise the rear enough to reduce the rake and trail just outside the parameters of what the engineers designed originally for the Bonneville as the best compromise between stability,and steering effort.
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Post by oldscratcher on Nov 12, 2008 21:20:07 GMT -5
You can tell I don't know many Bonnie owners around here. I thought they had 18' front wheels. My bad. Sorry. I had an old Honda XL 500, which I'm fairly certain had a 23" front wheel (they only made it for a couple of years, & it was always hard to get tyres for it.). It was great at leaping logs, but unridable on the road over 70mph, due to the speed weave.
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BluesRider
H.M.F.I.C.
A.K.A. CommandoRoadster Livin' the dream........
Posts: 2,765
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Post by BluesRider on Nov 12, 2008 22:10:35 GMT -5
Don't apologise,Scratch.It gave me the opportunity to tell you you are full of shit.And you're right,23".Supposed to be the next big thing,but never caught on. A friend(who happened to work at the biggest Honda dealer around here)and I had a little cottage industry going,for a while,lacing up 21" rims on those.Not as easy as it sounds.No one made spokes,or pre-drilled rims,and we had to drill our rims,at the right angle,and cut,and re-thread the old spokes.
My old BSA B50MX has a 20" front wheel.That used to be a bitch to find tyres for too,but now there are a few companies making retro knobbies in that size.
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Post by Blackston on Nov 16, 2008 20:11:09 GMT -5
Hi Scratch and guys and girls...only two points from me on an otherwise brilliant piece of rider insight...I have found over my 42 years of riding (started at 4) and I mean this very sincerely, that everybody, no matter when they start riding, should do 12 months minimum in the dirt. Either with a club or with some experienced mates or whatever but I'll tell you somethin for free here, dirt knowledge and riding skills have saved my ass on the road many a time. Its the difference between pannic and control. Second, in a tight corner most people that run wide will pannick and hit the anchors which only serves to throw you wider because usually thats where you are looking...oh shit!, I've run wide, I'm going to hit that sign post on the other side of the road and thats what you do, because thats how you were thinking and pointing and all the rest of the bullshit that you guys already probably know. Dont hit the brakes if you run wide, lean in and gassit...it will take you on a bit of a slingshot ride but just commit and do it. I;m not talkin absolute fist fulls of throttle just very progressive and purposful. I did say two things but there is one more regarding chasing the horizon. Bike cops over here get taught to ride very aggressively. One thing that they do in blind corners or crests is to watch the centrline...the centreline is an onbroken reference point and you'll be amazed at how quickly you can react to the direction changes indicated by the centreline. Also another of there tactics is to scan well before the corner or crest looking for powerlines or tree lines that follow the road. This gives you a general idea of the landscape before actaully being in it.
My two cents worth fellas but those things have also kept me alive and competitive on and off road over the years.
Cheers....
Bret....
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haggis95
Gold Star
I ain't no stinkin' moderator!
Ride on!
Posts: 991
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Post by haggis95 on Nov 16, 2008 23:50:47 GMT -5
Great info!
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Post by Midnight on Nov 17, 2008 2:03:39 GMT -5
two more 1-keep your braking distances emergency stops without enough room when the un- forscene happens is a real killer. 2-when coming over the top of a hill be off the throttle that habit saved my ass this weekend..
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Post by oldscratcher on Nov 17, 2008 3:52:57 GMT -5
I treat every corner like there's an out of control jack-knifing semi coming around the other way. & I won't fully commit to it until I'm damn sure that there isn't. I call it the jack-knifing semi test.
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Post by ventura on Nov 17, 2008 5:17:44 GMT -5
Your last post OS reminded me of a thread I read a while back about just that very subject. Its written by a car driver who caused an accident which resulted in serious injury to an oncoming biker, and the guy actually went to prison because of it. It all takes place on a road which is extremely well known to most UK bikers, especially the "northerners" among us. Reading it (all 31 pages) certainly had a profound effect on my outlook on how I ride my bike and drive my car and I found the content so gripping I read it all in one sitting!. I may be posting this in the wrong place, but sure It'll get moved if it is. The link below starts when the guy "10 pence short" makes his introducion....... www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=141&t=442266&i=40Treat it as you wish. (and please dont flame me for posting a car-forum link on here!!) V.
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gumpt1oo
Manx
For England and St George!
Posts: 1,318
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Post by gumpt1oo on Nov 17, 2008 9:07:46 GMT -5
Sobering stuff, Ventura! I drive about 35k miles a year for work, mainly on rural roads in Cumbria and North Lancahire, and one lapse in concentration and that could be have been me! It certainly makes you take a step back and think about the way you ride and drive. I did not read all the responses, the guys post about the incident was enough to make me think about it!
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BluesRider
H.M.F.I.C.
A.K.A. CommandoRoadster Livin' the dream........
Posts: 2,765
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Post by BluesRider on Nov 17, 2008 14:02:25 GMT -5
Consider yourself flamed,Ventura. Not for posting the link,but for posting a link I can't access from this computer.Now I'll be burning with curiosity for the next 12 hours.
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Post by ventura on Nov 17, 2008 14:41:40 GMT -5
Apologies BR!! I can feel the singeing from here!!
Its a very enlightening thread, from a whole number of perspectives. Both as a biker and a car driver. And also as a prisoner!!
It takes a lot of reading and sifting thro the crap that some people contribute, but as Gump says, its all very sobering.
In addition, when it has all occurred on a very familiar road, used daily by loads of bikers, then it brings it all closer to home.
Very thought provoking!
V.
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Post by oldscratcher on Nov 17, 2008 15:02:27 GMT -5
That's why we should always remeber that we're ridng on public roads, not race tracks. & the chance of coming across the unexpected obstacle is not just possible, it's highly probable. So ride accordingly!
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