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Front wheel tucking in?

4K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  jondog9 
#1 ·
Riding season has started, time to dust of the cobwebs....


Got a question....


noticed that if I go round a round-about or long bend and shut the throttle quickly, it feels like the front wheel/tire tucks in.
Now, I know I should not do this and maintain drive, but what setting change to the suspension could I try to reduce this?
I can do the same road manoeuvre a couple of times to experiment, but thought I'd ask here first.





 
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#2 ·
chopping the throttle transitions weight forward, compressing the forks, and reducing the rake angle, this will make the bike "tuck"

have you set your sags? where is your compression set? what is your fork height? have you adjusted the geometry on the bike with a different rear ride height and tire size?


i wouldn't think of it as a tuck so much as quickened steering, if you're going really slowly pretty well all bikes will want to this, you need to be driving the bike to give it stability in slow corners. but if this is happening at speed i'd attribute it to change in rake angle and the bar pressure you've already got to keep the bike in the turn.
 
#3 ·
Nice bike, Duchy. Love that livery !!
The problem you allude to has more to do with the rider, rather than suspension set up.
Set up your speed before entering the corner, for you should be going thru it in neutral throttle, with just enough to keep the rear tires spinning & neither accelerating nor decelerating.
If you accelerate, you'll bring the rear tire around & it'll start to slide & make the bike come around, pivoting at the decked knee. A sensation better experienced at the track.
Chopping the throttle is verboten in a corner, especially if the bike is already leaned at close to extreme angles. An action certainly not suited for the streets.
When you decelerate or chop the throttle mid corner, it's like using the front brakes & all of the weight on the bike comes forward. Your are then asking your front tires to cash a check that it cannot & you may experience a "low side", with the front tires tucked in.
I would highly recommend track schools, like The California Superbike School classes in the UK.
I've been taking their Level IV classes for several years now & can power slide the bike sideways out of a corner at around 100 mph, while the bike is pivoting around my knee on the track, all thanks to my stellar Coaches like Matthew, Badger, Flash & others from the UK branch of The California Superbike School in Dubai. What a wonderful sensation. One that I think I shall remember even after I die !
LOL.
Seriously, be careful & don't do what you you're doing, except for trail braking but you really shouldn't be doing that on the streets. I've been riding a motorcycle on the streets of 3 countries for over 38 years without an accident, avoiding scenarios such as the ones mentioned above.
Ride Safe and Friendly.
Best Regards From The Bad Doctor.
 

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#4 · (Edited)
telling someone about your insane track skills isn't helpful to what he's asking.

posting pics of you at the track is even less so, where are you going with this?



there could be any number of situations that could lead to a rider having to rapidly slow during a corner (and not at track speeds, not everything revolves around what YOU do)



dutchy if you like just send me a pm here or message me on facebook, i'd be happy to help you with some feedback on how to reduce dive on the front end, and how to get the bike to feel a way that will make you more comfortable on it while riding around.
 
#5 ·
LOL. Don't get riled up, Wibbly. The only reason I'd mentioned what I did was to let Duchy know what's possible on the track. Especially within an old man like me, who took several years & a lot of hard work to get his 54 yr old @$$ to get where I wanted it to be. The point is that if a slow learner like me can achieve more control of the bike, then you young 'uns can certainly do it more quickly & proficiently. Also, the point is to be careful on the streets & learn how the bike behaves in a safe environment like a track & avoid maneuvers that have the potential of getting a rider into trouble on the road, God Forbid. I also wouldn't want Duchy to get a scratch on that gorgeous bike of his in those Castrol Oil colors.
And the last point of not having crashed in more than 38 years of riding on the streets is because I don't buy the saying that it's only a matter of time before a motorcycle rider crashes. Hopefully, nobody reading this will crash, God-Willing.
If any of the members on this Forum felt other than my true intentions of sharing my experiences for the benefit of the readers, then I must sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart.
I'm sorry for any misunderstanding on my part.
Hope everyone's having a good & blessed day with our health & time left on this Earth.

Best Regards From The Bad Doctor.

P.S. No more posting of pictures from the track for me.
 

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#6 ·
No worries guys!!!


I know not to chop the throttle mid corner and am not in the habit of doing so. setting correct entry speed, look through the corner, using the rear brake -lightly- in turns ig needed.
But being out for the first time this season I did notice this "tucking and know for a fact the reaction is not as severe as it would be on my RC36-2 or on my VF500F2.
Having read through, it must be the fact the SP is far more "front end biased" than either of the other 2. For starters, the reach for the clip-ons is more forward. I sat on a SP 8 years ago, with a gut 12 kilos bigger and reaching the bars was a struggle (lost that spare tire in 2016 :) )
My suspension was set up for street riding and will be set up for -my 1st- trackday come 23 april @Assen.



As for age, here's me age 53 (55 now)


(RIP Joey, who left us at 48...)
 
#7 ·
LDH warned me about this, among other things when they revalved my forks. Since I had different geometry, (link, tall tire, etc), he gave me a baseline to set the fork height. I started at this and noticed how much better turn-in was, but I experienced the same as you, she's a little quick to turn at slow speeds under certain conditions. I adjusted by 1mm and found that sweet spot.

Wibbly, nice work on helping out as you've offered.
 
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