How much lean angle have I got?

[Mikkel]

I was told I went faster (than my mate) round twisties cos I had skinnier tyres... just goes to show that it ain't that simple.

Ususally you only go faster around the corners than your mates because either a) you have bigger balls and/or b) you have less appreciation for the unexpected.

[CookMySock]

On my Hyosung I could scrape the foot pegs and the side stand bracket without running out of grip, as long as the road was smooth.

Which Hyosung ? What tyres on it ?

TIA,
DB

[henry]

Which Hyosung ? What tyres on it ?

GT250R with the stock tyres. I found the biggest problem with loosing grip was the front suspension not being able to keep the tyre on the road over bumps.

[CookMySock]

GT250R with the stock tyres. I found the biggest problem with loosing grip was the front suspension not being able to keep the tyre on the road over bumps.

Well done for exploring those 'limits'. It seems their effort in lightening the front with USD forks is undone by the heavy brakes, wheel, and shocks.. or else the shocks need a serious rethink. Still, an awesome bike.

I have my GT650R suspension set on the softest settings possible, yet it is still too firm, and jittery as over rough ground. Maybe a lighter oil in it..

Also my rear shock seems stuck on a middle setting - to tight to move it with the included tool.

Is it possible to completely revalve or replace these shocks with quality aftermarket gear without breaking the bank ?


cheers,
DB

[henry]

Well done for exploring those 'limits'. It seems their effort in lightening the front with USD forks is undone by the heavy brakes, wheel, and shocks.. or else the shocks need a serious rethink.

I didn't find the handling too bad on the 250. Apart from the aforementioned front end problem. The rear was pretty firm which was annoying but didn't cause any problems in the corners.

The suspension copes ok with the power output of the bike, which is bugger all, hence me trading up yesterday.

Is it possible to completely revalve or replace these shocks with quality aftermarket gear without breaking the bank ?

Dunno. Just buy new bike

[discotex]

Well done for exploring those 'limits'. It seems their effort in lightening the front with USD forks is undone by the heavy brakes, wheel, and shocks.. or else the shocks need a serious rethink. Still, an awesome bike.

I have my GT650R suspension set on the softest settings possible, yet it is still too firm, and jittery as over rough ground. Maybe a lighter oil in it..

Based on my limited understanding of the black art of suspension.....

If you have rebound damping set to minimum and compression damping to minimum you should have a pretty plush ride. At least until you hit a big bump at which point the suspension will fully compress then rebound hard. Wonder if that's what you're feeling.

I'd strongly suggest going back to stock settings unless you weigh like 50kg. Doesn't seem a good idea to be right at the extreme soft end to me.

The GT650R doesn't have preload on the front does it? Depending on your weight you might need a different spring-rate or oil.

Also my rear shock seems stuck on a middle setting - to tight to move it with the included tool.

Is it possible to completely revalve or replace these shocks with quality aftermarket gear without breaking the bank ?

Try a hammer/wood mallet.. Should get it moving

Pretty sure it's $$ for anything other than changing oil and spring in the front (if that's even possible). Try PM Robert Taylor or catch him in the suspension section. He knows his shit.

[aff-man]

Lean angle depends on tyres used, body position (weight distribution through tyres), suspensions set up and balls.

My first crash (that was more than 1 km from my house) although was a slow one was because I got to the edge of the front tyre under load and well then wen't a little passed it... woops.

That was a while ago on my zxr250 and i's get that thing pretty far over and never bottomed out anything, couple of other guys were talking about scraping pegs and after following them I saw that thier suspension was basically bottoming out hence thier pegs eing a lot lower and scaping.

on the bigger bikes i've rolled off the front, which jamming a slider into the ground corrected and slid around on the edge of the rear, always exciting and quite scarey the first time I saw a pic of myself with the bike cranked over

[speights_bud]

What I find is you feel the front get really vague as it reaches the end of it's grip, it feels like it isn't attached to the road, and the bars start to feel lighter. The rear is a bit harder to feel, it just sorta stops following the front and swings outwards. If ya got it nailed it'll normally start to weave a bit before it lets go completely.
Sometimes though they just go with no real warning....
At least that's what I've noticed.

yea, i've had that experience, Took dads Gixxer 750 out for a play at Frosty's last track day, and i didnt take the time to settle into the bike, just tried to 'muscle it around', which never turns out well.

Death, do you remember me near high-siding right infront of you coming through turn 3 in the Infield? The bike actually threw me almost off, i didnt let go of the bars, my ankle was on the seat and i put my other foot down (rooting my back) to get back on it.

[speights_bud]

The trouble is until it actually goes for the first time then you're never sure exactly how far it's got to go...... the question is how bad do you want to find out.....

my first experience with Front end sliding out was at the hairpin at manfield extended track, i ended up loading up weight on my knee to keep just enough weight on the front wheel to keep it down, and have since while Racing Meekey_mouses RG150 buggered a kneeslider coz the tyres melted and it kept letting go at higgens (im just a fatty i guess)


There's a graph thingy i was shown once, where it shows leanangle and speed relative to Friction (grip) and yerp, the more you lean the less speed you are able to carry through a corner, so leaning off the bike allow's the two big gyro's (wheels) to maintain a 'straighter' or more upright/faster line through a corner.

I may be wrong, im a reaction rider, i just move about constantly to keep everything feeling nice and balanced

[CookMySock]

If you have rebound damping set to minimum and compression damping to minimum you should have a pretty plush ride. At least until you hit a big bump at which point the suspension will fully compress then rebound hard. Wonder if that's what you're feeling.

Greetings discotex. Sorry I didn't see your reply earlier - dunno how I missed that.

Yes, everything set at minimum should be way too soft, but it isn't at all - its rather firm.

I'd strongly suggest going back to stock settings unless you weigh like 50kg. Doesn't seem a good idea to be right at the extreme soft end to me.

I wish. If were indeed too soft I would do this.

The GT650R doesn't have preload on the front does it? Depending on your weight you might need a different spring-rate or oil.

So it seems. Yours is the first suggestion that ACTUALLY named a part that could be swapped out. So I will look into this.

Try a hammer/wood mallet.. Should get it moving

The bike shop removed it put it in the vise and STILL couldn't move the adjustment. He put the spring compressor on it and moved it to its' lowest setting. Actually, its a lot better than it was - particularly two-up.

Pretty sure it's $$ for anything other than changing oil and spring in the front (if that's even possible). Try PM Robert Taylor or catch him in the suspension section. He knows his shit.

Ok. Yes I am looking at changing the springs on the rear - the shop says this should be doable. The front springs - we will get to those next. Yes, I started a thread elsewhere and he participated. Unfortunately there were no solutions offered except to replace the lot with ohlins. Not in my price-range.

Many thanks for your observations. Will keep everyone informed.
Steve

[discotex]

Greetings discotex. Sorry I didn't see your reply earlier - dunno how I missed that.

No worries.

Many thanks for your observations. Will keep everyone informed.
Steve

Looking forward to the updates. Sounds like you're just making the best of what you have eh. Good luck!

[Ocean1]

I am really curious to see what a road bike looks like at that angle.

Been spring cleaning, I can finally see the floor of the gargre.

And I was bored.

1. Mr Buell's recommended limit, 55deg, (note the peg's still 40mm odd clear).
2. Mr Michelin's recommended limit, 53deg.
3. Which looks about right...
4. My normal "laundry-safe" limit, 47-48deg, (according to tyre wear).

[discotex]

Been spring cleaning, I can finally see the floor of the gagre.

And I was bored.

That is cool. Got to be pretty committed to get to 53 degrees!

Guess the peg clearance is ok because the suspension isn't compressed.

[RantyDave]

4. My normal "laundry-safe" limit, 47-48deg, (according to tyre wear).

And, also, some lathe porn in the background.

Dave

[Ocean1]

And, also, some lathe porn in the background.

Dave

It's crap.

That's not quite fair, it's one of the better quality chinese products, and it'll do 95% of what I need to do at home.

It's not in the same class as the big Colchester I sold when I had to condense the workshop to somewhat more domestic dimensions though.