Handling question

Pipefighter248

Donating Member
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Hey Fellas, Pipes current setup is lowered 3/4 front and 1 1/2 rear.
Comfortable for Pipe, but doesn't leave much ground clearance for sport riding. He has already drug his lowers in turns.
He's running fixed 3 hole lowering links currently on the rear.
Been thinking about switching over to Soupy's adjustable lowering links since it would be easy to raise for sport riding, Lower for everyday use, or slam it for the track.
Since Pipe would still have his 3/4 risers on the front, would it have a negative effect if the rear is back to stock and the front still lowered 3/4?
Would like the adjustability, but couldn't change the front as easy; so it would remain.
So how would she handle?
Thanks. :beerchug:
 
It would make it a bit more aggressive on the angle and it will feel a tad more squirrely.

I raised my rear 1" and left the front alone and it seems to be okay.

--Wag--
 
OK, but wouldn't it have near the same effect?
Some run it like yourself. +1 in the rear.
Wouldn't being -3/4 front and stock rear be about the same difference?
Just curious.
 
I have soupys adjustable links on my GSXR1000 and they are great. With just a wrench you can adjust up or down quickly. When I stretched the Gixxer the cornering was terrible and I played with the links to get it where I wanted. Put a set on and you can see for yourself how they affect the handling by changing the height. Higher the rear equals more weight on the front equals faster transitions at the expense of a little straight line stability.
 
I have soupys adjustable links on my GSXR1000 and they are great. With just a wrench you can adjust up or down quickly. When I stretched the Gixxer the cornering was terrible and I played with the links to get it where I wanted. Put a set on and you can see for yourself how they affect the handling by changing the height. Higher the rear equals more weight on the front equals faster transitions at the expense of a little straight line stability.
seems this has more to do with rake (steering head inclination) than any effect of "weight"

the bike will turn in faster with the front dropped or the rear raised.. (one of the famous Isle of Man bike crashes was attributed to a +1" on the rear, the bike turned in faster and the rider hit a wall on the inside of a corner causing the ragdoll crash)

I doubt you would find any weight difference (at least measurable)
 
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Seems like Geometry wise it would be practically a wash but you will still have the decreased cornering clearance issue to deal with. Regardless trying to make one motorcycle run hard at the strip and still be able to do a track day or just ride hard in the twisties would always be a compromise. A fully adjustable shock with External preload adjuster would be a great addition to the adjustable links. Then you could lower it and play with the spring preload and damping at the track for a better launch.

Race cars always play with corner weights to get the car sprung where they want it. Would be interesting to see if there was any real weight change front to rear by changing around the geometry like this on a bike?
 
Lowering the front actually makes the trail shorter. Shorter trail is what makes the bike dive into the corners at the expense of high speed stability. Dropping the front 3/4 of an inch will have little to no effect on weight transfer.

If you enoy cornering, you'll be much happier with the rear adjusted back up to near normal. If I were you, I'd adjust the rear back up to match the front, at or near 3/4 of an inch. That way the entire bike would be dropped 3/4 of an inch and make it corner much better with the handicap being the foot pegs would drag at less lean angle.
 
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Hey Pipe, I've got Soupy's and I love them. But with them on at what is supposed to be "stock height" length the rear still sits lower than stock dog bones by about 3/4"
 
I know from stock car racing that the reason you raise on of the corners is to help with turning left. The reason is it helps the weight shift move from rear to the front faster. So the right front gets more weight to help turn. To much weight shift and the car startes to push.

"bigoltool
Hayabusa Immortal

Race cars always play with corner weights to get the car sprung where they want it. Would be interesting to see if there was any real weight change front to rear by changing around the geometry like this on a bike?"


I know it does change a cars weight ratio on all four corners.
 
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I know from stock car racing that the reason you raise on of the corners is to help with turning left. The reason is it helps the weight shift move from rear to the front faster. So the right front gets more weight to help turn. To much weight shift and the car startes to push.

you are talking about 4 corners.. a bike does not share the ability to balance weight between any 2 corners.. if you put the bike on a centerstand, you could get something similar
 
you are talking about 4 corners.. a bike does not share the ability to balance weight between any 2 corners.. if you put the bike on a centerstand, you could get something similar


That is because the center stand is balancing the weight of the bike from the center of it. The wieght of the bike is one the stand not the wheels.
 
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