Author Topic: Lowered Front V7 - Better!  (Read 10389 times)

oldbike54

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Re: Lowered Front V7 - Better!
« Reply #30 on: September 16, 2015, 11:18:08 PM »
Ah, now it's getting interesting...

 This all calculated roughly , using a zero fork offset in front of the steering head . Trail figures obviously would vary from increased forward fork offset , but for our purposes , these figures are close enough , so I didn't worry about trail .

  Dusty

oldbike54

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Re: Lowered Front V7 - Better!
« Reply #31 on: September 17, 2015, 09:21:58 AM »
  What , not even one "you are full of poop"  :grin:

  Dusty

Offline JBBenson

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Re: Lowered Front V7 - Better!
« Reply #32 on: September 17, 2015, 09:28:36 AM »
Some of my observations and thoughts i posted on v11lemans.com that may be appropriate here:

I bought a 2001 red-frame V11 Sport on impulse, having owned 2 other Guzzis already. I didn't know much about the V11, but discovered this site, and others, and all have been very helpful in managing the...um, peculiarities of the model.

I discovered that the red-frames have a reputation for being "squirrelly", due to the shorter wheelbase and the steeper rake of the fork. My stock bike never handled that well, it always felt restless and vague in the corners. I eventually up installing new fork springs and valves, and a new rear shock, and new tires, running a 160 on the back.

It was better, but the bike still felt vague and nervous at the same time. Well, it is a red-frame, right? They are know to be "squirrelly", so the problem must be "operator error".

Since I bought it, the fork tube caps were always set flush with the top triple clamp. The PDF manual I have showed the fork tubes set the same way. But I did some reading on raising the fork tubes in the triple clamps to "quicken steering" on the heavy and locomotive-like V11 Lemans series, and how those that did so, were happy with it.

But I have a red-frame, right? It is already "squirrelly"; it didn't need any more, does it?

Turns out, it did.

As I said, the handling never felt quite right, so I raisied the forks by about 10mm and it really improved the feel. It was more precise but more predictable. My speeds went up. I could better feel what the front end was doing. I was more confident. I sound like an ad for some amazing new pill.

I thought about it: why did making the steering "sharper" make the "squirrelly" bike feel more steady and more accurate? I think it was because the factory-set higher front end, and the lower back end (due to the 160 tire) didn't help things. Together they gave the bike a "nose-high" attitude that made it uncertain feeling, with little or no feedback.

This caused me to always be making corrections to keep on my line. But the hazy feel made me always over-correct, sending me too far one way, necessitating me to quickly overcorrect again back the other way.  This created a wobbly line through every corner, and a feeling of twitchiness and oscillation that I interpreted as "squirrellyness".

The "sharpening' of the geometry by raising the forks let me feel and point the front end better, so there was no constant, small corrections necessary. The bike just went where I pointed it, no fuss, predictable and balanced. A counterintuitive, seemingly tiny change that made a big difference.

Anyway, those are my observations. The bike is getting better and better.
« Last Edit: September 17, 2015, 09:31:35 AM by JBBenson »

Offline rocker59

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Re: Lowered Front V7 - Better!
« Reply #33 on: September 17, 2015, 09:58:05 AM »
 :thumb:
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Offline normzone

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Re: Lowered Front V7 - Better!
« Reply #34 on: September 17, 2015, 06:17:20 PM »
  What , not even one "you are full of poop"  :grin:   Dusty

No, [Dusty].

You are full of beer.
That's the combustion chamber of the turbo shaft. It is supposed to be on fire. You just don't usually see it but the case and fairing fell off.

oldbike54

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Re: Lowered Front V7 - Better!
« Reply #35 on: September 17, 2015, 06:35:32 PM »
No, [Dusty].

You are full of beer.

 Apparently beer is a much hotter topic  :shocked:

  Dusty

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