1998 V11EV Handling

[n3303j]

Measured the rake and trail and found them to be within specifications. Started figuring "It must be me".

Started thinking most seriously about my riding position. Everything else I ride (or have ridden) leans me forward on to the bars. I am always carrying a portion of my upper body weight on my bars. Steering effort just adds a minor percentage more to the weight my arms are already bearing.

The EV11V with its solo seat and oddly shaped bars is the first bike I have where the only pressure on my arms is from steering effort. It makes steering effort far more apparent as it is the only load on my arms.

As an experiment I wandered about 4 inches back on the seat (uncomfortable) and rode around a bunch with the added pressure on my arms. Bike feels rather normal now.

Maneuverability was never a part of my problem as the bike seems to happily lay over in any direction I countersteer her. It was all a matter of feel. Bike is only 300 miles new to me.

I guess it's just a matter of getting used to the upright riding position or scrapping the tall bars and returning to my forward lean posture. Not sure which route I'll follow yet.

To the poster who suggested Michelin Pilot Actif; I am a great fan of that tire (and the previous Macadam) and used them on any bike that I had and they had sizes to fit. Always pleased with the handling and service life they supplied. My set of Pilot Actif for this bike should be here in my hands for mounting tomorrow.  Thanks AMT for your great service.

Alls well that ends well. 2,000 miles with the son-in-law next week should be plenty of time to become familiar with the new "Blue Goose"

[Guzzibrat]

To the OP - while I am not a handling or set up guru by any stretch of anyones imagination, I did some research on my 01 Jackal (mostly on this site) and made some changes to improve the handling. Very minor changes. I scrapped the metzlers and put on some michellin pilot activs. Stock sizes-no fat tires. I run the front at 38 psi. The difference was extraordinary. I am not saying that this is the only tire to use as there are lots of really good tires out there- just not the metzlers. Is your bike from Florida? Are your rear shocks the standard length or have they been lowered? For some reason Floridians love to lower the rear of any bike. That messes up the handling. I raised the rear slightly on my bike and lowered the front end by raising the forks in the clamps. It lowered that big lump of an engine slightly and wow what a difference. Common knowledge says that doing this makes a bike a little more twitchy but not so on my Jackal. It is actually more stable on the freeway at 80 plus speeds and turns in much better now. Slow speed handling has greatly improved. After the changes I am really pleased with the handling on my Jackal. All it needs now is better suspension and a rider with more skill than I have. So keep looking and researching. The Cali's are good handling bikes. All the best to you.

+1 Based on spending a good few months trying to get my old EV to handle as I wanted it to.
Dropping the fork yokes/triple tree was probably the single biggest improvement.
Good luck
Steve

[rodekyll]

I just changed to a skinnier front tire with a different profile.  It handles different now.  For your purposes I'll just say 'different' without assigning 'better' or 'worse' to it.  For my purposes I'm calling it a keeper.

If the riding position seems to be your problem, try changing the handlebar.  If you have the 7/8 bars you have a lot of choices.  If 30mm bars then fewer choices, but still at least the three that I have on the back porch.  With the 7/8 bar you can use plumber's tape to fasten it to a wooden deck (or wall) and then use pipe cheaters to change the angles of the bar to something you like better.

Stock guzzi bars are between about 30" and 33" total spread.  They have a number of rise and reach options and of course the wrist angles are important.  As long as all the stuff fits on the bars they are long enough for any 2-wheel guzzi.  That means if you can fit the brake pump, switch pod and grip on each side, you've got enough bar reach to control the bike.  I can generally cut 1.5" - 2" off most bars and still fit the goodies.

So with some bending and a tubing cutter, you can build custom bars out of whatever's handy.  If you kink a bend or break chrome, keep working.  Once you've go the shape down you can probably go to your local UJM store and buy a ready-made bar that's very close to what you made.

Another idea for handlebars is the swan neck/clip-on/modular type stuff option.  I'm not sure how that works with the EV headlight setup, but I've seen some of those bar kits that were infinitely adjustable at all angles.  Too spendy for my wallet, but there it is.

[PeteS]

I was never a fan of the stock bars on my EV. Shortly after I bought it put Superbike (K&N's name) bars on it. Besides making me a lean forward a bit which I prefer, it also got my butt off the computer hump.

Pete

[rodekyll]

My EV has the faster, fat bar.  I've found three variations on the theme that I rotate through to find the best one for a given bike.  Right now I've got a bit of a 'tiller arm' on the trike because it needs to be *steered* and the leverage helps.  But the same frame in 2-wheel dress was really happy with a lower, straighter bar that I bent the wrist angle on for a more comfortable lean on my rheumy wrists and shortened by about 1.25" on each side.

Handlebars are so cheap that it doesn't make sense to not have one that fits.

[Dharma Bum]

These bars came off an early 70s 650 Yamaha twin.  Just a slight forward lean and very comfortable.  I think you can find a similar bend with some Superbike bars.  Feels like an ol flattracker!

[n3303j]

Michelin Pilot Actif showed up yesterday morning and got mounted up front.

The Metzler Lasertec that came with the bike had plenty of thread depth but was 7 years old (rear is a bit less than 4). I won't ride any serious highway with tires over 5 years of age.

So I took the bike and new tire out for a 200 mile shakedown before next week's Ohio run.

It is a completely different animal. I have never seen a tire make such a difference. No more "heavy" front end. The steering is light and neutral. Think turn and she rolls into a turn. Push harder and she obediently gets real close to the road on one side. Slow speed maneuverability is precision without any surprises.

She now handles like a bigger version of my 850T3 with super brakes. What a wonderful addition to my stable.

[wavedog]

That's good news. Glad that you are happy with the bike. Tires do make a diff, don't they?

[LowRyter]

glad you got it sorted out     

[oldbike54]

 You neglected to mention that it had tires from the stone age 

 Dusty

[n3303j]

You neglected to mention that it had tires from the stone age 

 Dusty

New one on me.

I don't trust 7 year old tires not to delaminate with a bunch of hot highway running.

I don't trust 7 year old rubber to stick or wear as well as new.

NOW: I don't trust old tires to give me a correct representation of how a motorcycle will handle with "fresh" tires.

Learning something every day and having a grand time while doing it.

[oldbike54]

New one on me.

I don't trust 7 year old tires not to delaminate with a bunch of hot highway running.

I don't trust 7 year old rubber to stick or wear as well as new.

NOW: I don't trust old tires to give me a correct representation of how a motorcycle will handle with "fresh" tires.

Learning something every day and having a grand time while doing it.

 Yeah , learning is fun .

 Dusty