weaving round corners

[nightrider]

I had play on the  a1 with a porshe and I had top box and panniers on and when it went above 120 it went into a weave still doing it at 140 , I dropped back tried again and it did the same , since then I have changed the front tyre  , and had it up to high speeds again but without panniers on and it was fine , I put it down to the front tyre , had a head shake on the zzr1200 and that was the front tyre , even tho it looked fine and had life left in it , 

[1ka]

Agree with all the comments.

I notice that with PR4 GT tyres I get more wobble than I did with the PR3's. The PR4's seem better as the air slowly leaks out (now 42psi rather than 44psi).

I also suffer from short wheel bearing life, around 8K miles. This causes weave when they start to go, too.

[aljaxon]

ive just ordered a rear pr4 gt.....
i suppose i will have to put a front on to match it?

[Lonewolf]

ive just ordered a rear pr4 gt.....
i suppose i will have to put a front on to match it?

It wouldn't hurt would it? 

[aljaxon]

only the bank balance.....

[aljaxon]

just done a few days to Scotland and back and I think ive sussed that if you ride the bike smoothly it behaves and I get no weaving or wallowing
cranked right over at 120 plus as long as I haven't braked hard or snapped the throttle wide open it is rock solid
I think bumpy uneven corners still prompt the wallowing though

as soon as I try riding it as if im on a race track ie fast as possible into corner , slow down as late as possible and then brake as hard as possible right up to the apex and then snap the throttle wide open as soon as you know you are gonna get round its when I snap the throttle it wallows around

I can imagine a lot of slower or smoother riders wont notice this.
my 600 will take anything I can throw at it and is 100 percent  solid really pushing it hardon the verge of losing grip etc it is fun to ride but this thing needs a bit more respect
I will see about taking up those offers of a ride with hopefully a bike swap to rule out the bike itself?

[Boomer]

I think you will probably find that the OEM suspension is not up to the job of someone slinging a 300Kg sports-tourer around like it was a 185kg sports bike.
For starters apart from the weight it has a much longer wheelbase and almost certainly requires a different approach to riding it fast compared with a pocket rocket.

[pross]

A)  Slow down? .
B)  Choose a lower gear and power through bend.
C)  Countersteer to push front end in harder therefore quickening the steering.
D)  Look through bend to where you want to be.

I imagine the main issue will be to high a gear meaning there is a lack of drive and resultant grip giving a wallowing feel.
By selecting a gear or two lower this will create more mechanical grip through the rear tyre as it grips the road harder due to extra torque created. This also has the effect of forcing the front tyre to grip as weight through transmission is created.  Loading the front end like this creates grip which is what people refer to as 'front end feel'.

The overall result is the bike will feel more as one with you. 

Other benefits mean less need to brake as the bike will accelerate and slow on the throttle.

Lower gear is usually the answer to most handling related issues.

Most folk, particularly car drivers, don't use the rev range on bikes as the high revving is quite alien compared to a care which red-lines at 5-7k revs.  Bikes can/need revving about twice that of a car engine to get the best performance.

Only time I ever engage top gear (or even 5th) is on long straights or motorways.

The 1400GTR needs the front end loading compared to other Sports Tourers to really make it work at it's best.


spot on Winston .
enter in the correct gear and power out.

[aljaxon]

I think you will probably find that the OEM suspension is not up to the job of someone slinging a 300Kg sports-tourer around like it was a 185kg sports bike.
For starters apart from the weight it has a much longer wheelbase and almost certainly requires a different approach to riding it fast compared with a pocket rocket.

and that's probably it in a nutshell, I haven't even looked at the suspension , the prev owner might have set it up to his 20 stone  or used real light weigh fork oil or any number of things but I think im maybe expecting too much to be able to throw it around
its still good fun trying though as im sure the more spirited riders out there can confirm

and im that naiive I thought loading the front end was braking so it was almost bottomed out.....

[cloudwalker]

Following this thread for a while; never had any wallowing but did have a couple of 'interesting moments' on rough surfaces with the suspension set straight out of the box. I'm 100kg, 16 stone in old money riding with top box plus panniers every day. I always take my bikes to MCT suspension at Stowmarket to have them set up or overhauled by Darren and Tom. Darren is a successful club racer and to quote him ' If you want a licence loosing comfy chair that go's like f#*k this is the bike ''the handlings phenomenal' After the set up the bike was so much smoother to ride and took far less effort to get over and hold the line in the bends. Never going to flick 300kg of bike around like a sports bike but having the suspension set up along with setting up the corners earlier may prevent the wallowing and any shaking.

[Zebedee]

Ditto had my last one done there, wife's Z1000SX was done last week. Mine was due to be done this week but over spent getting the Wife's done :( but she's a happy girl :)


Sent from my iPhone by mini Elves.

Zeb

[lablank]

I had the same weaving around corners experience with the OEM tires. Once I swapped for Pirellis Angel GT (55 in the back), it was a totally new ball game!!  The beast now flies and leans around corners as if on rails, as steady as my busa!!!  I recommend you try it!!  Get used to pegs scraping the pavement though!!!!   

[Andy]

http://www.gtr1400.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,485.0.html

Obviously check tyres and pressures also.

[PCPeteUK]

Get used to pegs scraping the pavement though!!!!   

Fitted P4's front and rear - and yes, so much better but still don't have the confidence to lean till the pegs scrape unlike my Goldwing that sent sparks everywhere (fun at night)

[aljaxon]

I nearly jumped off the bike the first time my foot scraped on the road, the peg would have followed half a second later if I hadn't have jumped out of my skin!!
and now I know what angle of lean it takes I sub consciously daren't exceed that
wuss I know