At 23:14 21/05/01, you wrote:
>I find that a lot of it has to do with the lack of steering lock. Ducatis
>are notorious for this too, and a LOT of them get dropped in driveways.
>The steering is heavy at low speeds, compounding the problem,
The GTS steering lock is limited compared to most bikes, but at least it's better than
any modern Ducati that I have ridden, thank goodness.
The steering is heavy at low speeds thing is something I'd like to investigate
further. If you put the GTS on it's centrestand, lift the front wheel off the ground
and turn the bars the friction doesn't seem that much to me. I've noticed that the
low speed steering weight has varied dramatically with the three different front tyres
that I have tried.
The tyres obviously all have different sidewall stiffness, etc., but I wonder why the
GTS seems to be more susceptible than other machines? Maybe it's to do with having
too much / too little trail, or maybe all motorcycles of the same huge mass would have
the same syndrome? The GTS is by far the heaviest bike that I've owned.
I think the consensus of opinion on the list as regards awkward ignition locks is
still "jiggle it" (slight push up towards the clocks). If the lock absolutely has to
be replaced, I wonder if the anti-theft function is actually performed by the ignition
computer? That would make sense to me, all it'd have to do is measure the timing
between two inputs from a mechanical switch, something that a computer would find very
easy.
My speedometer cut out again the other day for about a minute; this time I noticed
that the "odometer/mileage counter" was actually still working in the normal way. Is
one electronic and the other cable-driven?!
David Thurgate http://www.uranus.co.uk/M_cycles.htm
===================================================
Kawasaki ZX750-A1 in Tony Foale FFE frame
Current status: Dismantled ;-(
Yamaha GTS1000a in Yamaha FFE frame
Current status: In everyday use :-)
