>>>>> "David" == uranus <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> At 00:01 30/10/02 -0500, you wrote: >> Being a 11 stone (sorry 154 lbs) wimp, I have got to admit it's >> more in charge of me at times than I am of it, and I am having >> difficulty getting it to go round corners. It seems to physically >> object to changing direction. No doubt it's my ancient style of >> riding and body lean may not be the way to crank it over quick >> enough. > Tom, > That all sounds pretty familiar from my early days on the GTS. As a > 'big touring' bike one is hoping that it will turn out to be > effortless to ride but that isn't so, especially with standard bars > and tyres. If your front tyre is down on pressure, and/or if you've > made an unlucky tyre choice, the GTS can really need man-handling > into a bend. Once you've got the beast down, though, it stays > relatively stable when cranked over. In a straighter line I've been > up to 120mph on the clock and it's still imperturbable. > My guess is that Yamaha went conservative with the front suspension > and steering geometry, not wanting to stray far from accepted > telescopic fork norms for fear of litigation should anyone have got > a "tank-slapper", etc. They probably could have reduced the trail > by 20mm and reduced the rake to 0 deg., and it still would have been > rock steady. They didn't really maximise the advantages of the > hub-centre layout IMO. If your not fighting to hold the bike in corners, then Trail isn't necessarily to much, as the self centering effect isn't to much. The rake for a 600+ lbs. bike was pretty radical for 1993, how many bikes could you buy with 24 degrees of rake. Not that it couldn't have been less, if you read Tony Foale or others and the other hub steering factory (name brand) bikes, (not one offs) from Bimota, ok Bimota was a 2 off :^), back to the point. Yamaha wasn't that conservative, except in structural end of to much metal and weight. It could had been a 75lbs lighter easy. If you want less rake and trail, change the upper swingarm, its only made of steel. yes the steering would need work also but its not out of the realm at all. A race car fabricator could build that no problem, if your handy with a torch and metal, you could do it. The TPS setting can make the throttle more sensitive, but it can't fix the whole problem. For the clutch, "if your not hard on clutches", the master cylinder could be changed to a smaller bore, which will give you more degrees of useful lever movement. much snipped about riding style If I would read .sig more carefully, I'd notice that he is one of the few that own's a Foale design. For those that want to see hub-center bikes, and I mean bikesssss http://www.tonyfoale.com/gallery/FrontEnd/index.htm Are's is the parker basically Jerry > =================================================== Kawasaki > ZX750-A1 in Tony Foale FFE frame Current status: Dismantled ;-( > Yamaha GTS1000a in Yamaha FFE frame Current status: In everyday use > :-)
