@witchellski , a question re handling. Having now read the PS article and re-read all of this thread again (great job), in order to attach the clip ons above the yoke (and I understand why they're there) I assume you had to lower the yoke ie pull the forks up higher? Presumably that had a noticeable affect upon the steering as the front ride heights been lowered significantly? Just curious as I've an ST2 in the workshop (aka shed) which was bought a while back for a project which can go one of two ways and the 851/888 route is one of those. So really, it's ride ability/handling I'm interested in and I'm not talking race track stuff here as it will get used on sunny weekends, but real world, any noticeable difference? I realise its a subjective matter but am interested.
Hi Paul... There were a few reasons to drop the yokes. The obvious one, as you eluded to, was to get good clearance for the clip ons around the front fairing. Another reason was to bring more weight over the front (because I had removed so much stuff from the front of the bike). Also, when I was studying the geometry of the 851 / 888 I noticed the front wheel was more 'tucked up' into the front of the bike and so adjusting the forks in the yokes helped achieve this position. All this said... I have a M900 monster and did the same to it (pulled the forks up the yokes a bit) and felt a huge difference (better) in cornering. It tips in easier and stays firm through the corner even under acceleration. It used to go a little light at the front when opening it up. As I have shortened the wheelbase of the ST, it can be a little choppy on the straights, but I'll be able to tune that out with the fork adjustments, because the settings are still a little soft. I won't stiffen it up too much though, because as you say the 'real world' road riding means pot holes and wet roads etc, so I think it will be easy to find a really good balance. A very long way round to finally saying it actually handles very well!!
Predictable perhaps, but certainly opportunistic... I would like to sell the ST-851 as my European tour is not going to happen and I currently own a sad looking Monster that needs some TLC. It's been a fantastic journey and I have to say has given me an appetite for doing another build, so maybe I'll clog up the pages with something else in the not too distant future. Thank you for all the compliments and support on the build. It has been an absolute joy and look out for the ads!!
