Hi Gays and Gals, I love my recently aquired S2R Thou and have covered 2000 miles in our first five weeks. There is just one minor niggle, the front end feels a bit flighty and vague, with little feedback, when batting on round the fast A roads up to Seaways. My other Rubber Ducs, 2 x 900 Carby SS's, always felt as if they were on rails Am I right in thinking that lifting the bike up the forks a couple of mm might make her a bit more stable ? The fork leg tops are currently 3mm proud of the top yoke. Should I also lengthen the rear tie rod to keep the bike level ?? TIA dp
Before you mechically adjust the forks or tie rod, have you set the sag and checked compression and rebound damping is at baseline settings?
Cheers RickyX, not the sag but comp & rebounds are as standard and tyre pressures are correct. I have a nearly new Battax BT016 on the front.
If you are happy with front and rear set-up - is rear spring ok for your weight? - always sounds a bit personal but could be a factor if under par for the job. It is a controversial thing but I would try both of your suggestions as long as you make a note of where front and rear adjustments were. Also depending how much you lift the rear be prepared for bike tipping further on sidestand.
Cheers Chris, I am svelte 83kg ! I will adjust the forks and rear ti rod, one item at a time and take reference points as you suggest, cheers dp
Mine was the same when I bought it this summer. Setting Sag, rebound and damping front and rear to stock settings helped a lot. The forks had a service on the previous owner and the rebound was 2 from full on one shock and 10 from full on the other Theese bikes are gettin old, so fork oil change could also be a solution. I have no idea what fork oil is in mine or what has been done to the forks but now it feels planted and actually on the stiff side, like I like it.
Book settings on most bikes is usually scientific guess work by and optimist. The information is out there to set the damping but unless you've set up dozens or hundreds of bikes, most people shy away from making some pretty big changes if its needed. I suggest pay a specialist to get the bike in the ball park damping wise before tweeking geometry. TB
Cheers Guys, all settings as the book (?), fork oil changed last week and head bearings checked at the same time, all OK. I lifted the yoke ( or dropped the forks) a couple of mm, so fork tops are now flush with the yoke top surface. I can now feel "where the front wheel is" which is great, The other thing I have done is started wearing earplugs. I know it might sound barmy, but I have a feeling that the howl from the helmet ( Shuberth C4) at speed, and the noise from the engine might have been distracting me ?
