I recently took my forks out for a service and received them back yesterday. This weekend I'll be putting them back on the bike, but I am wondering if it's worth pulling the forks up around 5mm from factory (yolk at highest position on fork leg) to give the bike a bit more turn in. Has anyone done this and if so, were the results good with the reduced rake or just stick to OEM rake?
Yes I did this on both the 1260 and V4 PP’s and it did indeed make the steering faster. Some people say 10mm but I found at 10 mm there was a danger of things catching the tank. 5mm works for me.
I went the other way on my monster and raised the rear as I found the bike too low for me as well as having slow turn in. Definitely noticeable and worth a try.
I tried 5mm after a fork rebuild a few years back, it did make it turn in quicker but, it felt too quick on slow turns like islands etc. it felt like the front end was washing out. I stuck with it for a few weeks but couldn't get on with it so put them back to standard.
Why not stack the rear height with the electronics? Less risky that any change in geometry from dropping the front
That's what I opted for instead, few dashes higher on the rear preload makes a difference, also check the front preload in case it's wound all the way in, I run mine all the way out which sounds wrong but, I've tried so many combinations over the years and this just 'feels' best.
Using preload to adjust ride height messes up sag. The better way is to set your sag via preload, see where the ride height is and re-set via fork height, damper mounts or ride height adjusters if you have them.
You are correct 'on paper' but, sag just gets you a starting point. Riding, adjusting, riding, adjusting.......etc. until it feels the best to me is the way I've always dialed my bikes in, works for me. In an ideal world you'd be changing springs, re-valving, oil weight, shim stack etc to get the perfect setup.
Agree with above: on paper yes but in practice it acts like you have simply raised the rear. I used to run my multis with a ‘track mode’ (renamed enduro iirc) which had low electronics, 2 up plus luggage preload, meant I couldn’t actually touch the ground on the rear so was a quick change of setting when stopping. Worked perfect. On road I would use sport plus passenger if on real fast road ride with same effect
I'm on a V4PP so a different bike - I dropped mine by 10mm. I've also wound off all of the fork pre load. The bike was sat too high on the front for me, also, being a short arse, the reduction in seat hight is welcome. I'm pleased with the results. Turn in is great and holds a line well. Its never got out of shape and is still very stable, its never wobbled once. The only slight down side is, as mentioned above, clearance to the tank on full lock. Its only the hand guards that get close so I simply "pulled" them up slightly. Sorted.
Yeah I’ve raised the forks by 5mm on my mate's Panigale and it improved turnin noticeably without compromising stability. Just be careful if you ride bumpy roads cause it slightly lowers front clearance Might want to mark the factory position before adjusting in case you want to revert
You say without compromising stability. Probably true until you push on a bit. I recently had my track only Panigale V4 set up and serviced. I asked about a fork drop/adjustment and was told to leave well alone.
More likely you’ll see it as regularly 150 plus, which isn’t the case (probably not even 100mph plus) on road riding multi
drooped mine by 5mm tips in quicker and feels to me as if the bike handles better, Try it as its an easy mod that can be returned to factory settings easily enough
Don’t know if it’s the same but I know quite a few who dropped front on 1*98 and, as they had a rad guard fitted and under heavy breaking would foul front and break the rad
