Fork position

[Mesozoic]

I recently rebuilt my OE forks (47mm Showa) and have been playing with the suspension settings. When I installed the forks, I decided to raise the front end slightly instead of having the forks sit at the stop rings. Went on a test ride of about 165 miles, most of it twisty, and when I hit the slab (I-19) at 80-85 mph sustained cruise I had a bit of headshake. Could this just be caused by me having set the front end up slightly? Or should I really be looking at getting a steering damper?

 

[Cooter]

You should never 'need' a steering damper to stop that. On anything. It would be a band-aid masking a very serious problem.

Absolutley, definitely for sure positively, move the forks back to the c-clip stops.
While that is all loose double check the torque on the steering bearings and make sure theres no slack in them. #1 cause of that very frightening thing.

 

[Mesozoic]

Yeah, sounds like I should put them back where they were. On my XB I raised the front suspension slightly for better long distance riding handling. No headshake, whatsoever. The CR has got more aggressive geometry, though... clearly doesn't want that. LOL

 

[Cooter]

Actually the XB and 1125 share the same exact rake 21.0* and trail 3.3". Very steep angles to be sure, but I don't know how much they are affected by messing with the fork clamp height.

IMHO. I would immediately put the XB back to stock as well.

 

[Mesozoic]

I've got something like 10,000 miles with my forks adjusted the way they are (lower in the triples). It rides very nice. Then again, my XB is an Ss... so it's long frame - a fair bit different from the CR, right?

 

[Cooter]

The Longs/Uly's are 23*.

Here is a neat old thread from BadWeb about the Free Spirits rake kit if your looking for a highway cruiser.
http://badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/32777/265807.html?1174532419

 

[Mesozoic]

Hehe, highway cruiser?! Hardly, but say this upcoming weekend my friend and I are headed up to Phoenix to check out a an FJR1300 he's interested in buying. From Tucson, it's a fair bit of slab, over 100 miles. So, the XB12Ss is the best tool I have for that job... as it really does knock down long miles pretty comfortably.

Interestingly, I ended up having to lower the forks in the triples slightly on the XB mainly because I replaced the handlebars after I had crashed it. I installed an LSL Superbike Low handlebar and while it was pretty similar to the original bar on the XB, it interfered with the fork tubes if they were sitting on their lock rings. So the XB12Ss does require a little more muscle to hustle around, but it's still awesome for cornering albeit not nearly as twitchy as the 1125CR.

 

[Mesozoic]

So I reverted the fork position to stock and adjusted all the suspension back to factory recommendations for my weight, then adjusted a bit further for "better ride quality." No more headshake, rides alright, a bit rough in the rear.

I am thinking of setting the Clubman bars aside and installing the more streetfighter high bar kit. Any opinions on this transformation? I really don't want to screw up the handling of the bike, I really like it the way it is, but I can't ride it for very long distances without some discomfort.