high speed stability?
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Squid
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 83
From: ocala,fl
high speed stability?
ive been riding mostly suzukis recently,and noticed my hawk doesent come anywhere near the stability of the suzukis ive ridden lately.my tl1000r for instance,stock suspension,i can go 150-180mph range and it feels like the hawk at 60mph.and ive had 3 different types of tires on it with same results.the hawk has a dunlop tires front and rear(lots of edge wear from track days)a daytona steering stabilizer set at second to tightest setting,i tried to go about 140mph and scared the crap out of me,NOWHERE near as stable as th tl.i know the small regular style forks on the hawk are a disadvantage over the bigger inverted tl forks,and i know i am comparing the hawk to a sportier bike,but can i improve the stability of the hawk without swapping the front end.will a fork stabilizer really help?taperered steering head bearings?
Out of my mind, back in 5
MotoGP
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 6,109
From: Skurup, Sweden
Well... a non Dunlop tire is where I'd start... but I'm biased... I never met a Dunlop that didn't try to kill me...
Seriously It's not THAT bad is it? (Says me whos preparing a 1000RR swap...)
I'd say start with fresh fork oil and fresh tire (I'm still amazed over people not changing that regularily?)... A brace might be a good idea...
What weight are you? Stock fork springs are for midgets...
Seriously It's not THAT bad is it? (Says me whos preparing a 1000RR swap...)
I'd say start with fresh fork oil and fresh tire (I'm still amazed over people not changing that regularily?)... A brace might be a good idea...
What weight are you? Stock fork springs are for midgets...
Senior Member
SuperSport
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 731
From: MICHIGAN
i would start with the soft stock suspension. if your is still stock, then there is your problem. You have to set your sag and adjust the suspension to your weight in order to make it more stable at high speed. For me, it was a night and day difference after my suspension was set to my weight with my gear on at a shop here in town. Best 50$ I ever spent.
Senior Member
SuperBike
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,548
From: MN
even on the stock bike I found no problem with stability at track speeds (though neither bike will spend any real time in the 150-180mph range!). Would check bearings, fork oil, and suspension settings to start, along with wheel alignment. rear shock is not great even when new. I have no idea what adding a lower to the bike does to high speed stability if anything, but there are plenty on the site who've added them and track them so they could chime in.
Senior Member
Back Marker
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 136
From: chambersburg,pa
my dad had a problem like that on his katana he found the steering head brgs were not torqued correctly. my hawk has no problem with stability at higher speed but i did have to balance the new front tire i put on (continental). after that it was fine
Member
Squid
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 32
From: arkansas
lots of track days and how many miles , takes weight off the tire, and will unbalance the tire-rim assembly . I had the same unstable problem and bought a new back tire a AVON STORM and shes as smooth as silk Oh! and fast ,red , beautiful, 2bros exhaust, gel grips and did I mention FAST! cause red is the fastest color.hee hee
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Back Marker
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 229
From: Russell, Bay of Islands, New Zealand
My SH is used by me as an instructor at training days at our local track, which has a loooong back straight. The bike has been carefully set up as a standard machine, with new Michelin Pilots and stock chassis.
It was timed with a radar gun at 164mph; not a hint of a wobble on the straights or in any corner at any speed (ie same as its road behavior).
I suggest that you put new tires on yours and carefully set the suspension, and check torque and tightness of all bolts holding steering and swingarm.
Then bin the steering damper.
It was timed with a radar gun at 164mph; not a hint of a wobble on the straights or in any corner at any speed (ie same as its road behavior).
I suggest that you put new tires on yours and carefully set the suspension, and check torque and tightness of all bolts holding steering and swingarm.
Then bin the steering damper.
Senior Member
SuperBike
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,864
From: Fort Wayne, IN
The VTR should be just as stable at high speeds as a TLR. If not something is awful wrong with the VTR or awful right with the TLR. Suzuki's are death machines that want to spit you off the first chance they get. Did I just say that out loud? Darn brain filter....
Senior Member
Superstock
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 433
From: Los Angeles & Winston Salem
164mph!
WOW...thats one fast superhawk.......my superhawk reads about 20mph faster on stock gearing than true.....corrected via gps is 145mph.....so 165mph on my speedo is only 145mph true...I also run pilot powers (great tires)
Have you had much work done to your bike?.....I also concur that superhawks are very stable bikes.
Have you had much work done to your bike?.....I also concur that superhawks are very stable bikes.
Senior Member
Back Marker
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 113
Ditto on the Michelin Pilot powers - improved my bike 1000%. Follow the advice about checking the steering mechanicals and sag. etc. I would also replace the stock crap suspension with race-tech/ Ohlins unless you have a house payment like I do.
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Back Marker
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 229
From: Russell, Bay of Islands, New Zealand
164mph - yep.
Yeah, my SH is the fastest standard one we know of. Though it is standard spec, we carefully rebuilt the motor and gearbox in our race shop at its second service (the carb restrictors were removed before I took delivery).
It has never been over 6000rpm on the street, it is never "lugged" at low revs, it has never been on a dyno, it has never had a race start, and it has never been run hard without a thorough warmup by riding (not sitting on the sidestand).
There are no bolt-on bits at all. My experience over very many years of building race bikes is that, unless you are building purely for the road race track: most aftermarket exhaust systems reduce performance, particularly replacement mufflers (we design and build our own 2-stroke and 4-stroke systems for the racers); re-jetting standard carburettors is better than replacing them; and careful set-up of standard suspension components gets you 80% of where you would get by fitting aftermarket.
The SH is intended to be limited to being one of my street bikes. I like it to be standard, particularly in looks. I have the advantage that I am the only person who has ever ridden it. Besides, all the Ohlins componentry etc goes on my race bikes.
Now waaaay off topic; at the track for another teaching day on Saturday: fuel consumption there = approx 18 miles per US gallon, which I thought was not bad. (Back in the early 70s when I started racing, I used to get worse out of a Triumph Bonneville and then a Yamaha RD350 on the same circuit - mind you, that was racing, not instructing. Instructing, I tend to ride at about 8/10ths).
It has never been over 6000rpm on the street, it is never "lugged" at low revs, it has never been on a dyno, it has never had a race start, and it has never been run hard without a thorough warmup by riding (not sitting on the sidestand).
There are no bolt-on bits at all. My experience over very many years of building race bikes is that, unless you are building purely for the road race track: most aftermarket exhaust systems reduce performance, particularly replacement mufflers (we design and build our own 2-stroke and 4-stroke systems for the racers); re-jetting standard carburettors is better than replacing them; and careful set-up of standard suspension components gets you 80% of where you would get by fitting aftermarket.
The SH is intended to be limited to being one of my street bikes. I like it to be standard, particularly in looks. I have the advantage that I am the only person who has ever ridden it. Besides, all the Ohlins componentry etc goes on my race bikes.
Now waaaay off topic; at the track for another teaching day on Saturday: fuel consumption there = approx 18 miles per US gallon, which I thought was not bad. (Back in the early 70s when I started racing, I used to get worse out of a Triumph Bonneville and then a Yamaha RD350 on the same circuit - mind you, that was racing, not instructing. Instructing, I tend to ride at about 8/10ths).
Last edited by PJay; Dec 9, 2007 at 01:31 PM.
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