Push on Hard Corners

otakar wrote:

Definitely, lowering the ass end along with the leading axle is detrimental for any kind of handling. This is why I used Goldwing shocks which are longer, to raise the ass end back to stock height,(or little beyond). Basically you made a "sled" out of the bike with the changes you made, and the way you made them. The bike with the leading axle has too much caster to begin with as I mentioned before. You made it even worse, by lowering the ass end.

Exactly....

Found one possible set on fleabay...lots of leading axle and modern sport bike forks.....

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1982-KAWASAKI-KZ...ssories#ht_499wt_957

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationNo eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationUnfortunately they are not as stated. Those will not fit without mods. These however will.

OK,but in my defense,the 2 inch drop made it possible for me to put my feet flat on the ground at stops--instead of tippy-toes.The Dunlops are new and I am not going to get rid of them quite yet.The Zuki rear shocks are 1 inch longer than the Kawi shocks they replaced so that doesnt seem to play in the equation.Putting the rake back an inch or so seems reasonable however.Maybe the answer to at least part of the problem.Issue may have been there all along but this is first time I have pushed the bike really hard on a road that demands really great handling.If u ever get to SE Tennessee look me up and we will go ride the "Suck Creek Mountain Road" and u will see what I mean.Thanks gentlemen.bj

hocbj23 wrote:

OK,but in my defense,the 2 inch drop made it possible for me to put my feet flat on the ground at stops--instead of tippy-toes....

Here's how some of the younger members deal with that problem.....

Bump. I will increase the tire pressure a tad and see if that helps out as I am running factory rec 28/32.I am also going to dial up the preload and spring tension one more notch in the rear.Tri,u were spot on-just an uneasy feeling that the front end was going to unload and put my old arze in a ditch was what I was getting.bj

650ed wrote:

hocbj23 wrote:

OK,but in my defense,the 2 inch drop made it possible for me to put my feet flat on the ground at stops--instead of tippy-toes....

Here's how some of the younger members deal with that problem.....

Can u see a set of those on a 70 year+ old fart -"Wake me early ,for Im to be Queen of the May"LMAO.bj

hocbj23 wrote:
"Can u see a set of those on a 70 year+ old fart -"Wake me early ,for Im to be Queen of the May"LMAO.bj"

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationNo eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationotakar wrote:

Unfortunately they are not as stated. Those will not fit without mods. These however will.

Damn it would pee me off to have to buy a different set of forks since I just completely rebuilt the stock ones.Oh well its just $.Thanks O.bj

otakar,
Did you change the triple clamps when you built this bike?


otakar wrote:

This bike started out life as a 1981 1000CSR. The frame is still stock and so are the wheel sizes. I changed the front end to a "J" front end and a Tarozzi brace,

No, the tree is the original CSR tree. I just changed the fork set, handlebars, front master cylinder (because of the new bars), and instrument cluster (custom built). The rear shocks are another inch longer than the Zuk shocks. I just found that the front forks that were on the bike to begin with really SUCKED. There was nothing wrong with them as far as mechanistically, I just found the design to really suck as far as handling. I am only 5'10.5" and I have no ptoblem with both of my feet being flat on the ground with even a slight bend i my knees. Plus my seat is about 1.5" higher than the OE on the CSR. I am running the same size tires on the bike as you are. I am using 1978 LTD rims. My handling is absolutely wonderful. I can do a cloverleaf at about 65mph and hold it with no problem. I could not even do it at 45mph with the CSR forks, and that was WITH the stock shorter swingarm.

hocbj23 wrote:

OK,but in my defense,the 2 inch drop made it possible for me to put my feet flat on the ground at stops--instead of tippy-toes.The Dunlops are new and I am not going to get rid of them quite yet.The Zuki rear shocks are 1 inch longer than the Kawi shocks they replaced so that doesnt seem to play in the equation.Putting the rake back an inch or so seems reasonable however.Maybe the answer to at least part of the problem.Issue may have been there all along but this is first time I have pushed the bike really hard on a road that demands really great handling.If u ever get to SE Tennessee look me up and we will go ride the "Suck Creek Mountain Road" and u will see what I mean.Thanks gentlemen.bj

Do you have the ability to slide the forks up higher in the tripple tree ? This lowers the front ride height, and shifts your center of gravity weight foreward, placing more weight on the front end. Everything is a compramise, as lowering the ride height may cause front end in-stability, but you also commented you have a steering dampener...

do some searching under adjusting "rake and trail" in some of the sportbike forums. Here's a link that i've used in the past as a great reference :
www.sportrider.com/tech/146_0310_art/index.html

Lowering the front will get you back to something similar to stock geometry, but you still have two extra inches of wheelbase to contend with. You will also have quite a bit less cornering clearance if you lower the front; front-end push is a lot worse when something solid touches down mid corner, and suddenly your tires are unweighted.

I would say that the most reliable and effective method to correct your handling problem is to restore the rear ride height to stock height. Perhaps you could get some forum members to take some measurement of their stock bikes for you.

Dramatic reduction in trail (changing to straight forks and keeping the stock triple clamps) will quicken the steering, but wont reduce the rake.