Frame raking

I'm having the frame raked at Rowe machine in NH.It looks like 4 deg.'s moves the front wheel out aprox. 2.5 inches from the front of frame.anyone do a before and after measurement?...I think my mindless math is right.I based it on a 28 inch fork length.

Sounds about right, a 5 deg is around 3" but I've never measured on to be honest. Always went with degrees as used to figure the trail. Most street applications go 5 deg here.

Les

bikedog wrote: I'm having the frame raked at Rowe machine in NH.It looks like 4 deg.'s moves the front wheel out aprox. 2.5 inches from the front of frame.anyone do a before and after measurement?...I think my mindless math is right.I based it on a 28 inch fork length.

4 degrees will push the front end out 1.95"

28 x sin 4* = 1.95

I got 1.74", less than I had guessed...., like I said, I had never really measured it, just on observation on the stand. figure the angle at 25 deg, 11.83", then at 29 deg, 13.57", you get about 1.74". Am I off or missing something?

Les Holt

I did 4 degrees on mine, didn't like it, switched to a no rake frame

But yes les is right

ok,I got it.
thanks.
yeah I dont need much,
just need more tire/pipe clearance at full compression .

Going to frame shop today.

How are you going to ride the bike? Anything more than 3 degrees will definately affect cornering compared to stock.

rode my friends suzook 1100 streetbike lowered with 5 deg rake,it handles diffrently but not unruly.when theyre setup like this your not going to be ripn knee dragn corners.modest street cruisin and track duty.

Here is a little read of part of the original article By Kent Kunitsugu, published in the October,1999 issue of Sport Rider, I copied and put here the bad part about increasing the rake to make it handle.


But when all was said and done at the end of the season, one bike-and-rider combination stood above the rest: Eddie Lawson and the lime-green Kawasaki. Despite an engine that lacked the latest four-valve technology sported by the competition, Team Green had emerged victorious against considerable odds. In commemoration of its 1981 AMA Superbike championship, Kawasaki built a very limited number of special KZ1000Rs that, although appearing to be nothing more than a tarted-up KZ1000 at first glance, turned out to be a far better performer than the standard J-model, even with a suggested retail price that was listed as "set by dealer."

The biggest improvement was a change in steering geometry and riding position. The rake angle was extended to 29 degrees from the J-model's 27.5-degree spec, with an accompanying increase in trail from 3.89 to 4.50 inches.

The article goes on to boast other improvement that when added up do make the package but quote/unquote. "The biggest improvement was a change in steering geometry and riding position" Geometry was done by basically raking the frame!! Sounds like even Kawasaki figured out they had short numbers back then. OH, and just an update, I still ride the ole turbo and it has 29 degrees of rake, 5.39 inch's of trail and possibly the thinnest chicken strips you'll see on 90% of sport bikes around here. It's ridden with a high level of confidence and not because I'm that good of rider cause I'm not, I just know what it's designed in capability's are and it gives you the feedback and feeling that it is capable of much more.


Les Holt

bikedog wrote: Going to frame shop today.

Buy a 12 pack, start cutting, fire up the Miller welder. Then see what happens!

still waiting for my frame to be done.when I dropped it off at fab shop,it looked like it would be at the end of a long "to do" list.
meanwhile,gardner crank is welding the crankshaft and Joe at psp is cutting my trans,putting together a 1075 setup and stage 2 porting the head.