| Author | Message | ||
     Cygnus_x1 |
Took a little solo ride around the Eastern part of our State. Heres a sign I came across.  Nice road to open her up.  At 5th gear pinned, this is all I could get. I was between 5-6K ft. 118mph  This is what I learned, at any speed over 95 if I had my feet on the rear pegs, the bike would wobble bad, as in front to back the whole thing would wobble. I just had the new Syncs put on, (like Annoy has been saying) they didnt have that front end swimming thing going on, just the whole bike wobbled. BUT if I put my feet on the normal pegs, and squooze the tank with my legs, the wobble would go away. Whats up with that? | ||
| Cygnus_x1 |
I wish Erik could make the Uly a bit more stable. I love that bike and what it can do. | ||
| Roadrailer |
Why would you put your feet on the rear pegs??? | ||
| Chadhargis |
I will put my feet on the rear pegs to change positions on a long ride. Never done it on the Ulysses though. My Ulysses is stable. Never taken up to 118 and don't really have any desire to. I've had it to maybe 95 or 100 when passing once or twice, but that's it. The thing that attracts me to the Uly is that it's a backroad weapon that's comfortable. I did a little 300 mile ride yesterday (my longest on the Uly) and I was comfortable the entire ride. Tight twisties, two lane highways, and even some slab. I don't like riding slab, but I've never liked it on any bike I've ever owned. It's just not fun. One of the guys I was riding with yesterday said to me, "I've ridden a Buell, and I just didn't think it had enough power". He was riding a 600cc sportbike. We got into some tight switchbacks, and I ran it up his tailpipe. I kidded him at the next stop as to where all his "power" was, and he said he just couldn't "open 'er up" in the tight stuff. LOL!! So much for power. He can keep his 150mph top speed.  | ||
| Bross |
That's great! I love stories of you guys who can ride embarrassing guys on sport bikes who think they are the fastest thing on two wheels! | ||
| Jim_sb |
Hi Dave, I just got back from a 3 day weekend in Death Valley with the Ulysses. Yeah, the 616's "swim" a tiny bit at speed on pavement, no big deal. Took West Side Road on Saturday, approximately 40 miles long, a mix of dirt, packed dirt, gravel, loose gravel, embedded rocks and in places sand. Lots of "stutter bumps", think miniature washboards. The 17" wheel seemingly drops down into every one of those, the only solution I could come up with was to really increase speed - say 45mph or more. I think the compression settings (front and rear) are too hard for that terrain and I'm going to start tweaking those soon. I had 2 instances where the bars started seriously oscillating on their own while under power. Once in 4" + deep sand and the other in 4" deep loose gravel. Got it back under control both times but it took real effort; I was close to going down both times. The engineers can explain to us the reasons why that might be happening but my aspirations to ride the Ulysses off pavement took a hit. Personally I'm guessing the geometry of the Ulysses, which is very aggressive for a street bike is just too much in certain off pavement conditions. In all other conditions steering was just fine, but get into the loose stuff that is more than a few inches deep and the bike gets squirrely in a hurry. At least it does for me. Of course out West many of our gravel and dirt roads are going to have these types of conditions. Sand and the desert go together. I can experiment with lowering pressures to see how that helps but am concerned about rim protection. My rims were just peachy and took some hard shots from embedded rocks that were right smack in the middle of the good line. In some areas the road was quite rocky and was rough, but I am hopeful that some of that can be tuned out with compression adjustments so the suspension floats a bit more in those conditions. Best, Jim in Santa Barbara} | ||
| Blake |
Cyg, Have you considered that your riding gear may be grabbing wind and instigating the wobble you speak of? It's happened to me. I cannot where one of my oversized leather jackets and do over 80 mph (air speed) on my Cyclone. If you are a big guy and are wearing a loose to semi-loose gear, that may well be the issue. That may well also account for the low top speed. Just some possibilities to consider. | ||
| Debueller |
I put one foot or the other or sometimes both on the rear pegs to mix up my seating position on long rides. Slightly changing seating position often is a old truck driving trick to help combat soreness on long road trips. When putting only one foot on the rear peg I usually try to put my left one back there. That allows me to keep the right foot near the rear brake. By putting both feet on the rear pegs that helps me to get more of my girth low and behind the windscreen during high speed blasts down straight roads. As far as the bikes stability, I don't notice much difference, but if I'm going faster than 90-100mph I keep both feet on the front pegs to grip the bike with my knees. I also like to stay near to the rear brake at them speeds. | ||
| M2nc |
I have run 120+ on the Uly without the bags and 115mph with the bags. Stability is an issue for me too, but I would not call it a wobble. Just that swimming feeling that we know the D616 have. Actually with the bags on the big feels a little more planted at speed, if that makes any sense. The thing is, I was no where near topped out in either case. I do not know the elevation you were at, wind speed and direction and so on, but I've had the M2 to over 130 once and it was still accelerating and it does not have as much punch on the top end as the Uly. I truly expected the Uly to hit the rev limiter in 5th. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know if I will ever find out because for the most part I keep it under 100mph. | ||
| Roadrailer |
I have run 120+ on the Uly without the bags and 115mph with the bags Indicated on the speedo, or verified by GPS, etc.? Most motorcycle speedos are very optimistic at higher speeds | ||
| Roadrailer |
I put one foot or the other or sometimes both on the rear pegs to mix up my seating position on long rides. Slightly changing seating position often is a old truck driving trick to help combat soreness on long road trips. I understand te whole moving around thing, but the rear pegs at over 95 mph?! Seems like a good way to lose control of the bike. | ||
| Chadhargis |
I discovered my Uly speedo is off by around 5mph. I used my GPS all day yesterday and it was reading 5mph slower than the speedo. Did manage to hit a GPS indicated 93mph max speed yesterday. No issues. | ||
| Jim_sb |
Re Uly speedo accuracy, my GPS typically indicates my groundspeed as 2 mph or so below that shown by the Speedometer. I did hit 80mph (speedo) on some hard pack dirt (smoother than pavement). Could have gone faster - just didn't want to ride too far in front of my eyes...  Regards, Jim in Santa Barbara | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
129 indicated two-up with Denise on Madduck's Uly thru Utah last September, WFO, with all three pieces of hard luggage and a tall Buell tankbag installed. no stability issues (the bike, not me). FB | ||
| Jim_sb |
Geez Ferris, I heard D was going faster than that yesterday....  Jim in SB | ||
| Jlnance |
129 indicated two-up with Denise on Madduck's Uly My experience is having a passenger makes the bike handle better. Did you find that to be true? | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Geez Ferris, I heard D was going faster than that yesterday.... that she was! sigh, the Uly was maxed out at 129. the FJR would 'only' give us 140 indicated yesterday on our way out to Death Valley. not sure why. we've done 145 two-up on the FJR (on 58 coming back from Laguna last year), and i've done 149 solo (in Nevada, about two weeks ago). my '98 VFR, with well over 50k on the clock, took me an indicated 152 in Death Valley a couple of years ago, on the highway a few miles north of Badwater. pretty impressive for a bike with less than 800 cc and with RKA saddlebags and tailbag dirtying the aero package quite a bit. no stability issues on any of these bikes at these speeds. MY stability, however, is probably under serious scrutiny at this point... FB (Message edited by jerry_haughton on April 10, 2006) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
My experience is having a passenger makes the bike handle better. Did you find that to be true? i'm not sure i could say either way. i REALLY liked the suspension on Madduck's Uly, easily the best of any Buell i've ever ridden, and easily one of the best features of the bike. i don't take corners as fast with D on the back, for several fairly obvious reasons, so a "head to head" comparison between one-up and two-up handling in such a situation i can't comment on. on the interstate, with Madduck's bike loaded down with two passengers, tankbag, and all three pieces of hard luggage packed the rafters, i couldn't dial in enough rear preload to keep the bike from drooping and bouncing in the back, but in fairness i didn't fiddle with compression damping so i'm not prepared to comdemn the rear spring rates. it's an interesting question you ask. i guess my answer would be 'maybe.' i can see where the additional weight from carrying a passenger would help "settle" the suspension, but my impression is that the Uly suspension is good enough, and has enough range of adjustment, that it shouldn't need settling. one-up or two-up, the Uly really impressed me in terms of handling and suspension compliance. FB | ||
| Windrider |
Jim_SB, A 17" front wheel on a 500lb bike wants to stay on harder surfaces. If you want to go through the sand take the DRZ or keep the front in a steady wheely. Happy Trails. | ||
| Cygnus_x1 |
Hey M2nc I found the same thing, while hauling through the paved part of Baja around 110 I had all 3 hard bags full of gear and crap I didnt really need, and no issues. So on this trip I packed light, just the tank bag, and a camelback. On them long boring roads through Utah, I like to lean on the tank bag, put feet on rear pegs, (its like they were put there for just that reason) and just cruise at 90-100. And yes I'm too big! Then add the crappy Feildsheer jacket, and I probably have as much drag as a Mack truck? When I topped out, speedo indicated 122, GPS recorded 118. Dang that was fun, if I was in a car, I woulda dozed off, crashed and burned. | ||
| Jim_sb |
Hello Windrider, Who has a 500 pound bike? I just want to explore the non-paved routes with my Ulysses. Best, Jim in Santa Barbara | ||
| Blake |
with Madduck's bike loaded down with two passengers, tankbag, and all three pieces of hard luggage packed the rafters, i couldn't dial in enough rear preload to keep the bike from drooping and bouncing in the back, but in fairness i didn't fiddle with compression damping so i'm not prepared to comdemn the rear spring rates. Preload has little to no affect on bouncing. It has great affect on drooping though, assuming you are talking about "sag" right? Really surprised you didn't dial in more compression damping for two-up riding; it would have likely made a huge difference. I know it does on my M2. Great to hear some of your Uly riding impressions. Please keep them coming! Now, please slow down! Geesh! | ||
| Jim_sb |
Blake, Don't blame Ferris, it's the FJR. Those bikes just have a whole lot going on down in the engine room. How many of us could ride a bike like that out in the middle of nowhere on a wide open road and not be tempted to see what it could do? Temptation is an evil mistress indeed...  Jim in Santa Barbara | ||
| Chadhargis |
Had my FJR up to a GPS indicated 145 on two occasions. I chickened out, but the bike was still pulling. That's one of the reasons I got rid of the FJR. I decided I had no need to go over 80mph. | ||
| Jim_sb |
I'm with Chad on that. I'm trying to keep things sane. That's another reason I like the "adventure" and dirt side of things - and another reason I bought my DRZ. The street and the lean angle can become intoxicating. Riding off pavement encourages me to slow down and enjoy the view. If I ever start doing track days then I'll lust for a pure sport bike. Thankfully the track is a long way from my house. Best, Jim in SB | ||
| Jim_sb |
Hi guys, One more thought. I was standing on the pegs in the deep stuff (whether sand or gravel) when the oscillations occurred. Because the bars are so low I have to lean forward. Right now I'm thinking that puts additional weight on the front tire at a time when you want the weight on the rear, so that probably exacerbated (or perhaps caused?) the instability. Next time out I'm going to remain seated with my weight back and we'll see how that goes. The remainder of the time the Ulysses went exactly where I put it when off pavement. Only issues were the deep stuff and I was always standing.... Hmmmmmm.....  Jim in SB | ||
| 2_spuds |
Jim sb, I ride some sand roads around here where the sand is from 2 to 6 inches deep. At street pressures it's a pain trying to keep it straight.I drop the front and back down to 22 to 24psi and it makes a world of difference.I sit back on the seat since there is no way I can stand on the pegs since my knees seem like they are over the bars even with them bent.There aren't any rocks at all mixed in so I'am not worried about bending a rim.So far I have only dropped it once when I crossed some pretty deep ruts at an angle while going around a corner.No damage done.I ordered a damper from dave to try to see if it helps for crossing those ruts that the four wheelers leave. | ||
| Jim_sb |
2 Spuds, Excellent info., thanks. I'll try working my way down with the air pressure. Based on Dave's experience in Baja I'm concerned about dropping to 24psi, but I'm certain that helps (I run the DRZ at 14 or 15psi in the sand). I believe a steering damper would have prevented the oscillation I encountered, but if i can solve the issue by remaining seated and lowering pressures I'll like that even better. Best, Jim in SB | ||
| Solarbri |
Jim I also ride some pretty deepish sand/gravel roads on the Uly and I think your on the right track with staying seated. I stay seated and try to keep the front end light. In really squirrelly sand/snow/ice, I drag my feet on the ground or at least have them hovering just above the ground ready to catch me. It usually works (I'm 6'7" with very long legs), however, my Uly has only been laid down (gently) twice, once on snow and once in deep beach sand. As for lowering of tire pressure, I say don't do it. As a long time mountain biker, I say it is a bad habit! No rocks? Yeah right all it takes is one. And, then you'll always be fussing with your pressures each and every time you change your riding surfaces. I say it's not worth it. Adapt your riding style... not the bike! And, all you big guys out there... what do you do about sore back after several days in a row in the saddle? I've noticed that I tend to hunch my back at highway speeds to reduce the air blast some. But, boy howdy after a bit it starts to want to stay hunched. And straightening it...OUCH!!! Any tips? | ||
| Jim_sb |
Hello Solarbri, As luck would have it I'm not tall enough to drag my feet. But I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that anyway, I want to stay on the pegs. On my DRZ standing while off-road is my normal riding position. I sit down on the tank for corners and occasionally to rest in straights when it's smooth. I think on the Uly I'll just sit more often - especially in the deep stuff. I'll let you know how it works out. Best, Jim in Santa Barbara | ||
| Stevem123 |
Hi Jim, I've only attempted some soft stuff once so far. I crossed the logdeck at the sawmill where I work one day after some heavy rain. The stuff is mud mixed with real fine redwood bark about 6" deep. Very gooshy stuff indeed. I started slow but quickly found I needed to power through to stabilize the bike. I almost went down till I got up a little speed. You can't hardly walk in the stuff much less anything else but I made it through just fine. I stayed seated and just gassed it and steered best I could. The real machines they use for moving around those logs have wheels taller and wider than I am tall! Like I said before, real gooshy stuff. Me, the bike, and anything within ten feet of either side of my path was covered in mud! WooHoo!  Not the kind of terrain I would want to cover for very far but it was a thrill! BC Steve |
