| Author |
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M1combat
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - 10:10 pm: | 
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I didn't use that chart.
I have two lines showing on the front ATM, but I think I'll move to three at some point. I don't remember where my dampers are at. Based on the notes that Slaughter posted above, my main goal in doing that would seem to be to add more traction at the front. I would rather slide the rear tire than the front  . I tend to sit a bit further back that I think most people do mid corner, so I think a standard setup for me would end up with a little less front preload. That's just my style though. I've considered placing a 1/2" strip of some stiff foam along the pillion seat cover to keep myself from doing that. It probably comes from riding dirt bikes all my life. |
Slaughter
| | Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 12:26 pm: |
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You kinda need to sit back to tuck behind the fairing at speed. I built a seat that keeps my butt in place (don't know if you can see it well in the avatar or my profile) - really good under hard acceleration but I find that even though it lets me hang off really well, I don't like that it keeps me from sliding back to tuck in.
I took the stock seat, raised the rear about 2 inches and made the front more of a vertical butt-grabber thinking it'd unload my arms during acceleration. Yeah, it does that but It wasn't quite the answer. |
Hkwan
| | Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 01:19 pm: |
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OK, thanks to all of your comment and suggestion. The XB is now pretty close to the F4i in terms of handling. I think with M1 or better tires, it will exceed the F4i in handling. All it needs is "just" a tad less initial turn-in effort. Currently after the initial turn-in, the bike is very stable during mid-corner and the rest of the way. Straight line performance is still rock solid and better than the F4i. I'm happy now.
One more question, has anyone experienced with the new Pilot Power tires? |
M1combat
| | Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 02:17 pm: |
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No, but I will be next time. |
Wyckedflesh
| | Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 02:22 pm: |
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I have not had experience with them myself, but I do know some racers who have already used them and liked them better then the standard Pilots which is saying alot. |
Barkandbite
| | Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 11:41 pm: |
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OK, Hkwan...so after all the advice, it's only fair that you share what you ended up with setting-wise so others might learn from your, er, experience 
So, lay 'em out -- compression, rebound, preload, rear shock, etc...
Thanks in advance for all those who are interested.
Chris |
Hkwan
| | Posted on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 01:18 am: |
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No problem, Chris. I wanted to do that at first but I didn't want to mislead anyone because those are the setting that works for me. Might be trouble for some other people. Here they are:
Preload - Frt: 4.5 lines. Rear: 5th slot
Compression - Frt: 1.15. Rear: 1.15
Rebound: - Frt and Rear, just a tad more than 1 turn.
Note, with different tire brand other than my current Dunlop (frt 207, Brand new rear, 208), I'm sure the bike will be PERFECT in terms of handling.
When I switched from Pilot Sport to Diablo Corsa on the F4i, boy, the very first turn (slow one) that I took almost had me falling off the bike. I wasn't expecting the bike just DROP into a turn. I wasn't even leaning. I was just steering the bike into a turn. The profile is really that different between the tires.
Applying the same theory, when I switch away from the Dunlops in the future on the Buell, I'm sure I will get crazily easy turn-in effort as well.
In mid corner (even before suspension turning), the Buell kicks the F4i's butt. And of course getting out of corner, the Buell just jets off whereas I have to wait for steam to build up (relatively speaking) on the F4i.
PS - in case you are wondering - straight line performance is still rock solid. I don't detect a difference from before. I've taken it up to 90 to 95 mph encounting some bumps on the highway.
(Message edited by hkwan on December 17, 2004) |
Dropnstyle
| | Posted on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 10:30 am: |
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i weigh under 150 and for the front when it says 6 lines showing..is that on the 6th line or the 7th so six are showing?? |
M1combat
| | Posted on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 11:08 am: |
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I think that means on the sixth line... |
Hkwan
| | Posted on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 01:40 pm: |
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Hey all,
I've a tire test result in softcopy. Kinda old, couple of years.
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Barkandbite
| | Posted on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 03:24 pm: |
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Hkwan:
See, you left out that juicy little detail...you're running a D208 out back and a D207 in the front!
That will also make a difference -- maybe not a big one, but I do believe the profiles are different.
Thanks for sharing.
Chris |
Hkwan
| | Posted on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 03:54 pm: |
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Well, I was thinking the 207 and the 208 is the same, no? If the 208 is a little bit better than the 207 then I'm even better off, correct?
I was going to go 207 just for the sole purpose of matching the front. It is harder to find stores selling 207 now. Most of them only carries 208.
Anyone with experience on 208's? |
M1combat
| | Posted on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 04:56 pm: |
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Yeah, you gotta give us all the details...
The 208 is a much better tire than the 207F/U. Still not to the caliber of a proper tire made for a short wheelbase/low rake angle bike like the XB. If you have a longer wheelbase and a greater rake angle (like all the other bikes out there except to some extent the R1 or ZX-10) the tire choice makes much less difference.
I read through that entire article you posted...
To me it means nothing. Each tire will work better/worse with whatever chassis it was designed for. The riding style will also affect the opinions of the tires a lot. They mentioned nothing at all about changing their setup after each tire swap, so really they just figured out which tires suit their personal setup the best. |
Hkwan
| | Posted on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 05:02 pm: |
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M1 et al, sorry for not giving out the rear tire model from the beginning. I truely didn't know the profile between 207/208 is different.
Now, that article was just for reference only. Looks like the tester wanted only one variable therefore only changing one thing - the tires.
It still might give you some reference point, but by no means, just like anything that gets published by magazines, treat it as bible when buying your tires.
Thank you all for the help. Rode in today on the Buell and it is awesome. The initial turn-in effort is ONLY a small tad more difficult than the F4i'S. |
M1combat
| | Posted on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 06:23 pm: |
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I think that may have a good deal to do with the inherent stability associated with a low rake angle. The thrust generated at the tire patch is on a vector that is closer to perpendicular to the forks themselves so it has better mechanical advantage to keep the tire straight compared to something with more rake but the same amount of trail. In short, the XB is a very stable bike. This has a few disadvantages, and many advantages.
Sorry... I didn't really MEAN to say tire patch... I had to. |
Surveyor
| | Posted on Sunday, December 19, 2004 - 06:59 pm: |
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hkwan, I'm not familiar with the 208 but the 207 front is not suitable (in my opinion) for track use. The 207 will overheat easily (turns blue on the shoulder) and when it lets go there is no warning. For some reason the back doesn't seem to overheat that much and it doesn't even slide....maybe my front let go before my back got a chance. There are other posts here warning about the unpredictability of the 207s so beware it's not just me. |
M1combat
| | Posted on Sunday, December 19, 2004 - 07:41 pm: |
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Bluing is an indication of overheating? I was wondering about that... My front Metzeler does that sometimes. |
Ingemar
| | Posted on Monday, December 20, 2004 - 05:35 am: |
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I don't know about the rest of you but 4 lines or more on the front is way too soft. Too much static sag and too much dive when braking.
I have mine set to 2 lines. Yes, it's little uncomfortable on roads other than tarmac, but I couldn' care less. It feels more confident inspiring than anything else I've tried. |
M1combat
| | Posted on Monday, December 20, 2004 - 11:04 am: |
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Ingemar... It feels more confidence inspiring because you are in effect raising the front ride height. You have not changed the "static spring tension". You have ONLY raised the front ride height. That said... I run your setup as well, and I like it. I do find that at high lean angles (toes dragging when tucked in) the front does want to run wide. This "I think" means that the front ride height (spring preload) is too high. I will be adjusting it to three lines this weekend to see what happens. |
Ingemar
| | Posted on Monday, December 20, 2004 - 11:40 am: |
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Cool M1. I was wondering how you were doing on that setup.
The only times I run wide is when my brain locks up preventing me from leaning over some more . |
Maxima4xu2
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 22, 2004 - 11:31 pm: |
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well im 240+lbs and i run on the up to 240lbs mark in the book i found its the only way to get the proper amount of rider sag on the bike (aprox 1/3 of the total travel according to lee parks book total control) our bikes have a longer stroke than alot of others and we need to do it by % of this not by mm just my 2 cents though going by total control and sportbike riding in the real world |
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tire test