| Author | Message | ||
     Surf_boy |
Just bought an S1 WL (  , and noticed some have the frame brace. Good to get? Found a link on the web to a place (Banke) but says discontinued... Thoughts, ideas, suggestions, opinions, or for sale, please advise! (Can they be made? I have a nice shop to access.) Gracias (Message edited by surf_boy on March 15, 2007) (Message edited by surf_boy on March 15, 2007) | ||
| Surf_boy |
Well, I found them at American Sport Bike...$260? huh? Anyone else make them? Or selling them? | ||
| Tattoodnscrewd |
The one you see on American Sport Bike's website is no longer available (was made by WestTec I believe)... the Banke one is discontinued but Al at American Sport Bike just got 2 of them, presumably the last to be had .. of which I bought one, so he may still have one left ... other than that good luck finding one, no one is making tuber parts like these anymore and whatever inventory is out there is most likely it ... Check to see if Al still has the one remaining Banke one still (if he doesn't you may be out of luck) ... or try to find one used (which may be even harder .. ) | ||
| Bomber |
if Al is out, drop me a PM -- I may be able to help | ||
| Djkaplan |
I don't know if the frame brace is important for a street ridden S1, but it does look cool. I've seen a few S1's with a steel brace welded in place. It's a cleaner look... but you gotta permantly alter the frame. No way I'd do that to an S1. | ||
| Lake_bueller |
I don't notice the difference too much on the road. My S1W has a Banke brace while my S3T doesn't. On the VERY rare occasion, I can feel a little frame flex in the S3T. But this is under heavy high-speed braking before a corner. The S1W is solid as a rock on the track in harsher conditions. Not sure if that helps. | ||
| Surf_boy |
Yea, the info helps. Thank you all. I don't race, just kind of cruise it. Used to race MC when I was a kid, but now it's just fun/cool transpo'. ALWAYS loved the 98' WL, so I finally grabbed one. For $250+ (I was think $60-$80!!), I think I can live without it. And I can always make one with sail-rigging tensioner and some nice brackets if I felt it necessary. What about those steering stiffener cables? (Message edited by surf_boy on March 15, 2007) | ||
| Lake_bueller |
What about those steering stiffener cables? Do you mean a steering damper (like this picture)?  Personally....even less important than the frame brace for street riding. Mine is run at the lowest setting unless I'm on the track. | ||
| Surf_boy |
Ahhh yea. That was it..... Some website claimed it a 'must' for high-speed wobble, etc... I'm 'over' high-speed, anyway. I see a lot of guys and a lot of bikes in San Diego that are all scraped up. Everyone thinks they're on a track (on the street)...Man, so much sand and crap in those little 'wedges' at street corners. I was crossing one awhile back and found a 10" knife! Would that be fun to slide off of? (Bike looks sweet!) Rand | ||
| Cereal |
I have always wanted one too, but there is no way I'd spend over $100 on it. I haven't found frame flex to much of a problem on my S1 except for one time. A car pulled out in front of me and I did an accidental stoppy. After checking to make sure I didn't crap my pants, I noticed a little dent in my oil filter from where it made contact with the frame. What is a sail-rigging tensioner? | ||
| Surf_boy |
Sorry..Meant a turnbuckle. You could find something nice for clamping on the frame, and get a bar and pin end on a nice SS turnbuckle. Would probably run you $20-$40 for everything, would hold snug and wouldn't compress, either.(was just a thought that crossed my mind when I saw the prices for a little stick of metal. I mean, a sail load is in THOUSANDS of pounds of pressure, and these things hold it all). I'll see if I can hunt something down. | ||
| Surf_boy |
Something like this with the threaded bar shortened to fit, with a nice padded clamp?  | ||
| Rocketman |
I had the extra tube welded into the frame not long after I bought the S1W, so I couldn't honestly say if it made a noticeable difference at all it's been on there that long. Back in 98 it was regarded as a must have mod. The theory behind it, if one studies the frame, seems to work well though. As for steering dampers. My experience where the S1's are concerned is simply this. A light person, say around 140lbs or so, could experience head shake from an S1. I weigh more than 140lbs and I've never experienced head shake or tank slappers on any Buell. Rocket | ||
| Cereal |
I've had similar ideas, but have had too much else going on to give it a try. Let me know what you come up with, Surf. | ||
| Bomber |
surfboy -- yep, it's a little stick of metal, certainly but it's made so it'll bolt up with no problems at all, every time, with no mods requried to do that, you've either gotta spend a LOT of time at the hand-cranked mill, measuring often, and generating a fair amount of scrap (don't forget to pay the scrap maker) or you get yerself a CNC machine, make one the fits right, and be able to replicate it at will (don't forget to pay for the CNC machine) it's like the old joke guy pulls his missing, stumbling car into the service station and asks if the mech on duty can fix it mech takes a screwdriver, turns the idle mixture screw 1/8th of a turn, and the car runs like new that'll be $25 $25? all you did was turn the screw OK -- 5 cents for turning the screw -- $24.95 for knowing which screw to turn simple looking doesn't always mean inexpensive to make | ||
| Djkaplan |
A light person, say around 140lbs or so, could experience head shake from an S1. I weigh more than 140lbs and I've never experienced head shake or tank slappers on any Buell. I don't think I ever considered the riders weight as a factor in a bike's proclivity to headshake... interesting. I weigh 175+plus gear and I've never experience bad headshake on my M2. What I did find that had a huge impact on headshake was tires. Dunlop 207 and 208 front tires would give my bike the slightest headshake during acceleration in a straight line. As the tires wore in, this tendency would be reduced and eventually disappear. It was disconcerting at first, but some other Dunlop users said they experienced the same issue with totally different bikes. I never once got close to a tank slapper on my tuber, though. | ||
| Rocketman |
During the time I was drag racing my S1W I ran some pretty good times despite weighing around 224lbs (16 stone). My best time was beat by another rider on my bike who weighed around 196lbs (14 stone). At his first attempt he ran 11.25, which is pretty bloody amazing for a 100rwhp S1W on stock gearing and street rubber. Anyway, I let another bloke, also an S1W owner, take my S1W down the strip. This bloke weighed a puny 140lbs (10 stone) and given his own experience dragging his S1W I thought there's a great chance my S1W would drop into the 10's with him playing pilot. Sadly that didn't happen. Barely past 70 - 80 mph (the bloke claimed) violent headshake and imminent tank slappers prevented him, a 10 stone weed, from posting any sort of reasonable time. Granted, this is just one instance but it isn't an isolated one. I have had conversations with other Buell tube frame owners who swear by needing a steering damper. The common factor is always skinny guys. Interestingly, if I place my feet over the passanger pegs resting my shins on top of the pegs, then lay across the tank, I can induce a serious weave. I have a theory that weight and weight distribution play an important part on headshake ands tank slappers where tube Buells are concerned. Like I say though, this is my theory and based solely on my own experiences. Rocket | ||
| Rick_a |
Steering dampers...depends on riding style IMO. I've never seen a need for one in a straight line. My bike has always been solid stable in that respect (except sometimes landing wheelies). Exiting corners hard with a light front wheel is another story completely. Do a track day...there'll be all kinds of monkey motion you'll discover all of a sudden. I've thought about welding a frame brace on...but the Banke brace lets the steering damper tuck in nice and tight. | ||
| Rick_a |
BTW, congrats on buying the coolest bike ever devised! | ||
| Al_lighton |
Kinda moot now on the frame brace. I just sold the last Banke one, there are no more to be had new. The westtek one has been unavailable for a while now. A steering damper should be doing nothing until it is needed. It should not be used to correct a deficient setup that is causing shakes or wobbles. There are many things out there that are conspiring to wrest the bars out of your arms. I hit a large rock on my wife's SV650 with no damper, bent both rims, sent me into a tank slapper into the oncoming traffic lane. A steering damper wouldn't have saved the rims, but it would have minimized a lot of drama that day, even on its' minimum setting. Al | ||
| Tattoodnscrewd |
Agreed on the damper Al ... I had gone with the Brew City bunch for a fun ride towards the end of the year last year and in the middle of a long sweeper hit a pothole ... had it not been for the damper I would have probably suffered a tank slapper like Al did ... the forks bottomed (prior to swapping the standard forks for X1 forks on my M2) and while leaning that isn't a good thing - the damper did it's job - slowed the motion enough for me to control it .... I would not want to see what would have happened that day without a damper. | ||
| Rick_a |
A lot of people ask me if a steering damper will help with keeping the bike stable in windy conditions. I tell them to keep their money and loosen the grip on the bars  . | ||
| Surf_boy |
Thanks for all the feedback. I guess, like everything else, I just have to run it out and see what I feel and experience. Stoked on getting this S1WL. Has ALWAYS caught my eye, and I picked up a 2000 X1, new, in like 2003. Just sitting on the floor. The color wasn't popular here in So Cal, but I thought it was pretty cool. Now, I guess I'll have to sell that one, since when I went looking, I couldn't find a 98' to save my life. If....I need a damper, where should I look? Thanks | ||
| Rick_a |
Storz, Hyperpro, Ohlins, Shindy...to name a few. I think the Storz is the best bang for the buck. I've had one for over 5 years and 23000 miles with no issues what so ever. | ||
| Surf_boy |
I showed the frame brace to a friend with a COMPLETE shop, and he said; "Go get a piece of stock. This one is The Big Easy"... So a question; When it clamps onto the frame, is there a gasket to protect the paint? Or is it kind of knurled to bite in and grab? Lake Bueller? Could I get a couple closeups of yours? Would help a lot... Gracias.. | ||
| Rick_a |
Nothing too special here:  | ||
| Surf_boy |
Thank you. Seems like the edges might sort of dent/cut the frame paint? Think I'd put a thin layer of rubber around the tube before I clamped. | ||
| Bomber |
surf -- your concern of the finish of the frame is laudable -- but think about what you're trying to do you want to eliminate the potential for any flex in the frame, yes? if you put some rubber or other pratective material between the brace mounting bits and the frame, how would that affect the mounting's rigidity? you won't dent the frame, but the finish will be altered (under the brace mounts) | ||
| Surf_boy |
I was just thinking that a thin strip of gasket-type rubber - very tough and thin, would also help. Snugged down, I believe would work fine. Might even grab a bit better. What can I say? It's my baby! Thanks! | ||
| Cereal |
I agree with Surf. And I doubt anyone would notice a millimeter of frame flex. How would your friend like to make two? (hint, hint, nudge, nudge) |
