Cornering tips

[3Rider]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'll take it easy until I find my limits, then the bikes.



Greetings, TrkTek. You're absolutely right; it was on the 511 on the long weekend that I was testing my various and nefarious cornering methods. (Only one sighting of another Triumph - older red Sprint, I think, though I was concentrating on something else at the time.) Naturally, I rode around the unfinished racetrack just to say I had done it. As an added bonus, I have a cottage down a messy dirt road on Hwy 41, making the Centennial Lake extension a soon-to-be regular route. I'm off to the garage now to get a few bugs off the windscreen and the pine sorrowfully at the rain.



Rob

[Mudhen]

What about lowering/raising the forks?



Is it raising the forks through the triple clamps that makes it turn in quicker?  Or the other way around??

[eviltwin]

What about lowering/raising the forks?



Is it raising the forks through the triple clamps that makes it turn in quicker?  Or the other way around??

Yes, raise the forks in the tripleclamp to improve turn-in. But careful: check the tire clearance to the engine/guard with the forks fully compressed.

[jdowl13815]

I recently test rode two tigers, and noticed a large difference in handling.  One had been lowered a little, and felt much more responsive to turns (though I think almost to the point of having it feel unstable).  The lower bike had the rear cams flipped and the front was lowered in the forks.  Huge difference between the two, and it was due to the steering geometry.  Lower your front end in the forks a little, and I think you'll feel a big difference in cornering responsiveness.

[Jim S]

I consider myself pretty proficient at riding dual purpose bikes after 12 yrs of Africa Twins and 2 yrs of the Varadero. I reckon the Tiger has less rake than the Hondas, I find the steering quite sharp in comparison!

It's not my Blade obviously but I think the bike steers well. I have touched the pegs on the Africa once, the Varadero was a daily basis, clearance issue? I've pushed the Tiger as far as scare myself and still haven't got the pegs to touch! The tourance on the back looks like the sides have never been completely over? I'm going to try the faithfull Bridgestone deathwings next, I've a lot of faith in them due to past experience on the Africas and the Varadero. I do travel offroad occasionally, hard tracks mainly and found the Trialwings perfect for the allround purpose I require them.

[squarepeg]

I tend to agree with Eviltwin, though I'm no expert on bike suspension, tires or handling, and I've never owned a sport bike.



I'm six months  in to my Tiger; previously owned a cruiser.  I'm STILL trying to figure out how to take tight curves at higher speeds.



Best as I can figure is to use what they called the "counter-steering" technique taught in my MSF street and dirt bike classes:  I still push, but my weight is shifted outside rather than leaning/pulling the bike in toward the turn.  Kinda like how you would do a swerving maneuver.



This works much more comfortably/confidently for me in high speed turns.



High center of gravity on the Tiger:  easier to work with it than against it.

[eviltwin]

I'm six months  in to my Tiger; previously owned a cruiser.  I'm STILL trying to figure out how to take tight curves at higher speeds.



quote]



Yes, try and "push the bike down" in a tight corner, but leave your body mostly upright. A bit like the supermoto guys do. This way its easier to put the inside leg out, helps with corner confidence. The result is more leanangle for the bike (shorter turn radius), with your weight stabilizing the whole affair. Gets you around tight corners faster. Again, just my two cents... :D

[squeezer]

I've been looking at Tigers -- not an owner yet -- but  found this cornering tip while looking at reviews (this review was for the 01):

Steering at first seems faintly tiller-like, with wide handlebars perched on top of such a large, long motorcycle (wheelbase is a substantial 61 inches), but you soon learn the trick of turning quickly. Grip the tank pads between the knees, and waggle your backside to change direction. Sounds weird: works well (thanks to Reg Pridmore for that tip). When you get the hang of nudging the bike into bends, you'll find a road-handler that's as agile as most, especially when the going gets tough.

The review is at:

http://www.motorworld.com/roadtests/200 ... index.html (http://www.motorworld.com/roadtests/2001/triumph_tiger/index.html)

[iansoady]

I've been looking at Tigers -- not an owner yet -- but  found this cornering tip while looking at reviews (this review was for the 01):

Steering at first seems faintly tiller-like, with wide handlebars perched on top of such a large, long motorcycle (wheelbase is a substantial 61 inches), but you soon learn the trick of turning quickly. Grip the tank pads between the knees, and waggle your backside to change direction. Sounds weird: works well (thanks to Reg Pridmore for that tip). When you get the hang of nudging the bike into bends, you'll find a road-handler that's as agile as most, especially when the going gets tough.

The review is at:

http://www.motorworld.com/roadtests/200 ... index.html (http://www.motorworld.com/roadtests/2001/triumph_tiger/index.html)

Ah..... Counter steering is the answer (as it is for many cornering related issues) . See http://www.visordown.com/forums/search.php?searchid=464192 for more than you ever wanted to know............

[squeezer]

Well, you definitely have my agreement.  Countersteering is certainly how I've been taught to ride, and I actually don't believe anyone is really doing anything else when they turn -- maybe just accomplishing countersteering in different and less efficient ways.



Still, this thing sounded like a technique that might help the Tiger turn in.  And, heck, who am I to argue with Reg Pridmore???



I still haven't been on a Tiger yet -- just doing some background checks.  Such a cool bike!

[Mudhen]

I'm going to lower the forks some on my '96.  I had raised them 5/8" to compensate for my wheel swap, and it's unbelievably twitchy.  I'll try going to 1/2" and hopefully that will help...not sure if 1/8" will even be noticeable.

[eLo]

I`ve put som 65000kms to my -99 injection and have over the last five years of ownership tried various corneringtechniques. Coming from a Bimota Supermono my first try was pushing the inside bar when cornering and this turned out very well for me. I find it more effortless to push than to pull and I`ve come to believe that the relatively large front wheel of the Tiger is easier to control when pushing vs. pulling. When riding duo with luggage on longer trips (up to eight bags attached to the bike) I often find it neccesary to put some weight in the inside footpeg an slip my ass (I`ve forgot the correct english word, sorry...) in the desired direction to help the bike corner. This combined or varied with the opposite knee pressing on the tank from the other side has got my (and my passenger) throuhg all the bends I/we`ve met. I use Metzeler Tourance , have tried both Michelin T66 (orig. spec.) and Pirellis but they`didn`t suit me. I`ve also fitted progressive front spring and a three-way adjustable susp.unit from WP, but theese mods have only been carried out in the last year so the above mentioned experiences ponit back to a more or less standard bike.

[3Rider]

Sorry to be reviving such a long-dead discussion thread but it seemed to attract some interest at the time so I thought I'd share an update.



I just returned from a performance  riding  course (www.fastridingschool.com (http://www.fastridingschool.com)) on Ontario's Shannonville racetrack and then experimented on my '99 through a 4-day tour of the Adirondack mountains. Though I chose to ride an SV650 at the track (what torque! what a great sound! oh so that's how you wheelie!), this confirmed a couple of impressions I have drawn in my first few months of Tiger taming:



> Push steering (counter-steering) is definitely the way to go in extremely aggressive cornering at high speed  ...*unless* you're on a Tiger, where push-steering gets you to only around 65% of a full lean. After this point, push steering generates an uncertain feel and seems to send me back out to the outside of the turn. What it takes at this point, I find, is some serious weight transfer:



> "Hanging off" is what Tiggers like. I had never tried this on the road, of course, because I look like some 21 year old knob and it doesn't really suit the Tiger's gentleman-adventurer character. But if you're ever surprised by a decreasing radius corner, put all your weight on the inside peg, lift your butt off the seat, and move your outside butt cheek way over to the inside-side of the seat. Literally, you'll be in a standing crouch to the left of your fast-moving bike. Presto, the bike tightens its line without even a perceptible increase in lean.



I consider myself a less experienced rider (this is my 3rd year and second bike) so I welcome any challenges to my newly formed opinions. Take this advice with that pound of salt in mind. But gainsay who dare! :-) I managed to touch down a peg on the SV on that track, I've enjoyed riding friends' bikes of various types, and yet I really find the Tiger corners in a way different from other bikes.



Other opinions welcome!



Here's the advice I don't hesitate to give: Attend one of these performance riding schools. There's no way to truly practice extreme cornering on the road.



Rob

[Advwannabe]

Hi 3Rider,



I'd agree with your comments re push steering and weight transfer with the possible addition that I like to get my weight transfer done before I tip in. This may not be rider school theory but makes the bike feel more stable to me and reduces the tendancy to run wide.



The other suggestion I'd make being new to this type of machine is that you satisfy yourself that the suspension setup is in the ball park then get comfortable with that setup before you start modifying things. Otherwise you risk chasing your tail. Am I riding this thing right? is the set up o.k? One thing at a time.



I have new tourances. They grip well, are scrubbed to the edge but no scrapes yet. Wouldn't mind doing a track day on tigger to learn how to ride it better!



Russell

[TRKTEK]

Hey 3Rider,

Great advice about getting additional training from professionals.......

By the way, how costly was Shannonville?

It's Just down the street from me.....



Steve