front end question

[zombie]

Okay fellas here's my question..



On my 2001 955i tiger when I picked it up from the dealer the front end was sticking up in the triple trees by a couple of inches or thereabouts.

Then I heard they were supposed to be flush in the triple trees and the reason they were sticking up as in the forks being lowered was to accomodate the bike in the standard size triumph crate for shipping.



Well I put Dymag rims on my bike and find the front end has a tendency to tuck when pushed hard and also the thing is almost standing straight up when on the side stand.



Anyone got the correct answer?????

[ram600]

Here's the answer for motox handling.  As you drop the tripple clamps over the forks the fork angle becomes slightly steeper. this allows the steering to be quicker in tight turns and less stable on high speed roads.  The compromise is dirt/or street stability.  On dirt bikes the solution is to install a Scotts steering damper thereby allowing the best of both worlds.  I have always dropped my forks to increase steering response.  On my KTM Dualsport the forks are dropped about 3/4" which is as far as the tripple clamps would allow.  You can also raise the rear a little by adjusting the spring rate tighter.  On my CBR 600 I dropped the front end about a 1/4" to increase steering response.  Neither of these are unstable on the road.  If the front end washes out as you enter a turn it is too high, or the tire is not dirt orriented enough, if it turns in too sharply this is the result of a heavy bike more than the fork angle, but can be adjusted by raising the forks a little and or increasing the spring rate and dampening on the front.

[reyno955]

There have been a number of posts about this on other forums. I think you are correct about the forks being raised through the clamps for shipping. The dealer is supposed to set them flush with the clamps when he prepares the bike for sale.



Many people raise the forks through the clamps to make the bikes turn faster and also to lower the front end if height is a problem.



I have the front end lowered by about 0.75 inches. " inches sounds like an awful lot.



If you have just put smaller daimeter wheels on then you wil have just lowered the front even more so that is probably why it is starting to tuck. Try putting the forks flush with the clamps and see how that feels. This should help sort out your side stand problem too.

[zombie]

thanks fellas that's what I thought.

I have adjusted the forks to suit my riding style and now it works fine