Front end Lowering + Traction question

ashkan

ashkan

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when i purchased my bike, the previous owner had lowerd ONLY the front end of the bike and i feel the rear end is very light and very prone to loosing traction. I actually lost my rear end once alreay at the end of last season (nice warm day too). Just wondering if im being paranoid or does lowering the front end actually change the weight distibution(?) that much and can effect how much traction you have during a lean. Should i put it back to the factory spec?
 
Not that I have much experience tinkering with bike suspensions but, a forward rake does lighten the rear end. Pickup trucks are usually raked forward to take some load off the rear springs so they can accommodate heavy cargo. Under what circumstances are you losing traction? Mild/heavy cornering, braking, etc?

I'd recommend resetting them to factory spec and then tuning it to your weight and ride preference.

Btw, just to rule out the obvious, how's your rear tire look?
 
thanks buddy. Tires are pretty new. Only 5k on them. And i agree with what you said. gonna reset it and hopefully ill get better traction. Hate this. makes me nervous everytime im in a lean now.
 
Front end lowered via forks mounted higher in the triples? If so, how much of the fork is above the top triple and is sag dialed in (both front and rear)?
 
ashkan said:
when i purchased my bike, the previous owner had lowerd ONLY the front end of the bike and i feel the rear end is very light and very prone to loosing traction. I actually lost my rear end once alreay at the end of last season (nice warm day too). Just wondering if im being paranoid or does lowering the front end actually change the weight distibution(?) that much and can effect how much traction you have during a lean. Should i put it back to the factory spec?
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Putting it back to factory spec is probably a good idea.

This is a good start for an explanation: http://puppascott.hubpages.com/hub/Fork-Length--Rake-and-Trail

Raising or dropping your forks does not change the rake - the actual angle doesn't change. What changes is the trail, which primarily affects stability.

On the v-strom, dropping the forks in the clamps is a very common mod, and improves the stability and handling of the bike. Generally speaking, if your bike was suffering because of the dropped forks, I would expect it to show up in a feeling of "twitchiness", or steering that feels too fast - like you would need a steering damper.

I wouldn't think that your rear end losing traction had anything to do with dropping the forks a bit in the clamps.
 
oomis said:
Raising or dropping your forks does not change the rake - the actual angle doesn't change. What changes is the trail, which primarily affects stability.

On the v-strom, dropping the forks in the clamps is a very common mod, and improves the stability and handling of the bike. Generally speaking, if your bike was suffering because of the dropped forks, I would expect it to show up in a feeling of "twitchiness", or steering that feels too fast - like you would need a steering damper.

I wouldn't think that your rear end losing traction had anything to do with dropping the forks a bit in the clamps.
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Except there is now more weight on the front end, which does effect rear traction.
 
murf said:
Except there is now more weight on the front end, which does effect rear traction.
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That effect can be marginal at best. I doubt it's even measurable, let alone noticeable.
 
oomis said:
Putting it back to factory spec is probably a good idea.

This is a good start for an explanation: http://puppascott.hubpages.com/hub/Fork-Length--Rake-and-Trail

Raising or dropping your forks does not change the rake - the actual angle doesn't change. What changes is the trail, which primarily affects stability.

On the v-strom, dropping the forks in the clamps is a very common mod, and improves the stability and handling of the bike. Generally speaking, if your bike was suffering because of the dropped forks, I would expect it to show up in a feeling of "twitchiness", or steering that feels too fast - like you would need a steering damper.

I wouldn't think that your rear end losing traction had anything to do with dropping the forks a bit in the clamps.
Click to expand...

Rake does change, at least marginally, or there would be no effect on trail. In fact the amount that the trail changes is directly proportional to the change in rake. You are effectively shortening the forks, which drops the yokes closer to the ground, thereby altering the overall angle. You can't have one without the other, unless you start re-engineering bits.
 
Vlad said:
... I doubt it's even measurable...
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Scratch that. It's easily measured with two bathroom scales, but I'm still willing to bet the measurement wouldn't yield any significant results.
 
Vlad said:
Scratch that. It's easily measured with two bathroom scales, but I'm still willing to bet the measurement wouldn't yield any significant results.
Click to expand...

It would have more of an effect on weight transfer, under braking, than it would with static weight distribution.
 
the forks would have to be slammed through the triple clamps about 4-5 in for the weight transfer to effect rear traction in road going conditions.
 
Holy crap. You guys know youre stuff. Thanks for the replies So i guess in conclusion to all of the above, im gonna reset everything back to factory and see if it feels any different in the corners. Also Oomis, i dont feel any twitchiness in the back. Another thing that led me to think this is a weight distribution issue is that this bike (compare to my last 02 zx6r) fishtails so much easier, almost like theres not enough weight to push the tire down. I hope resetting it fixes it because i really dont wanna ride without trusting the grip in the back tire.
 
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