Downhill cornering,

Hi just wondering...

I've been riding my bike for only about 600 miles and getiing a little bit of confidence. The main problem is it seems every corner I take that is downhill seems to be skittish and makes me very cautious. When it is uphill I feel very stable and can "attack" it better. I'm a big guy at about 15.5 stone and the only thing I could put it down to was the front end not being set up correctly when the weight is concentrated on it. Could this be a factor and if so what could I do to help?

Thanks

Dan

By ‘skittish’ do you mean the front is juddering?

You might be ‘topping out’?? An old racing trick is to stick some cable ties round the fork stanchions, slide them down to the rubber dustcover. Then go out for a ride braking/cornering normally (which I presume if you are having problems is hard?!) when you get back you can see how far up the stanchion the cable ties have been pushed, this indicates how far the forks are travelling. If they are anywhere near the bottom yoke, then you are probably ‘topping-out’.

Another possibility is that you are getting ‘pumpdown’, but to be honest you would need incorrectly adjusted (and therefore adjustable) rebound damping for this to happen.

What is the state of your front tyre?

[NedSVS]

I'd say its more likely to be bottoming out, as downhill braking loads the front more heavily. Even if it's not quite bottomed out you have enough dive to have changed the steeing geometery quite a serious amount, making it more unstable. This sounds pretty normal for a standard SV front end. I took the easy route, though more expensive, and had a cartridge conversion by Maxton Suspension (the result is superb; downhill cornering used to freak me out a bit, but is no problem now). But there are plenty of cheaper alternatives, heavier springs and oil, Gold Valve emulators and springs etc. Other people on the forum know much more about these than me and will hopefully advise.

Putting heavier fork oil in the bike could well make a big difference,it did for my K3.

[Viney]

Originally Posted by furrybean

Hi just wondering...

I've been riding my bike for only about 600 miles and getiing a little bit of confidence. The main problem is it seems every corner I take that is downhill seems to be skittish and makes me very cautious. When it is uphill I feel very stable and can "attack" it better. I'm a big guy at about 15.5 stone and the only thing I could put it down to was the front end not being set up correctly when the weight is concentrated on it. Could this be a factor and if so what could I do to help?

Thanks

Dan

No, its a confidence thing. Just slow down a bit more, use the rear brake as well to keep balance, get in the right gear and all that. Look through the corner and you will be fine. Dont immediatly think that its the bike, when you said you have only donw 600 miles. Make sure that YOU are up to scratch before the bike. Unless you are going down some pretty steep hills, then i would deffo say, that its your ability than the bike.

I have just bought progresive springs and 15w oil from hagon yesterday, going to fit them over the weekend, from the info i have found on this forum this seems to be a reasonable front suspension upgrade for not too many pennies, will report back.

Hagaon progressive springs and 15w oil for SVS curvy = £62.00

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by Viney

No, its a confidence thing. Just slow down a bit more, use the rear brake as well to keep balance, get in the right gear and all that. Look through the corner and you will be fine. Dont immediatly think that its the bike, when you said you have only donw 600 miles. Make sure that YOU are up to scratch before the bike. Unless you are going down some pretty steep hills, then i would deffo say, that its your ability than the bike.

What Viney said. All that I would add is to get your braking done in a straight line before the corner and then hold a constant throttle and gently drive out of the corner once you've passed the apex. Forget about the fact that its a downhill corner its no different that any other corner. I.e its still a bend in the road that you need to safely negotiate.

Get some more miles under your belt and keep practising. IMHO after 600 miles you wont have a good feel for the bike and it takes a bit of time to get this. Just wait till you have done a few more miles before you start mucking about with the suspension.

Also remember whilst its been dry recently its not very warm so you wont be getting a huge amount of heat into your tyres. Just take it steady and enjoy your new bike.

Have you been riding long ? or is the SV your first bike. If its your first bike think about some more training, IAM or a bikesafe you'll get loads of tips this way and it'll all help build your confidence up.

HTH

Originally Posted by jayjay

I have just bought progresive springs and 15w oil from hagon yesterday, going to fit them over the weekend, from the info i have found on this forum this seems to be a reasonable front suspension upgrade for not too many pennies, will report back.

Hagaon progressive springs and 15w oil for SVS curvy = £62.00

Im looking at doing the same job to my K3 but have been told progressive springs are best and then linear ones are best. Im confused!! Can you let me know the difference it makes to the bike once you fit the new springs?

Thats a good deal you got too. Where was that from?

Cheers

[Viney]

Originally Posted by M65

Im looking at doing the same job to my K3 but have been told progressive springs are best and then linear ones are best. Im confused!! Can you let me know the difference it makes to the bike once you fit the new springs?

Thats a good deal you got too. Where was that from?

Cheers

Mark. Just buy springs. Dont mater if they are linear or progressive, there will always be arguments for and against etc etc, so just choose a set and boing away

Indeed very wise advice from both Viney and Fizz there, well worth paying attention to.

As an aside though, the suggestion I made did rectify a problem I was having on the SV which was one that did not manifest itself with my present bike.