- Joined
- Jun 30, 2012
- Messages
- 13,709
I read in this months Motorcycle Classics magazine about a guy with a Ducati 900 bevel race bike. Apparently it had a tendency to run wide coming out of corners (understeer). So he heated the top frame tubes and pulled the steering back, which did not improve the handling. To my mind it would have made the situation worse by increasing the trail making the bike more stable. I've previously mentioned the handling of my Seeley 850 race bike which tends to oversteer if gassed when cranked over in corners. My feeling is that for most riders neutral steering in corners is more desirable. Both the Manx Norton and the TZ350 Yamaha achieved this, however people still managed to crash them. I found the following video interesting especially if, as you watch it you think about what happens if the bike noticeably tightens it's line, when gassed hard if cranked over coming out of corners :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVWLIfChUwg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVWLIfChUwg