Hey Ho Nortoneer's,
Maybe I can leave food for thought on Isolastics and handling
as its my main interest in a Commando as best cornering instrument.
Does pilot and chassis have to endure vibration for premo handling?
Reviewing the extra iso's history - they have appeared at top
and below and reports say they help but do transmit vibration
into higher frequencies than just two standard ones. Alignment
brings up swear words to read the fine fittings required.
When 1st tried dampening occurred at 6000, so they cut
rubber width in half to lower the threshold, then in half again
till 2300 threshold of smoothness attained.
Adding extra isolastic rubbers tends to move isolation threshold up into buzz.
If they don't then they aren't really taking up their share
of chassis twist or engine bounce, so why bother.
Another common report is the more iso clearance is tightened
the better the road control but more buzz till frame cracks.
The two conditions that I feared most with unsupported
standard isolastics was high powered decreasing radius
sweepers and flat tire compensation type fork action.
I find the Rosie jointed Helm's links to be the cat's meow.
Smooth and sure footed.
Top link takes out some wind buffet on cruise and raises
isolastic fish flop threshold a few more mph in loads, but also
lets fish flop onset at higher speed and scarier higher
freq. wobbles to deal with suddenly. I made the first
of these to find it workable w/o vibration transmission.
I find the front link of Bryan Tyree to be even more helpful taking
out the fork and chassis oscillations and hunting on road texture
and wind gusts in cruise and adds even more speed and loads
before fish flop onsets at an even higher frequency
and more suddenly to limit fun and deal with in time.
I am flabbergasted by Bob Paton's low rear linkage.
It alone seems to have solved any hint of or ability
to onset isolatic or other Commando innate upset faults.
Rear by itself, one still feels the road texture hunting of
forks bothering and the jiggle wigges of wind eddies -
But rear link allows as hard of riding as you dare w/o upset
by wobbles, tank slappers or uncontrolled traction loss.
Scary delight not having to worry about speed and power just
blind hazards.
Put all three together at once and a Commando feels
like huge inertial mass of a Goldwing at criuse yet stickable
flickable as a supermotard trails bike. My experiments
imply links as far away from iso mounts the better. Trick
with rear link location is to keep center stand or not.
Then the forks must be modified to take advantage or they twist
untwist like rubber rods both delaying and magnifying inputs.
But the rear link seems to allow enough chassis twist and untwist
to take up tire vector conflicts plus plants rear enough that
extra power in fork straining turns can unload or even lift front
out of trouble before rear loses grip. Back link Invites farthest leans
in G glee.
I have my own measurements of what a Commando
motor and chassis are doing under high loads and it differs
from the obvious common sense.
Safe Journeys
hobot
