So, exactly what AM I scraping??

[NEOHMark]

Now that my frigging neck is better, I've started puttinig on more serious miles on my new 1150RT. As I've become more and more familiar with it, I've become more comfortable getting more aggressive in turns. With that, has come an ever increasing amount of scraping. But what worries me a little, is it 'feels' like a hard part. I'm not feeling anything through my foot - like I would if it were the pegs. I'm feeling a fairly hard *bang* when I scrape.

 

Centerstand? I never use it and I have a MC lift - so it wouldn't break my heart to remove it. But it sure doesn't look like it'd be the first thing to touch down.

 

Your thoughts?

[Tony_K]

Center stand for sure! Mine came already broken in for me... thanks Russell!

It's easy enough to see, just look.

[Boffin]

On my bike it is the centrestand that touches down first, followed by the fairing/footpegs. Next along is the whole d@mn bike. What you need to work on is good body position so that you lean less for the same speed.

 

The basic mantra is to get your head and upper body inside and forwards on the turn - or as you will often see quoted here - Kiss the Mirrors - Keep your butt on the saddle and lean forwards/inwards as if you were trying to kiss a mirror and you will reduce the angle of lean by a significant amount; make the bike feel more stable and reduce the chances of joining the scenery.

 

Andy

[ProductUser]

Your center stand will hit first based on how much the shocks compress while in a corner. I also believe the banking of the corner will also determine how much/fast you suspension will compress.

 

Others with much more experience will provide a better explanation.

 

Have you checked the center stand?

 

ProductUser

[David]

On my bike it is the centrestand that touches down first, followed by the fairing/footpegs. Next along is the whole d@mn bike.

 

 

The basic mantra is to get your head and upper body inside and forwards on the turn - or as you will often see quoted here - Kiss the Mirrors - Keep your butt on the saddle and lean forwards/inwards as if you were trying to kiss a mirror and you will reduce the angle of lean by a significant amount; make the bike feel more stable and reduce the chances of joining the scenery.

 

Andy's given you some great advice. If you want a copy of the RidingSmart curriculum that works through this, shoot me an email.

 

You might also check:

 

1) Return spring on center stand, as it'll hang low and/or drop too easily.

 

2) Check preload on the rear. You can get a bit of extra clearance by increasing that.

 

3) Work on your lines. Your greatest lean angle should be at your slowest speed. On "momentum" type corners, a big arc is the right choice. On tighter corners, you want a decisive turn, at the slowest point. From there it's acceleration.

 

4) Where are you braking? That compresses the suspension, robbing clearance and putting the suspension at an inneffecient place across its range.

 

5) Does it happen on banks turns that you might be taking faster? Again, suspension compression kills clearance.

[Albert]

+1 +1 +1 Riding Smart Techniques.

[Macamoose]

My 1100RT would touch down the belly fairing as the suspension compressed. I noticed it a few times transitioning from a rotary to my turn where there was a small dip in the road surface on my usual track through the corner. I eventually changed my line to avoid the dip, and the scrape, but it took a few times for me to figure out what was touching.

 

The Ride Smart techniques certainly helped me become a better rider. I learned a lot about how my position on the bike can change how the bike will corner. I stopped scraping bits after that as the bike stayed more upright while following the same line at the same speed. Good stuff.

 

Thad

[Ken H.]

Riding Smart + better body position = Cornering fast + scrapping less!

[Chrish1234]

Definetly check your suspension settings as well as the other advise. If I forget to add preload or dial up the compression damping before riding 2-up, my RT will bottom the centerstand quite readily. It usually happens when you hit a small bump in mid corner.

 

Chris

[Little Joe]

David,

 

Good advice. I would appreciate a copy of the Ride Smart curriculum, as I struggle with this same issue.

 

Thanks.

 

----------

'04 RT

[eakins]

centerstand

turn up your preload knob.

[motorman587]

Could it be this???

[motorman587]

Or this on the other side.

[Baba_ORiley]

Could it be this???

 

Yup. That's it. All that very thick white paint is causing the scraping!

 

 

[motorman587]

I need to post the crash bars too.