!

Well, I said that when talking about the v-twins to rule out things
like the SV1000. That bike could be so much better with some decent
suspension.

Basically I want something that handles really well. It doesn't
necessarily need to have the top-end whack of a thousand because I
don't use it but I've been spoilt by bikes the accelerate like stink,
stop immediately and go round corners without even thinking about it.
So any new one needs to do that.

 

oh I know - just pointing out that there are a fair few jap v-twins to
choose from, but I'll conceed none of them are particularly sporty.

 

I know quite a few people with Brutales, & I've never known a bike that
generates quite so much passion amongst its owners. They all absolutely
adore them, even more so than the F4 (which many of them have too).

A Brutale America is definitely on my shopping list if & when funds
allow.

--
Krusty.

http://www.muddystuff.co.uk
http://www.muddystuff.us
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'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger (FOYRNB) '96 Tiger '79 Fantic 250

 

Hmm. Well suspension is the easiest & cheapest major factor to 'fix'
with a trip to Maxton, as has been mentioned before. I certainly
wouldn't let it put you off getting an otherwise perfect bike.

I know you said "no Italians", but what about an Italian with a Suzuki
TL1000 engine & electrics? That should take any reliability worries out
of the mix. I know the looks are somewhat 'different', but a Cagiva
V-Raptor 1000 sounds like it might fit the bill nicely. If they handle
anything like SO's Raptor 650[1], you won't be disappointed.

[1]It actually handled scarily bad at first due to 3X lowering it by
winding the rear pre-load most of the way out. I've put it back to
standard now & it's awesome.

--
Krusty.

http://www.muddystuff.co.uk
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'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger (FOYRNB) '96 Tiger '79 Fantic 250

 

It's not just suspension though, is it? It's the whole design of the
chassis that makes something like a ZX10 or a GSXR1000 handle the way
it does.

It crossed my mine, but I believe it has a very low seat height which
probably wouldn't suit me.

The Tuono is a possibility though.

 

True to a certain extent, but I doubt that any modern bike with
sporting pretensions has a chassis that's bad enough to be noticeable.
The only thing that might be a problem, depending on your preference,
is that the steering's either too fast or too slow. But again, both of
those are easily tweaked with suspension adjustments.


--
Krusty.

http://www.muddystuff.co.uk
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'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger (FOYRNB) '96 Tiger '79 Fantic 250

 

Firestorm, no. The SP2, yes, which is why I mentioned it earlier i
the thread.

Not sure about owning a Honda though.

 

Umm most of us are hopeless at tweaking suspension!

 

Ah, yes I can see how that might be a problem. Well 'speed of steering'
is very easy to adjust. If you've got a separate rear ride height
adjuster[1], increase the height to speed up the steering, reduce it to
slow it down.

If you haven't got a ride height adjuster, don't try to change it by
messing with the shock pre-load unless you want to fubar the
handling[2]. Move the forks instead - slide them up through the clamps
a bit to speed up the steering, down through the clamps to slow it down.

It's fairly important to set the sag (pre-load) before doing anything
else though, as any adjustment to that will affect the steering.

[1] The MV is the only bike I know of that has, but I'm sure there must
be others.

[2] Which is exactly what Three Cross did to SO's Raptor when she asked
them to lower it. They slid the forks up so far through the clamps it
was tank-slapping all over the place, & backed the rear pre-load right
off to lower the rear[3]. The result was the front suspension was the
standard stiffness (i.e. hard), but the rear was like a trail bike.
Needless to say this totally fucked the handling, making it squirm all
over the place. Yet another 'clueless fuckwits' award to Three Cross
then, & verging on criminal negligence imo. It really was fucking
lethal.

[3] I've now put the forks & pre-load back to where they should be, &
it handles superbly.

--
Krusty.

http://www.muddystuff.co.uk
http://www.muddystuff.us
Off-road classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger (FOYRNB) '96 Tiger '79 Fantic 250

 

Have you seen what you can get a C2 model for?

 

<fx:sticks fingers in ears>

Lalalalalalala