6mm washer and step out?

[PGA XX]

Went riding today on my favorite twities after raising my ride height in anticipation of a full Akra system. Much to my surprise :shock: , the rear kept "stepping out" on me. What's going on? Never felt that before. It felt like I could spin the rear as much as I wanted coming out of the corners at full lean. I'm assuming it's the change in geometry. Is this normal.

Tire pressure: 42

[XXFirefighter]

WAY too much tire pressuse ! Those pressures are fine for highway stuff. 36 on the pressure or a lil lower for railing ! You can't keep the bike in rail mode AND in tour mode. Not possible.

[Mithrandir]

Yes, some of it is from taking weight off the rear. The spacer effectively gives the front less rake, resulting in more weight on the front wheel (good for mid-corner traction) and less on the rear. The other problem will be now your damping is off. Unfortuantely the stock shock is very limited in its adjustment and also just generally crappy.

Normally to cure this I would dial out compression damping making it softer and helping it to hook up as you accelerate. The stock shock rebound adjuster also does compression damping, so try turning it about a quarter turn in the softer direction. If it still steps out, add another quarter turn. Due to the shape of the needle, although you have two full turns of adjuster, you really only have about 3/4 turn effective use, so you need to be very judicious in the amount you turn out. Too much and the rear will feel like its trying to throw you over the handle bars when you hit a bump. The "right" setting is to push down very firmly on the rear (stand and then let your weight drop on it) and it should take about a 1-1.5 seconds to return to the proper height. If it comes up past the original position to the other end of the range and sinks back, the setting is too soft.

But, that said, applying full throttle while leaned over is going to result in you attempting to become an astronaut. Down that path lies pain and suffering. Use the throttle to slowly accelerate through the corner and as you get near the exit, stand the bike up underneath you while, remaining hanging off and rolling on the throttle. As the bike becomes vertical, you should be at WOT, never beforehand. Oh, and as Firefighter says - the tyre pressure is a bit high for those sort of antics if you don't know what you're doing.

[AlphaBird]

Mine showed no such behavior with just the spacer, except on heavy down hill braking into a corner---that went away with the Ohlins installation. Sounds to me like the tire pressure is too high. I run the rear at 36 for heavy railing on Sportecs--you didnt mention which tires---it is very possible that with the increased turn-in you are pushing it a tad harder.

BTW---the incredibly long wheelbase makes the XX pretty stable whilst sliding the rear. Increasing rebound will tend to slow the steering somewhat as it holds the rear "down"

I dont agree with being "off" the throttle at full tilt,obviously you shouldnt nail it at full tilt, but you should still be on it-gently--chopping it mid corner will overload the front--------the faster you go--the smoother you need to be

[GerardoXX]

I totally agree with Mithrandir, When you change the geometry of the rake for less angle, your bike turn easily but loose stability at high speed, a nervous front end and the rear tire loose traction. There are some free download stuff in the Ohlins web site which explain what happens when you change the geometry of your bike. I can not tell if that your case but could be a mix of thing, all together.

[XXFirefighter]

I added a 6mm spacer and lost nothing but gained amazing turn in ! My lap times at the track went up as well. That may also mean though I got to know the track more and more though.

[PGA XX]

Thanks for the info guys. From what I felt, I think it is the rear shock. Will adjust per recomm. & give it a try. Will also let a little air out of rear. :fart:

LE