[Riceburner30281]

No not another wee vs. Vee thread! I have a Red 56 k mile O5 wee I have ridden in 39 states.. uses a little oil, loose head post bearings (I Think) a few scratches.. etc.. basically I've put tires and oil in this thing.. rode it to hell and back and I've never had a bike that I'd bought another one of.. I've always upgraded to suit my evolving age and style of riding..

So someone on my local forum posts up an O9 Orange wee with 11k on the clock, all stock sans windscreen and I pick it up for less than I paid for my O5. Figuring I'll dial the suspension in the same, swap over all my farkles and maybe the body work and I'll be one a happy camper right? WRONG!!!

This thing handles like a brick compared to my beloved O5 :furious:

The only swap left is to go to a set of my trusty Battlewings (5 rears and 3 fronts on my O5) The bike came with a brand new set of shitko 705's but still I cant for the life of me understand why these bikes can be so much alike and feel so different..

Any one else experience this?? :argue:

 

[bower100]

Handles like a brick? .... with all the discussion here, p/o might have tightened steeringhead brg's ..... too much makes for a crappy handling beast.
dave

 

[garandman]

Find another local rider. Go for a ride. Swap bikes.

If steering head bearings were too tight, that would be evident, wouldn't it. I'd suspect the tires, first: they're the only part that touches the road.

 

[ozart]

The "11 has a slightly longer wheelbase and is slightly heavier. Hard to imagine either of those would make a significant difference. If all else checks ok, I'd also suspect the tires.

I have run a good mix of tires and there's a significant handling difference to me with each one. I've not run shitkos, so can't comment on them. :mrgreen:

 

[mcdstrom]

I went from an 04 (with Battlewings) to an 09 (with Trailwings). Both handle great so it shouldn't be anything in the bike itself. If you set everything similar with the suspension, then I'll join the others in suggesting a tire swap.

 

[Jstrom]

Tires?

The Shinko 705s handle differently than BWs or any other tire you may have experience with. I personally like them but was put off by their handling the first time I used them. I am now on my third set having gotten used to their characteristics. I mostly like the price because I am a cheapskate. I usually go through two rears to a front in usage and by the time the second rear is worn out the front is cupped so bad it makes your teeth chatter. They handle surprisingly well both in the dry and wet IMHO but my riding buddies make fun of me for running snow tires on my bike. What do they know? They're sport bike pussies.

 

[richw]

If all you have done is ride the old girl I would assume the old suspension is very tired, the head bearings are loose, the wheel bearings are a little sloppy etc.

That harsh feeling is call dampening ride for 40,000 it will go away

 

[SnoCoStrom]

I don't know what you meant by brand new, but I put a set of the radial 705s on at 14K, for the first 200 miles or so it felt like they were not inflated, after that they settled down and felt more normal.

 

[ozart]

... I put a set of the radial 705s on at 14K, for the first 200 miles or so it felt like they were not inflated, after that they settled down and felt more normal.

I always read stuff like this as *adapted to and got used to*

 

[Riceburner30281]

I still have both bikes so no need to swap.. whereas my O5 just flicks into a corner.. the O9 requires a push.. there is the " fall in " people describe from the shitko's but the main thing as the confidence inspiring feel of my O5 is just not there.. I'm probably going to freshen up the O5 with the love it deserves and then it's syonara to the Big O.. we'll see once I get a set of BW's and some more farkles switched.. I did not know about the longer Wheel Base and the extra weight, that's the info I was looking for.

 

[WildWildIp]

Its the Shinkos.... They really changed my handleing (in a a bad way)...

 

[shrike]

isn't the wheelbase a bit longer on the newer ones? It is only maybe 15mm, I dunno if it makes a difference though

 

[Philip Kuntz]

You can probably just swap the front wheels and see if that is the difference. I bet that it is.

As others have described, the front end felt very heavy and slow to turn when I installed my front 705. I did not like it at all. After a couple of days I got used to it, and once again was happy with how the bike handles.

 

[GlenT]

Compare the front fork position in the triple clamps. Has the new bike been lowered by slipping the forks? Does it have lowering links? Lowering the rear (I think) will increase the trail, causing it to steer slower.

If the rear has not been lowered, you could slip the forks up a bit and shorten the rake, which will make it more sensitive to turn-in.

 

[V-Tom]

Compare the front fork position in the triple clamps. Has the new bike been lowered by slipping the forks? Does it have lowering links? Lowering the rear (I think) will increase the trail, causing it to steer slower.

If the rear has not been lowered, you could slip the forks up a bit and shorten the rake, which will make it more sensitive to turn-in.

I was just going to ask if the old bike had the fork raised/front lowered and the new not as I foudn a HUGE difference in handling when I raised the forks on mine.

..Tom

 

[GlenT]

Be really cautious, though, if you decide to play with this. 1/4" increments at most.

 

[V-Tom]

Be really cautious, though, if you decide to play with this. 1/4" increments at most.

Don't know why anyone has to be really cautious.. most people use half an inch with no issues, although on ABS bikes (with a fork brace?) the clearance is slightly less so there is some risk of bottoming out if you use all the suspension travel. I haven't heard of anyone having any issues with it, just some don't like the feeling afterwards. In that case it is easily reversable. I suspect that someone that was riding a sport bike previously will enjoy the quicker turn-in and more neutral feeling in corners that result from it.

..Tom

 

[2tall]

Don't know why anyone has to be really cautious.. most people use half an inch with no issues,

..Tom

Agreed. I went .5 inch on both my Vees.

 

[GlenT]

Fair enough. Just a disclaimer. Reducing the trail on any bike makes it less stable.

I read somewhere that any more than 7/8" inch increases the possibility of clearance problems if the front shocks bottom out. But you would only do that much if you had also lowered the back end.

Adjusting the preload on the forks (if equipped) should also have this effect.

 

[V-Tom]

Fair enough. Just a disclaimer. Reducing the trail on any bike makes it less stable.

I read somewhere that any more than 7/8" inch increases the possibility of clearance problems if the front shocks bottom out. But you would only do that much if you had also lowered the back end.

Adjusting the preload on the forks (if equipped) should also have this effect.

This is a common modification that folks have been doing for quite a while with little reason to be cautious, and adjusting preload can make quite a difference as to how your bike handles bumps so really isn't the best way to achieve this effect.

On top of that, the modification shortens the effective length of the fork tubes which increases the front fork rigidity (which helps handling as well)and also appears to reduce lift at highway speeds (caused by the flat area under the front fairing) and as a result makes it much more stable in cross winds and when caught in vorticies behind trucks. Some don't like the feeling, but most appear to. I have heard some people suggesting it isn't the best mod for those that ride on soft gravel roads a lot as the trail decrease can matter there (I've had no issues but am not an extreme gravel road rider), and some people might not want to lose the ground clearance.

It's not intuitive to most people that reducing trail will make the bike more stable but we have a lot of trail to work with compared to Sport bikes.

..Tom