Flighty front end
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]I'm glad that we finally got some talk going about real riding!
That said, I experienced a lack of ease on Streets of Willow when going up the straight into turn 1. I noticed the front feeling a little light at high speeds and with a crosswind it shook, or chattered just a tad.
Really killed my confidence in the 6RR and my lap times suffered as a result. I had my '00 6R to do a comparison and it felt much more planted.
Will a damper cure this, or is the stock suspension not setup right? It's stock settings now. I'm quick, but not consistent enough yet to tell the details in suspension.
Anyone? Anyone? Thanx guys.
Rick the EBoz wannabe
That said, I experienced a lack of ease on Streets of Willow when going up the straight into turn 1. I noticed the front feeling a little light at high speeds and with a crosswind it shook, or chattered just a tad.
Really killed my confidence in the 6RR and my lap times suffered as a result. I had my '00 6R to do a comparison and it felt much more planted.
Will a damper cure this, or is the stock suspension not setup right? It's stock settings now. I'm quick, but not consistent enough yet to tell the details in suspension.
Anyone? Anyone? Thanx guys.
Rick the EBoz wannabe
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2,345 Posts
A dampener sure will help, albeit maybe you should add a little preload to the rear to help keep that front end a little more planted. I love it when she comes alive like that :-D
Chaos, panic, disorder......
my work here is done
Chaos, panic, disorder......
my work here is done
Joined
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85 Posts
Slothfryk, before you ride your bike again, I would just start with checking the rider sag for the front and rear. As a baseline, I would look for something around 35-38mm in the front and around 22-25mm in the rear. Just get a couple of buddies to help you and measure accurately. Then as a sanity check, look at the static sag (i.e. without the rider) - a guess should say around 20-25mm front and 5-10mm in the rear. If you are within these ranges of static sag with your rider set correctly, then the spring rates should be good. If the static sag is out of that range then change the springs.
The light feeling in the front is probably due to the rear squatting too much - I haven't been to Willow so I don't know the track. The stock street settings have too little compression damping so adding compression damping to the rear will help the front feel. If the bike is chattering slightly, add a click of rebound to the front and try again. Have you changed the tires and, if so, have you fitted a 120/70 front? May need to reinvestigate the ride height on the bike.
A damper may stop the front wobbling but it is a band aid if your suspension is set up incorrectly. You will need one though to go fast even when the suspension is properly set. Does anyone know the stock spring rates on the bike?
Garry Hayes
Team Hayes Racing
2003 ZX6-RR
2002 R1 Supersport racer
2003 TTR125L pit bitch
The light feeling in the front is probably due to the rear squatting too much - I haven't been to Willow so I don't know the track. The stock street settings have too little compression damping so adding compression damping to the rear will help the front feel. If the bike is chattering slightly, add a click of rebound to the front and try again. Have you changed the tires and, if so, have you fitted a 120/70 front? May need to reinvestigate the ride height on the bike.
A damper may stop the front wobbling but it is a band aid if your suspension is set up incorrectly. You will need one though to go fast even when the suspension is properly set. Does anyone know the stock spring rates on the bike?
Garry Hayes
Team Hayes Racing
2003 ZX6-RR
2002 R1 Supersport racer
2003 TTR125L pit bitch
Joined
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11 Posts
yeah i just got my 03 zx6r last week and i've noticed hitten hard 1st and shifting into 2nd and 3rd it likes to get a lil loose on the front wheel
Hi guys,
Yes, a damper will help but please consider this...
I teach motorcycle training and race schools pretty much full time when the snow goes away.
After almost five years racing cars and now five years of racing bikes, I started taking race schools to improve my limited abilities. I was just at the Freddie Spencer Pro school last February and had been to many of the other popular schools before.
The main thing I learnt (other than how much I really suck as a rider) was that my riding position ultimately changed how the bike handeled. I was still gripping my handle bars too tightly and not looking far enough ahead (I'm always telling my students the same thing...now Freddie, Nick and Jeff Haney were giving me crap for this) and many other things that would fill another two pages.
Suspension set-ups, ultra light wheels, *insert brand preference here* race DOT's and cool trick Ti parts will mostly mask current rider problems. Get a Pro racer that can convey riding position properly then get him to help you with where you should be on your bike and how you should be making inputs into all of the controls...that'll fix a large percentage of your problems.
Any top race school in the US will tell you the same thing...I just saved you $2200!
The rider is always the first place to start...after the long investigation check tires, suspension, etc.
I was rich, then I went racing!?
Yes, a damper will help but please consider this...
I teach motorcycle training and race schools pretty much full time when the snow goes away.
After almost five years racing cars and now five years of racing bikes, I started taking race schools to improve my limited abilities. I was just at the Freddie Spencer Pro school last February and had been to many of the other popular schools before.
The main thing I learnt (other than how much I really suck as a rider) was that my riding position ultimately changed how the bike handeled. I was still gripping my handle bars too tightly and not looking far enough ahead (I'm always telling my students the same thing...now Freddie, Nick and Jeff Haney were giving me crap for this) and many other things that would fill another two pages.
Suspension set-ups, ultra light wheels, *insert brand preference here* race DOT's and cool trick Ti parts will mostly mask current rider problems. Get a Pro racer that can convey riding position properly then get him to help you with where you should be on your bike and how you should be making inputs into all of the controls...that'll fix a large percentage of your problems.
Any top race school in the US will tell you the same thing...I just saved you $2200!
The rider is always the first place to start...after the long investigation check tires, suspension, etc.
I was rich, then I went racing!?
Joined
·
11 Posts
I just put some D208GP tires for the track tommorow and it shook so bad on the front end that i couldn't even hit 3/4 throttle threw 4th it felt like it was hovering. is it maybe the tires or the bike?? help
Joined
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2,345 Posts
Maybe your tires are out of balance if you're getting a wobble like that.
Chaos, panic, disorder......
my work here is done
Chaos, panic, disorder......
my work here is done
bg03lbzx6r - first, dunlops are known to produce some interesting headshake. did you reset the geometery for the dunlops? alao, as desmokwan stated, body position plays into this. try getting up on the tank more coming off of a corner, this will help the front end stay a bit more planted. also how you have your front comp/rebound plays into this. you could try stiffening up the front rebound so that the front end doesn't unload as quickly.
suspension is the biggest pain in the ass, i had the worse time with my rear shock. i could never get the feel/compliance that i wanted cause it would either unload to quickly or i would pack the shock and leave ******* like it was no ones buisness.
suspension is the biggest pain in the ass, i had the worse time with my rear shock. i could never get the feel/compliance that i wanted cause it would either unload to quickly or i would pack the shock and leave ******* like it was no ones buisness.
The D208GP tires are not a problem on the ZX-6RR/ZX-6R. I have raised the rear of bike up 5mm from stock and it is still rock stable. I race the thing so I think I would found any problems by now if they existed. Most often, head shake is caused by rider input to the bars.
Scott
Scott
Hey Scott, did you add 5mm of spacers or did you add spacers to get 5mm at the axle?
Gary M
www.bmgracing.com
CCS SW AM #28
'03 Kawi ZX636R
'00 Duc 748R
Gary M
www.bmgracing.com
CCS SW AM #28
'03 Kawi ZX636R
'00 Duc 748R
Hi Scott,
Hope you don't mind me wanting to clarify, your Penske shock length = stock shock + stock 6mm spacer + 5mm?
I was also wondering if you are running the stock ride height up front?
Gary M
www.bmgracing.com
CCS SW AM #28
'03 Kawi ZX636R
'00 Duc 748R
Hope you don't mind me wanting to clarify, your Penske shock length = stock shock + stock 6mm spacer + 5mm?
I was also wondering if you are running the stock ride height up front?
Gary M
www.bmgracing.com
CCS SW AM #28
'03 Kawi ZX636R
'00 Duc 748R
Hey Scott, did you have your bike setup on a chassis measurement machine or did you add the rear ride height to keep from running wide on exits? Thanks for the info!
Sorry, everyone, for hijacking this thread.
Gary M
www.bmgracing.com
CCS SW AM #28
'03 Kawi ZX636R
'00 Duc 748R
Sorry, everyone, for hijacking this thread.
Gary M
www.bmgracing.com
CCS SW AM #28
'03 Kawi ZX636R
'00 Duc 748R
I had the bike measured by Dan Kyle using his Kyle-Gordis Systems chassis measurement system.
But that is not why I raised the rear ride height. The KGS system told me where I was at and testing told me what direction to take on chassis adjustments.
Scott
But that is not why I raised the rear ride height. The KGS system told me where I was at and testing told me what direction to take on chassis adjustments.
Scott
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