i have noticed when riding around that my bike is very well behaved in normal driving situations, but when i get into the corners and start working them, the thing doesn't just fall into the corners, its more like i am struggling to push hard enough on the bars to make her lean over.

my bike encourages a more upright seating position with the conservative ergonomics, but i have taken to riding it more like an all out sportbike: toes on pegs, chin near tank, back closer to horizontal. feels good, but in the twisties i am still fighting it. no matter what i do with my weight. hmm any advice as to what i need to work on with my technique?

or do i need to score a 'real' sportbike in place of my kawasaki zr-7s?

 

Hmm, I dont think you need a "sportbike", but maybe you could adjust your suspension and test it out a bit.

 

well i cant change the rake...i dont think any of the traditional settings directly affect what i am talking about....

 

What kind of tires do you have on it?

 

comes with bridgestone bt020s i think.

 

size?

 

If there is any adjustment on your shock for preload, try adjusting it "up". This will also give you more ride height in the rear. Which in turn steepens the rake angle ever so slightly. You can also bring the fork tubes up in your triple clamp a little too. Just a start.

 

hmm i'd rather go score a suzuki sv1000s...

but that would be financially irresponsible...


good advice though....i am thinking my riding style needs the most tweaking...it wasnt as noticable when i rode frequently..this torn tendon in my hand has kept me out of the saddle mostly. its recovering fast though and its cool now so i wanna hit the twisties more.

 

Side to side transitions can be sped up quite a bit by raising the rear ride height a few millimeters. Raising the front forks in the triple clamps is the quickest way to accomplish this, but can result in less ground clearance. A little bit goes a long way...try it in 2mm increments and see how things feel. If you've got the budget for it, get a rear shock with the correct spring for your weight, and also get the forks setup (probably new springs and valving changes). Those 2 mods together made my VFR feel like it lost 100 lb, in terms of side-to-side transition.

 

are you sure you're not fighting yourself when you're leaning? Many times the side towards the outside of the turn tries to "hang on" in many riders. Check to see if your outside arm is tight when you're experiencing the problem. As to the raising of the rear, lowering the front also has the same effect. make the adjustment in small increments as a 2mm adjustment typically has a 4-6mm ride height effect. Adjust it as much as you feel you need but stop when you feel the bike becomes "squirrely" aka too eager to respond to steering input and back it up a bit. Hope that helps

 

hmm it really sounds like raising the fork mounting point will make the bike noticably more eager to turn. i'll see about giving it a try once i am back in the saddle on a regular basis.