Triumphrat

juiceloosner

howdy
I have a few questions i would like to raise; so let me begin
I live in Australia...dont hold it against me. I had no choice in being born in God's own country.
I have an 04 thruxton that has aftermarket triumph pipes and has been rejetted and tuned. Apart from that its stock.
Im up for new tyres. I have been running Metzler Lasertecs.
I was asked yesterday (by a fairly well renowned shop mechanic from Sydney) if i get any shake on the front end.
"yes" i replied. At over apporx 60 Kph if take one hand off the bars then i get a slight shake. Nothing too traumatic, but its enough to keep my other hand remaining firmly on the bar and stops me from showing my large breasts at speed. I should also say that it has never really bothered me but i would like it removed. It was said to me by Mr Mechanic that the Metzlers on the front end have been renowned to do that. He suggested for my tyre change that i go with the Avons (im not sure what specific model). So i think im going to take his advice and give it a try. The other options being a fork brace and a steering damper. I am tempted by the brace. I am also tempted by the damper (just cause i think they look cool) but im sure all three (tyres, brace and damper) would be an expensive overkill.
I guess what im asking has anyone had any similair experiences and /or solutions?
If i go the brace what brands are recomended. I assume they are all applicable without removing wheel???
thanks a shedload for bothering to read and replying if you so choose to do.

plodalong

I like my damper, makes for much more confinence on bumpy roads. The damper came from http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Speed-Mo...0Q2em14?_pgn=1 and I made my own brackets. kept cost down to about $110 au. The damper unit appears to be the same unit that Norman Hyde uses (its a jap made Pingle damper) but that would cost over $300 for the kit.

johnny6035

There can be several causes for a front end shimmy. When I first got my Thrux it was on Metzelers and was rock steady at all speeds. As the front wore I got a shimmy at low speeds - 30-40mph. Fitted another set of Metz's and it was the same - fine til they wore. Then I switched to Pirellis and it was there pretty much all the time - doesn't bother me, and like you say it's only really noticeable with one hand on the bars. I've also got a steering damper but that's to prevent tank slappers - these bikes can be prone when you hit a cats eye or land a crossed up wheelie etc. A steering damper will only mask the problem and probably won't damp out the tiny movements involved unless it's set very stiff. A fork brake is really designed to prevent the twisting action of the forks when subjected to large deflections, ie hitting bumps when leaned over. The nature of damper rod forks can cause wheel shimmy - under damped for low speed irregularities. The main cause for a shimmy at the front, however, can be an out of balance or poorly aligned rear wheel! Get the rear balanced properly and never trust the marks on the chain adjusters. To align the wheel properly get a mate to hold the bike vertical with the front wheel dead straight then sight from the back wheel to the front. A couple of long rigid straight edges helps here or a couple of those cheapo laser sights from DIY shops.

Cheers Johnny

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Cheers Johnny

RumRunner

Plodalong,

You did a wonderful job on your Steering Damper. I thought it was a factory NH when I was looking at the picture, until looking at the mount on the fork. Did you make that out of steel or is it alloy? I ask as I'm about to make mirror image brackets for my NH unit to move it to the Left hand side.



juiceloosner,

They may be overkill, but it depends on what type of riding you're doing. A steering damper will be the biggest help other than tyres. My way of looking at it is you're going to be buying tyres regardless so they don't count, and the dampers just look mean
On a more serious note though my 04 Thruxton was the same way, I wound up increasing the front tire pressure substantially from 33 PSI up to almost 39 PSI and it made a huge improvement with those tires before I installed my damper, and fork brace.

redhawk34

Juice,
A cheaper route would be to remove upper garments before riding off, and allowing the headshake to cause your "large breasts" to jiggle.
Downside; Windburn, and a whole lot of guys in front of you on bikes with large mirrors.
Redhawk

PS, it's probably the Metzelers.

Randy01

I had the shakes really bad and after the tires went on (Avon Roadriders) the shake was gone. Wow, I just sounded like Billy Mays for a second.

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mods: CRG LS bar end, Avon Roadriders, EMGOs rejetted 132/42 2 shims, 19tooth sproket, Homemade ARK w/ UNI pod filters, stock guages removed and Veypor installed in it's place, Homemade FEK w/LED tail,brake, turn light bar.

ocguyocguy

Before you buy ANYTHING else put some AVON ROAD RIDERS on your bike
If the AVONS do not cure your head shake I'll but you a beer.
The Avons are great...

tgleaton

hey juice....since you are up for new tires that would be the first thing I would do before a brace or dampner. I to like a lot of people here had the shakes/wobble at around 50 to 60 mph. It never bothered me too much but consistently, got worse as the old Metzlers got more miles on them (12k). I just changed my tires a couple of weeks ago and the wobble went away. Since you have to buy new tires I would start with them first.

plodalong

[QUOTE=RumRunner;1394547]Plodalong,

You did a wonderful job on your Steering Damper. I thought it was a factory NH when I was looking at the picture, until looking at the mount on the fork. Did you make that out of steel or is it alloy? I ask as I'm about to make mirror image brackets for my NH unit to move it to the Left hand side.


Thanks
Initally I made the fork bracket in 3mm alloy. but that flexed a bit so I replaced it with a steel one in 3.5mm steel cut from a bracket I got from the local hardware shop. I did it on the Right side as the brake and clutch lines are in the way on the left side and mine have a bit less slack in the lines due to high rise clipons, so repositioning would be difficult. Havn't felt the need to adjust it much anyway, currently set on position 3 which is fine for my usage.

wroding

Do the tyres first. The metzlers often do the head shake thing at 40 to 45 mph. I went with the Bridgestone Battlax bt45 and could not believe the difference. I'm sure the suggested Avon's would be just as good. Try that before spending money on fork braces and dampners. Even though they look cool and you will probably be buying them anyway when you get that itch again
Cheers John.