leveling links ?

[royalstar09]

I see your running the stock Dunflop tires. When these wear out and they will soon enough, go for a set of Avon Venoms. That will dramatically increase your handling better then any other mod.

The tires were replaced at 1,000 miles. The replacements are whitewalls. So these whitewall dunlops are factory as well as the ones it had on it before they were replaced?? He simply put the exact tire back on but in a whitewall?? Never seen the factory tires. Had no clue what they were but was under the impression it come with Bridgestones out of the "box"....

Edited February 18, 2011 by royalstar09

[Guest]

The tires were replaced at 1,000 miles. The replacements are whitewalls. So these whitewall dunlops are factory as well as the ones it had on it before they were replaced?? He simply put the exact tire back on but in a whitewall?? Never seen the factory tires. Had no clue what they were.

 

Its possible he had Bridgestones on there before, but either way, The Avon Venom is a much better tire and will last longer then the Dunlops. Some also prefer the Michelin Commanders or the Dunlop e-3. IM pretty sure Avon still offers the WW tire. I left out the Metzler 880 tire because of its known delamination issues on the RSV.

[V7Goose]

On side stand, bars resting full left. From center of chrome trim straight down is 13" exactly.

On frame rail it is 1/2" increase from back to front. The frame definetly is slopped upward.

Now for air PSI. I went and got a nice accurate low pressure gauge (for now) till my pump gets here it will have to work.

REAR was at zero-0-nada.......

Forks were at 10psi

I put 50 PSI rear and let all the air out of the fronts for now.

It raise the rear 5/8" and not sure if or how much it lowered the front, BUT the bike looks to be level now at the frame rails and looking at id in general.

Rear shock at ZERO and my having to move the highway pegs forward would indicate that the previous owner was possibly shorter in the crotch

That is an interesting measurement. I have leveling links on my RSV, and it also measures 13" from the chrome tip to the ground.

 

I have no idea why the measurement from your bike would be the same as mine, but I certainly can see how sitting on an RSV with over-inflated forks and zero pressure in the rear would give you the sensation you described - it would squat terribly with a typical rider's weight on the seat.

Goose

[royalstar09]

That is an interesting measurement. I have leveling links on my RSV, and it also measures 13" from the chrome tip to the ground.

 

I have no idea why the measurement from your bike would be the same as mine, but I certainly can see how sitting on an RSV with over-inflated forks and zero pressure in the rear would give you the sensation you described - it would squat terribly with a typical rider's weight on the seat.

Goose

 

It was very difficult to handle when I rode 2 up at low speeds. Hopefully time, and this small adjustment will help with that. I was "shocked" that the rear raised 5/8" by putting a proper amount of air in rear shock. I measured with an adjustable slide ruler so i was not guessing with a bent over tape measure on the frame as well. Now the frame is 0" difference instead of my origional 1/2" uphill slope.

A definate NEw GUY mess up. I did not properly go over the bike before riding it. Had I done so I would have never had ZERO in the rear. I will be performing pre-flight inspections from this point forward. Lesson learned.

[Freebird]

I can see where going from 0 to 50 psi would raise it a pretty good amount. That was why I went with the leveling links. Riding two up and pulling the trailer, I would often drag my mufflers in tight curves if I hit them very hot at all. Running about 50 to 55 psi prevented that but resulted in a fairly harsh ride. With the leveling links, I am able to run at 30-35 psi and the rear is still up so that I don't drag the mufflers.

[royalstar09]

I can see where going from 0 to 50 psi would raise it a pretty good amount. That was why I went with the leveling links. Riding two up and pulling the trailer, I would often drag my mufflers in tight curves if I hit them very hot at all. Running about 50 to 55 psi prevented that but resulted in a fairly harsh ride. With the leveling links, I am able to run at 30-35 psi and the rear is still up so that I don't drag the mufflers.

 

I first thought the new gauge was borke. So I simply pushed in the schrader valve and nothing at all. Now I will monitor it to see that air is not escaping over time. I am seeing how the links will allow you to obtain the same ride heigth but allow you to run lower psi for a softer ride. Comfort and safety is what I am after. Simply standing the bike up and feeling its balance seems better now. It does not appear to try to flop one side or another as it did before. It sort of felt like a top that if not perfectly balanced it wanted to head to one side or the other. I will get there.

[SilvrT]

I did not properly go over the bike before riding it.

 

Hey, you're not the only one. When I bought my bike, I trailered it from Calgary, Alberta back to BC but appx 100 miles away from home, I decided to ride it the rest of the way. I hadn't ridden it more than a few blocks before that and on the last leg home, it really felt "wishy-washy". When I got home and started checking it over, I discovered that the tires were only around 20 lbs. ...

[Bobby G]

Its possible he had Bridgestones on there before, but either way, The Avon Venom is a much better tire and will last longer then the Dunlops. Some also prefer the Michelin Commanders or the Dunlop e-3. IM pretty sure Avon still offers the WW tire. I left out the Metzler 880 tire because of its known delamination issues on the RSV.

 

C'mon Ruf....don't be a Metzler hater! I've had two sets of 880's that performed better than any other brand I've ever had on a MC, and got over 15,000 on each set on my RSV. Not sure what "delamination issue" you're talking about, but I've seen Venoms with chunks of rubber missing on the tread perimeter, and Dunlops that didn't make it to 8,000 miles. IMO - the ME880 is a great tire for the RSV!

[Guest]

Bobby, after losing chunks of rubber off of two sets of rear 880's (out of 3 sets) I am no longer a Metz fan, especially since all I received from Metz customer service was condescending remarks. Now, I will say that the Metz is a great wet/dry tire as far as handling goes but I still like my rubber to stay on the tire. Im only reporting my experience here but I do know of many others who have shared this same fate. And I will say this though: after 30 years of riding I have NEVER had any bike tire lose rubber until the Metz. I wont talk about the early Firestone car tires either.....

 

Sorry, didnt mean to hijack this thread.