MY 83 XVZ12TDK HAS TOO MUCH WEIGHT UP ON TOP

[larrydr]

I have just finished 11 months of work , started in the front and ended up the rear wheel repair .

It runs great , but the only problem is ..I am 74 and 5 ft 6 I am not what I used to be ... any  muscle I had... up and went 

When the bike leans 6 inches past center over it goes , I simply cannot hang on to it 

I have measured all aspects of the bike fuel tank and engine location ...great 

Fork angle , and  wheel  setup 

Any suggestions 

[saddlebum]

Sadly that is the one draw back to this bike. If your legs are too short to firmly plant your feet this does become an issue. On the other hand once you get rolling it is a very stable bike to ride and corners extremely well for a top heavy bike at road speeds. Parking lot maneuvering takes a bit of practice since it requires a little bit different handling technique than say a smaller shorter bike or one with lower center of gravity. but with practice you can adapt and learn to handle it at a crawl.

[Marcarl]

Iffin that scooter wants to lay down, she's gonna do just that, best not try to stop her for she will wreck havoc with your frame and tail.. Like Ben said, give it some practice time and things will improve. One thing that might helpful for you would be to trim a bit out of the height and sides of foam on the seat, one inch can make a huge difference, another would be to reposition the handle bars so they are lower and not to wide out, and if you remove the trunk you'll also decrease the top heaviness.

[sleepy2]

The same as @Marcarl says about trunk helping but if I put mine (87) back on road I would miss trunk(need the space) I have 2012 right now and there is a BIG difference. It is still top heavy but is lower(87 seams like ridding a dirt bike compared to 2012) and easier to put foot down. Also agree with @saddlebum that more practice would defiantly help unless inseam(legs) too short.