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slow speed handling an leveling links


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I have been reading a lot of the threads on leveling links some like them some don't and I can make my own. The problem I'm having at slow speeds an coming to a stop is if I let the front end much past center more like halfway between center and the stop it tries to pull itself all the way over to the stop. This is when i really notice the weight of the bike and what I think nearly caused me to drop it the other day. Took the bike to the dealer right after i bought it an had the front yoke bearings packed an adjusted and asked to have them a little tighter service manger told me he could only tighten them to specs. and explained how over tightening would cause irregular wear on the bearings and it made sense to me.

 

All of this said is this the problem that leveling links will correct or something I have to get use to.

 

In reading some of the other threads V7 Goose had replied that he had a thread on the subject of leveling links but cant find it or figure out the advanced search works to find it.

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Me again also noticed when I aired up the rear shock the bike raises about an inch or so at 46 psi does this come into play.

 

while riding the dragon this week my wife told me we scraped one time couldn't find any evidence of it but after reviewing our pics online of our ride it was clear that if we in fact did scrape it would have been the mufflers floorboards were not anywhere close will the leveling links fix this.

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I am not sure how long you have had the bike. Many will just get used to it. It took me 1000 miles to feel comfy on her. Although i have the rstc and it is less top heavy. there is talk here about leveling links and also rising the front of the forks and many say this helps.

i felt my bike was way too low anyway so I raised it 1/2 inch and every ow and again I will hear a scrape.Mostly when I am leaning away from the turn( bad form) or making a left and getting on the right side of the road . the crown on the road makes me scrape. Usually the floorboards will touch down but I have flat spots on my mufflers which let others know tat I am no candy ass. LOL

Someone with more info will be around

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I made my own levelling links although you can purchase them pre-made. For me, it made a world of difference in both low speed handling as well as crankin thru the twisties. Another thing that will greatly improve handling is tires. Avon Venom or Dunlop E3 are the way to go IMHO. The stock tires are crap.

 

 

BTW, in case you didn't know, I had an '06 Midnight for 3 years prior to getting this Wing a month ago.

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You do not need to just accept or get used to poor handling on an RSV or RSTD. If you have crappy Brickstone tires on the bike, then don't bother looking for any other solution until you get ride of them. I do not know specifically what thread you are looking for - I have discussed Leveling links and raising the rear of this bike in many many threads. Here is one:

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52281&highlight=leveling+links%2C+wow

 

To find more, do an advanced search, use V7Goose for the user name, and "leveling links" (with the quotes) for the search words.

Goose

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already have a brand new set of Avons on stock sizes had the dealer install 3 psi in font as I dont have a pump yet an ran 47 psi rear riding two up just finished a trip of over 1600 miles an man what an improvement already. Long sweeping curves it was like you said V7Goose like riding on rails loved the bike that much more. Finally figured out the advanced search and found a lot of info on the links or struts. Guess I was a little quick on the trigger.

 

Don't mean to beat a dead horse but is the heavy feeling in the front that I describe in fact the poor handling so many complain about.

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Well now that you mentioned it I remember when you got the new punk'n but it had slipped my mind. You going to dress it up an black out the headlights for Halloween :stirthepot:

 

Hope your enjoying your new ride I got to quit hanging around Yammerdan

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Well now that you mentioned it I remember when you got the new punk'n but it had slipped my mind. You going to dress it up an black out the headlights for Halloween :stirthepot:

 

Hope your enjoying your new ride I got to quit hanging around Yammerdan

 

Huh??

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Well now that you mentioned it I remember when you got the new punk'n but it had slipped my mind. You going to dress it up an black out the headlights for Halloween :stirthepot:

 

 

yep, and Nina already has the Witch costume... LOL ohohohohoh .... now that could be misconstrued a number of ways LOL

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I have been reading a lot of the threads on leveling links some like them some don't and I can make my own. The problem I'm having at slow speeds an coming to a stop is if I let the front end much past center more like halfway between center and the stop it tries to pull itself all the way over to the stop. This is when i really notice the weight of the bike and what I think nearly caused me to drop it the other day. Took the bike to the dealer right after i bought it an had the front yoke bearings packed an adjusted and asked to have them a little tighter service manger told me he could only tighten them to specs. and explained how over tightening would cause irregular wear on the bearings and it made sense to me.

 

All of this said is this the problem that leveling links will correct or something I have to get use to.

 

In reading some of the other threads V7 Goose had replied that he had a thread on the subject of leveling links but cant find it or figure out the advanced search works to find it.

 

My :2cents:

Don't know if you are inseam challenged like some of us, but leveling links will raise the rear of the bike about 1 inch, which will improve the slow speed handling. That was not an option for me. What I (and some other short folks) have done is to lower the front by 1 inch. Lowering the front accomplishes changing the geometry the same as raising the rear. Since I have a 27" inseam lowering the front allowed to almost get both heels down at the same time. :cool10:

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Guest AUSSIE50

Hi from Australia.

I have laid my bike to rest at stand still four times in the 12 months that I have owned my 06 RSV. The main causes of this that can be attributed to the bike is and an older gentleman rider and the bikes weight, but more importantly the brake pads fitted when I bought it at 16000 km. I dont know if the brake pads were original Yamaha items but they were woody in feel and at almost standstill speed they made scraping sounds and had little grip. When you stopped the bike it wouldnt snap stop when you pulled the front brake lever at the last moment, causing you to paddle your feet a couple of times before you had totally stopped. It was more of a problem when stopping on an incline as the bike would roll after stopping unless immense pressure was applied to thefront brake lever. This is enough to topple the rig over especially if you have a pillion on board. I purchased a set of XYT pads from Melbourne via the internet and the braking is now phenomenal in comparison to what it has been. Hope this is of help to some people who think that all the noises and instability at low speeds is due to their incompetence.

Cheers from Australia to the members and please ride carefully.

Barry.

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Hey guys I'm new here but I have put close to 50,000 miles on 2 Ventures in the last 3 years including about 9,000 miles touring with my wife on the back.

 

I have had the same problem a lot of you are describing, and after finding a couple of techniques I finally seem to have gotten a handle on it. Last summer after getting back from Sturgis I picked up the "Ride Like a Pro" dvd and watched it. One thing he emphasizes in that video is how the rear brake acts to stand the bike up during LOW SPEED manuvers (GOOD), and that the front brake will pull you down towards whichever side the fork is turned, even slightly, at speeds below about 5 mph (BAD).

 

So I incorporated that into my riding, and what I do is use both brakes during stopping like you should, but then when I feel I've slowed to about 5 mph, I make a conscious effort to release the front brake, continue to apply pressure with the rear brake, and then SLOWLY put out my left foot as I come to a stop. The more smoothly I put out my left foot it seems, the smoother the stop. If I "stab" my left foot down to the ground it wants to pull the bike to that side, but not severely.

 

I used to put both my feet down when coming to a stop, which of course causes you to use the front brake only, which pulls the bike to whichever side, and makes everything worse.

 

This was a simple change, that even I could remember, and has made a WORLD of difference for me. It has also made riding with my wife on the back a lot more stress free. It has reduced my number of "Ruptured Duck" type landings to zero and made almost all of my stops super smooth.

 

Hope this helps.

 

1/2crazedbikr

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Made my own leveling links and put them on a few weeks ago and also put on a new perelli rear tire and lowered my front fork pressure nto 4 psi and it rides like a totally fifferent bike.Corners much easier and much more stable at slow speeds,Hate like hell for riding drsdon to be over soon.

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That's the only advice I can give. I did...and hated the links and went back as soon as I got back from our trip. (This was the International in Arkansas).

 

To me the bike became way too loose...I wandered all over the road..wobbled around like a duck in curves and generally felt I was fighting for control the whole time.

 

Yes...the parking lot stuff was great. It was the rest of the driving experience that I couldn't take.

 

Once I got home I changed back to stock...watched the ride like pro video and went from there.

 

I enjoy my bike much more.

 

But...with so many results I really think you should try them yourself....they aren't hard to put on. Don't stick to the parking lots though....go for a real ride with twisty's and stuff.

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I noticed a big differance when I put the leveling links on and also switched out the crappy 404's for E3's. BIG DIFFERANCE!!! I went to a skinnier front tire. Also I went to a parking lot and practice my low speed handleing. Typically when I am doing slow tight turns, I keep the rpms up around 2000 using the throttle/clutch combo using the rear brake to control speed. Not the front, use the rear. For whatever reason I can turn a tighter radius going left than I can going right, but I can turn it around in about a 12 foot circle.

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Hi

I too, had trouble with the bike at rest more than any other time. I made and installed the leveling links and that made the world of difference in slow speed handling, but still did not like the bike at a stop especially, like you, with a lean to the left.

The bike seemed like it was just pulling the steering to the stops.

 

When I was doing the oil I checked the slop in the headstock bearing and found that it was very loose and fell to the stops and bounced back. Loosy-goosey.

 

I found the thread on how to adjust this(don't over tighten) and it made a huge difference in the way the bike acts at a stop as well as on the road.

 

The bike now seems to hold the front wheel position and not want to just snap to the stop.

 

I have no idea if this will work and there are many guys who have more experience than I have that may have ideas on this.

 

I can only post and express what seemed to work for me.

 

The bike is heavy and the more you ride the better it will feel especially if everything is in proper working order.

 

Good Luck:322:

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Air up your tires to max psi cold, you will feel it handles better just doing this. Dealers read the trunk label and under inflate tires. It handles much better at max recommended psi

Max air in rear shock.

Look where you want to go and the bike will go there. (Don't look down)

an empty parking lot is good. Start on large turns and work your way to tighter turns. Repeat it over and over and you will build muscle memory and confidence.

Take a motorcycle safety course and you will probably discover you have picked up a bad habit or two that you can work on, take the course with your rider. This will help them be a better on the back. These classes are cheap and your insurance company might give you a discount.

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I agree with max air in the rear tire. I also agree with loooking where you want to. I have links I bought from Allen at diamondraccessories.com. I cant believe the difference that made in the handling of the bike. Even more so with the wife on the back.[/QUOTE]

Hey Preacher Dude. Would you like to qualify that statement - and possibly get yourself out of domestic trouble?

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