speed wobbles

 

Went for a spirited ride the other day with some mates and for the first
time in a long time the urge for more 'go' and wind protection crossed
my mind.Since it was a hot day, it was jeans and a nylon 'bomber' jacket
to keep the sunburn at bay, but the jacket flaps in the wind....the
faster I went, the more it flapped until the bike started to get a
weave/wobble.....not what I want at speed. To make the wobble disappear
I just had to let go of the handlebar with my left hand. The bike
instantly settled and more power could be wound on....if I touched the
bars, it would wobble again. Meanwhile my mates had accelerated into the
distance. As soon as the roads tightened up and top speed meant nothing,
I was happy again.....I must stay away from long, straight boring roads,
'cos to make them exciting invites trouble.  :)

My workmate who brought the 1198S Ducati managed to run off the road
three times in the first 300km!!   :) he will learn....one way or the other.

 



High speed wobble should be taken seriously; I wouldn't assume it was
the jacket.  As for your hot day, it's rainy and 30s here. :-(

--
Lew

 

Lew wrote:

My hot day was late 20's C (your mid 80'sF?). Heading to town at 7.30pm
the other day it was 32C...by 11.30pm it was down to a comfortable 17C.
I don't miss the cold but don't like the heat...hard to please some
people.  :)

The bike doesn't wobble when I'm wearing my proper bike gear. I blame
the jacket 'cos the wind really gets the top of the sleeves flapping
around my shoulders and as soon as I took my input to the bars out of
the equation, the bike was happy. It wasn't a scary wobble, just
noticeable. The upright riding position of the SuperMoto doesn't cut it
when I'm trying to keep up with a pair of Aprilia's and a Ducati (in a
straight line).

 

BrianNZ wrote:


You must be getting on towards fall and winter. Time to get the wood in
... what do you burn in your wood stove, eucalyptus? (Make sure you
shake the trees to warn the koala bears before chopping them down...
oops, heh heh, wrong country...! What lives in your trees, then,
those sheep-eating parrots (Kea)?

SQ
'06 Zuk S40 / '85 Dnepr MT-11 / the usual motorcycle detritus

 

The Mighty Quinlan wrote:

I hope winter is a way off yet. Good guess with the wood. I've still got
half a shed of gum left over from last year with some japanese cedar
stacked up outside (split a couple of weeks back).

Our trees are full of Possums (targets).