Ducati Monster Forum

So, on my last ride out, I had a tipping in issue that spooked me a little.  This is after over 25,000 miles on this Monster, and who knows how more many miles between a Suzuki TS185, GS650, GSXR-600, Bandit 600, GS1150ES, Honda Hawk 650, Ducati 900 Supersport.  To say the least, I've got a little riding experience.

So, I was tipping in and it was like the bike suddenly FELL into the turn so quickly it felt like I was suddenly low siding.  This happened on a couple different turns.  The turns were clean, tire pressure (cold, checked pre-ride) on Pilot Powers was 35 rear, 33 front.

Bike setup - Marzoochi non-adjustable forks with Hyperpro springs + shims & 15wt oil, rear is stock Sachs shock with a Hyperpro spring.  Bars are Moose ATV bars on roughly 1" risers.  Fork tops are even with the top of the triple. 

A couple things could be at play.  I've started relaxing my grip & arms some, relying on my legs and back to hold body position.  I've also spent a week with some seriously fast riders and have modified my turning & tipping in points, especially left handers.  The curve in question was a right hander though.  I relaxed, started to tip in and FELL into the turn.  Is this me, the bike, road camber, something else?  I just want to be sure it's just a mental feeling and nothing wrong with the bike.

JM

My vote goes to the "relaxing my grip & arms" factor.

I don't do that often on the street, but on the track it's amazing how much easier it turns with a relaxed inside arm - more than enough to wonder, what the h*** happened there.

Are you focused on counter-steering, aka falling into the turns? Sure helps me in the twisties.

New tires or old ones?  My tires tend to wear into a "V" profile....worn out on the outsides and relatively unworn in the middles.....and that shape tends to make the bike feel like it's falling into turns as the tires reach the end of their useful lives.

On the bright side, I sell my take-offs to the local "stunta" crowd as there's still plenty of meat for burnouts in the middle and the worn edges give them street cred they can't come by otherwise.   [thumbsup]

Tires squared off?  More common than Cloner's V.  This can cause a similar situation.

+1

+1 on the tires.  I had the same thing.  Look down on the tire from over the handle bars... Look for uneven ware across the tire.  On mine, you could see the uneven ware that caused the bike to drop in the turns.

Not squared off, most of my mileage is twisty riding, so I tend to wear pretty evenly. 

I am counter steering, had to take a ride to see how I was handling the bike because the counter thing is pretty natural to me.

I'm pretty inclined to agree with Stopintime on the relax.  I've been relaxing my arms and (I think) having better form in turns lately.

JM

I would check the bearings in the steering head. 

I had a similar thing happened to me on my Sportster. When I made a turn, the bike felt like it pulled me down. It was quite scarry. Turned out the bearings in the steering head needed some cleaning and needed grease. Once they're cleaned and greased, the problem dissapeared.

Yes! Steering head bearings. Had a similar situation and found that the grease in the steering head had gotten gummy. Bearings were fine though

Well, considering that I'm an all-weather rider and there's nearly 40,000 miles on the steering head bearings, they might need a look.

JM