Amazed by what 4 mm can do

[stopintime]

My darling Monster have gotten all the upgrades it needs to be very close to a true sportbike.

It has been amazingly stable, even at high speed heavy lean angles.
Trail braking - no problem. Small rider input imperfections - no problem.

This all changed dramatically when I made too many changes at once.
Larger tire (5 mm) - 104 links chain raised the eccentric hub ~ 7-10 mm.
My bike was already raised + 5 mm from stock rear and front-lowered 10 mm because of the SpeedyMoto top triple's flat profile.
Reduced wheel inertia uncovered the lack of stability created by these changes.
Added up, the limit for how much a Monster geometry can/should be changed was exceeded.
It felt really nervous at high speed and threw in a couple of nasty wobbles above 120 - 130 mph.
Not confidence inspiring, to put it mildly.

I probably wouldn't have discovered this if I kept the stock wheels, but anyhow I thought I should be able to fix it by working on the geometry and not just cover up my issues with a steering damper.....

I chose to raise the front by whatever much I was able to. (fork legs were flush with the top triple)
They now sit 4 mm below flush level. It looks a bit strange, but not as strange as I first thought.
SpeedyMoto top triples are quite meaty, so there shouldn't be any problems with the reduced fork/triple contact area....

The result was AMAZING.....
I hoped for a signal that I was going in the right direction,
but it was really all that was required to feel safe again.

It's still very willing to fall into turns and cautious rider input is required,
but it's such a great feeling to know that I know my bike well enough to make adjustments that will get me the results I want.

.... and it only took 4 mm 

[WhiteStripe]

.... and it only took 4 mm 

that's what she said.

BTW - thanks for the post.  I am working on learning more about my suspension and comments like these are helpful.

[stopintime]

that's what she said.

BTW - thanks for the post.  I am working on learning more about my suspension and comments like these are helpful.

That's not actually what she said, but I'm happy to be able to contribute 

[booger]

Perhaps you would get a nice benefit now from going with SBK forks, since they're longer. Something about the way you have the stockers in the triples now even though they may have enough clamping area, and doing 130 on that setup, makes me nervous. 

[stopintime]

If I needed the performance of SBK forks, I probably would have done that already.

The Öhlins guys at WDW Misano last year were convinced I had their cartridges hidden in my stock tubes - they're really that good.
(my guru won't tell me how he did it, but he did)

I get what you're saying though and will look into what can be done.
Easiest solution is to lower the rear 4 mm and then put the fork up to triple-flush again.
It's just that trackday boot clearance and aesthetics make me want it to be high.

I have an IMA lower triple already - maybe I'll challenge them to make me a top triple with a sloping profile 

[stopintime]

Actually, it seems like that's exactly what they did 

http://www.imasrl.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=7&lang=it

It's a shame though - the SpeedyMoto triple looks much better.