springs and spacers

[Brad Davis]

Sorry I m not talking about Pina Coladas What I am talking about is how my KLR buffets around in the wind. Is this solely caused by the attributes of the KLR you know, it being tall, lightweight with a large cross sectional area? Or are there things I can check that may make this situation worse? I ve played around with the front tire pressure but that doesn t seem to improve the behavior any. Would changing the fork tube height in the triple clamp effect the buffeting any? Mine are set to the maximum height possible. It seems to be worse cruising on the freeway (60 65mph) where there are large open spaces and unstable wind from the traffic. I could always slow down I guess. Thanks, Brad Davis __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/

[Devon Jarvis]

I know what you mean. You will have to change aerodynamics to help this, steering geometry or suspension setup won't help a lot. Mostly, it's just the size, shape, and height of the KLR that does this. Being lower to the ground would give the sidewinds a little less leverage, but you'd mess up the suspension faster than you'd help the wind problem. Removing the windshield helps a little. Wearing riding clothes that are made from a stiff material (thick cordura, leather etc) and tight enough not to flap around helps the comfort level if not the vulnerability to sidewinds. Devon Brad Davis wrote:

> > Sorry I m not talking about Pina Coladas > > What I am talking about is how my KLR buffets around > in the wind. Is this solely caused by the attributes > of the KLR you know, it being tall, lightweight with > a large cross sectional area? Or are there things I > can check that may make this situation worse? I ve > played around with the front tire pressure but that > doesn t seem to improve the behavior any. Would > changing the fork tube height in the triple clamp > effect the buffeting any? Mine are set to the maximum > height possible. > > It seems to be worse cruising on the freeway (60 > 65mph) where there are large open spaces and unstable > wind from the traffic. I could always slow down I > guess. > > Thanks, > Brad Davis >

[Barnaby Robson]

u got a fork brace ? -----Original Message----- From: Brad Davis [mailto:bradcdavis@...] Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2002 10:37 AM To: DSN_klr650 Subject: [DSN_klr650] Buffet time Or are there things I can check that may make this situation worse? I've played around with the front tire pressure but that doesn't seem to improve the behavior any. Would changing the fork tube height in the triple clamp effect the buffeting any? Mine are set to the maximum height possible. It seems to be worse cruising on the freeway (60 - 65mph) where there are large open spaces and unstable wind from the traffic. I could always slow down I guess.

[mnron2002]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., Brad Davis wrote:

> Sorry I'm not talking about Pina Coladas > > What I am talking about is how my KLR buffets around > in the wind. Is this solely caused by the attributes > of the KLR you know, it being tall, lightweight with > a large cross sectional area? Or are there things I > can check that may make this situation worse? I've > played around with the front tire pressure but that > doesn't seem to improve the behavior any. Would > changing the fork tube height in the triple clamp > effect the buffeting any? Mine are set to the maximum > height possible. > > It seems to be worse cruising on the freeway (60 > 65mph) where there are large open spaces and unstable > wind from the traffic. I could always slow down I > guess. > > Thanks,

Brad, this may or may not get more response from the list. I haven't got enough time with my A16, but I can speak from my experience with my A7. I know what you're feeling, and I tried several things to fix the problem. (remember, we're talking all the way back to '94 - '95 timeframe) I first raised the forks (lowered the triple clamps??) so that about 1/2 inch was showing above the triple clamps. Helped a little. I then added the original lowering links to lower the back about 1.5 inches, and then had about 2 inches of fork-tube sticking up above the triple clamps. This helped a bunch on the highway. I also added one of the original Corbin saddles, which sat me down another inch or so. When I was done, I had a very nice road bike which wasn't affected by the buffets as before. However, I don't think I had a very nice off-road bike, and so the bike became even more road biased. So, what am I going to do with my new KLR? I'm not going to put on lowering links as I hope to do more adventure touring where I'll want the extra ground clearance. I will play with the fork height, and add a brace. I can live with the buffeting, I think, but I know I can improve the situation if I really want to. Oh yeah, I also went back to the stock windshield on the A7 from the Rifle. Not this time, I already have the longer windshield sitting here ready to install. Of course, this is only my .02$ worth... GOOD LUCK!! MNRon

[bradcdavis]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "Barnaby Robson" wrote:

> u got a fork brace ? >

How would a fork brace help with side wind buffeting? Brad

[bradcdavis]

> Next time, try sticking your knee out in the direction the wind is > coming from, and you ride down the road. An old road-riding trick. > > - Dave Svoboda, Sandy Eggo

That's a new one to me....I'll try it tomorrow morning. At the moment I don't see how the overall aerodynamics would be effected by this...but I'll try it anyway. Brad

[Barnaby Robson]

a fork brace is supposed to help with general stability at high speeds. but then what do I know ? -----Original Message----- From: bradcdavis [mailto:bradcdavis@...] Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2002 3:34 PM To: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com Subject: [DSN_klr650] Re: Buffet time

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "Barnaby Robson" wrote: > u got a fork brace ? > How would a fork brace help with side wind buffeting? Brad Checkout Dual Sport News at http://www.dualsportnews.com Be part of the Adventure! Visit the KLR650 archives at http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=klr650 Post message: DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: DSN_klr650-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Unsubscribe: DSN_klr650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com List owner: DSN_klr650-owner@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[monahanwb]

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "bradcdavis" wrote: An old road-riding trick. > That's a new one to me....I'll try it tomorrow morning. At the moment > I don't see how the overall aerodynamics would be effected by > this...but I'll try it anyway. Basically, it just directs wind blast up your pants and freezes your nuts (if you have any), so you stop noticing how the wind is blowing your ass around on the road. It's why I prefer to ride my elitist German motorcycle when it's really windy...it's more stable, way more stable. One of the bonii (plural of bonus, for non-elitists)of being a bmw elitist slob, I mean snob. Are there any pictures of Lew's new lady friend? I haven't seen any. Is she a candidate for Miss Argentina, really?

[dooden]

Just gave that a thought, and yes I do that into heavy winds, basically like leaning into the winds in Chicago. Reckon the extra force the knee is causing, compensates for the push of the wind on that side. Maybe one of the Rocket Inventors can explain in non-english. Duden

--- In DSN_klr650@y..., "bradcdavis" wrote: > > > Next time, try sticking your knee out in the direction the wind is > > coming from, and you ride down the road. An old road-riding trick. > > > > - Dave Svoboda, Sandy Eggo > > That's a new one to me....I'll try it tomorrow morning. At the moment > I don't see how the overall aerodynamics would be effected by > this...but I'll try it anyway. > Brad

[EXT-Dave.Svoboda@nokia.com]

> From: "bradcdavis" > Subject: Re: Buffet time > > > Next time, try sticking your knee out in the direction the wind is > > coming from, and you ride down the road. An old road-riding trick. > > > > - Dave Svoboda, Sandy Eggo > > That's a new one to me....I'll try it tomorrow morning. At the moment > I don't see how the overall aerodynamics would be effected by > this...but I'll try it anyway.

It's not so much aerodynamics, but control. When you get blown around, I assume what you're referring to is the control issue, where the bike gets blown off line by a gust before you can countersteer it back into line. Well, my theory as to why the knee trick works so well is that your knee when extended to the limit out to one side, can torque your body around if it gets pushed back, which it does when a gust hits you from the side. This body torque makes the bars instantly and without conscious volition turn toward the gust, steering in direct proportion to the strength of the gust. Hey, whatever, it works. - Dave Svoboda, Sandy Eggo