Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge no hands

Hi,

I saw a guy on his bike tonight that took his hands of the bars and the bike stayed straight. So...since I never did this, I tried it. My bike kinda pulled to the right. I have a 2005 America with a full sized Triumph windshield. Does any one else have a similar pull? BTW, I was doing around 40 mph.

Ron

nope I ride no hands down hill alot I even steer by leaning to turn the corners.

thanks,

Any idea what might cause a bike to pull in any direction?

Ron

The faster you are moving the straighter your bike will stay with no hands. If you have a throttle lock you can do it for quite some time.

Throttle lock? I gotta git me one of them. Where can I find one?

Ron

rear wheel alignment is a possibility or maybe you were leaning to one side a little when you let go.

My dealer supposedly just alligned my back wheel. How do I tell if it is not aligned?

Ron

count notches or better is measure from a fixed point on both sides to center of axle , measurement should be the same.

The rear wheel adjustments are on the rear axel, look at the grooves.

as for throttle locks a lota of people put string next to the hand grip, anything that keeps your throttle from kicking back will work.

Since I have never done this, please forgive me for sounding ignorant. What notches?

Ron

If you have ANY windshield mounted, the direction the bike takes will depend on the absolute "trueness" of the windshield installation. If it's off as much as a centimeter in either direction, the bike will vere towards the side with the least wind resistance.

That makes sense. Hmmm....to keep or not to keep (the windshield). I have never ridden my bike without the windshield. Is there a big difference in the way a bike rides? Does gas mileage increase or decrease?

Ron

everything is different with or without the way the bike handles to a point,more wind in the face (my fav),less wind resistance, wind can't catch what isn't there, I imagine a slight change in mileage but very slight.

Thanks. This weekend the shield comes off for a test ride. I'll keep you posted.

Ron

Without the windshield you then have to take into account the symmetry of your body/gear. Is the resistance/aerodynamic configuration of the left side of your body the exact same as your right?
It's a crap-shoot, really. You have to figure out where the most resistance is and adjust for it. This is the exact same thing as riding down the street on your bicycle when you were 12-yrs-old. You have to balance weight, wind-resistance and that pack of twinkies in your pocket....

LOL @ pack of Twinkies!

My bike stayes in a straight line with a bit of leaning for adjustment but my girlfriends v-rod seriously wants to drop to the right onto it's pipes, I always wondered why...

ACK!!

No hands.. good lord I'm not that coordinated. I can see it now.. the moment I take both hands of I will be blasted by a side wind and find the ditch.. lol.. No thanks.. heh

Look close at the way the engine is mounted in the frame. It is offset to the right about 2 inches to get the chain to clear the fat rear tire. This helps make the bike lean right with no hands to correct the steering. the reason this was done was so that all the twins could use the same case castings and gearbox parts. Otherwise, the America and Speedmaster would cost a good bit more.

The crown in the road will make a car drift to the right even if it aligned perfectly. I'd assume you'd see a similar result on a bike.
Never noticed it myself when hands free, but now I'll have to do some testing

at the rear of the bike - behind the rear axle. look close and there are saw tooth notches on the silver thingi.

I ride with the same shield in the off-season. Definitely get wind steer when it is on. My preference is no shield but it is much warmer with it on. I have seen very little gas mileage difference but it was slightly higher with the shield. But that may be due to the weather rather than the shield.

Try putting Little Ron on the left.

Contrary to my earlier post in this thread, having never had a windshield on my bike and only having ridden others who have them I am not sure of the mileage question. I could see where a shield might cut the air more smoothly createing less resistance and less turbulance translateing into slightly better mileage,tough call.

I've never had a windshield on any of my bikes but the America we just got for my wife has one. I was surprised by how much the bike seemed to be blown around on a windy day.

Did a trip out west last year with a couple buddies. Two Dyna's and a Softail Custom. (Please don't hate me because I ride HD!!!) One of the Dynas had a windshield and he actually had a hard time keeping up on the long, flat, FAST stretches of road in South Dakota and Wyoming because he was being blown around. He also was always the first to run out of gas.

That may make the bike lean to the left too much LOL.
I will try shifting my weight slightly and see what happens.

Ron