Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Turning stability

I've noticed lately that when leaning into a high speed (50 -60 mph) gradual turn, such as entering on to the highway, small dips in the pavement causes mild instability. Is this due to the rake on the Speedys? Has anybody else expienced this?

Ever since I swapped the original shocks and front springs to Progressives I haven't noticed that instability. IMO it's the stock suspension and not the rake.

I dont have upgraded suspension but I agree with Roadie based on the fact that my America (07) is stock and feels pretty good. Karens America is also an 07 (bought at the same time) but her suspension is softer than mine for some reason and her bike doesnt handle as well as mine.

Im thinking of upgrading both bikes this winter during the down time.

i also have this problem and i thought it was the rake as well, has anybody tried a steering damper on this model or any thoughts on fitting one ?

you might want to stiffen the rear shocks. That will help with the instability but harshen the ride.

I was thinking about a related subject to this awhile back. I believe the rake of the bikes make it want to "fall in" to the corner. I was brought up on dirt bikes, or small dual sports really (XT250, etc), and never noticed this tendency. On the Speedy, I have noticed that when going slow through a corner, I can feel the bike reach a point in the lean where it wants to lean more on its own, a point where my butt balancer tells me to not only back off the lean angle, but try to fight this tendency. I have noticed that the more I ride the bike, the more second nature it becomes, and the less I think about it. Unfortunately, I don't get to ride as much as I'd like, but after a few hours of riding, I notice that I feel more proficient at cornering this bike.

Not really looking for any answers here, just something thats been on my mind....

I do find that I have to apply more power in turns on the America than I do on the Bonneville to make it track properly and that's where the Progressive shocks really shine. And, at slow speed, counter balancing is a must but it's been that way with any of the larger neck angle bikes I've ridden.

Thank you all for the thoughts and suggestions. I think I'm going to start by stiffening the rear shocks a notch at a time. This way I can try to strike a balance between the ride and stability. My previous bike was an old Silverwing interstate and it definately handled different (not necessarily better or worse, just different.)

Aren't the Progressive springs and shocks supposed to help this?

I found the speedies front end left something to be desired so I did the old cafe racer thing and put 30mm of packing ontop of the fork springs to stop the diving when coming off throttle or braking. Then I pushed the forks through the triple trees by 25mm to speed up the steering and then put on a set of M bars to put more weight on the front.
While this will never ever replace a properly sorted front end which I cant afford it is alot better than standerd.
What ever enjoy the ride

I will drift this a bit off topic. You said you noticed LATELY. Does that mean it used to feel better? If so, look at the chicken strips on the tires. As you lay into the unused edge at the chicken strip it will wiggle a bit too. Lack of hard leaning will square the tire a bit causing it to be a little slippery when leaned to its limit (the edge of the strip).

The cause of that may be:

1: You are getting more confidence and laying into it harder
2: Your tires are starting to talk to you about needed replacement
3: Tire pressure should be checked

Your above responses are good but every little wiggle does not mean go spend lots of money. It could be more basic.

What to do? What to do? Sandmann and Satxron, you both present interesting positions on this topic. The bike has about 2k on it right now. I suspect I never noticed it prior to 1500 miles because as I was breaking the speedy in, it was also breaking me in. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I used to have an old silverwing which was a totally different ride. The folks here have given me plenty to contemplate. In the overall picture, it's not a big deal. The wobble is mild and does not feel unsafe.

I think you are leaning a bit more now that you are getting to know one another. Don't be afraid to lay it over a bit, it will not low side you. They stick pretty darn good.

My opinion, run it a few more thousand. Learn it more. If it leaves you wanting, then spend the money on shocks, tires, etc.

Yep, sounds to me that your confidence is growing, and so you're getting closer to the bike's limits. A lot of us ride these things pretty hard so don't get too concerned.

If you still think there's a problem get a friend to ride it for a comparison, or take it to a stealer - they'll take any chance to find a problem they can charge you for!