Raising Forks in Triple

TVann

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I'm curious if anybody has experimented with lowering the front end by raising the forks in the triple clamp?

My (new to me) RC390 seems high in the front and somewhat resistant to turn-in, certainly more so than I'd expect for a bike this weight and geometry.

Compounding the problem is the bike has a brand new set of Roadtec tires, 120/70 front and 160/60 rear which are obviously too big for the bike aside from being fairly heavy (why do riders of smaller displacement bikes want to put wide tires on them anyway?). Given they're literally brand-new, I'm not crazy about spending $300 to replace new tires, but think that at least some of the turn-in problem is the front tire size. In 1500 miles or so I'll replace the set with more appropriate sizing - 110/70 and 140/70. Lowered front 110/70 along with a higher rear (140/70 vs 160/60) should make for a lively little bike.

But, back to my question: raising the forks in the triples is a standard way of improving turn-in. Anybody do it? It looks like there's at least an inch available without clearance problems. Interested to hear anyone's experience.
 

ReidMcT

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You can do it for sure. But some of your trouble likely is an overly soft rear spring. That will make it run wide on corner exits.
 

Dsoine

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Why not just fix the obvious problem of the wrong size tires first? You should be able to sell the take-off tires to offset the expense of the new ones. Then you will have a good baseline to continue tuning the suspension.

Best,

Dave

R1200R, F650Dakar, RC390
 

TVann

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Why not just fix the obvious problem of the wrong size tires first? You should be able to sell the take-off tires to offset the expense of the new ones. Then you will have a good baseline to continue tuning the suspension.

Best,

Dave

R1200R, F650Dakar, RC390

Eminently reasonable suggestion. Ive sent off for a set of 110/70 - 140/70 Bridgestones
 

Edwardp33

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I ran 120s on the front for awhile. I have about 9000 miles on my 390. I suspect the problem is not the 120’s. I would look at rear suspension issue. That stock rear spring is wimpy.
 

TVann

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You can do it for sure. But some of your trouble likely is an overly soft rear spring. That will make it run wide on corner exits.

Reid: the "problem" is turn-in, whether full throttle or on the brakes and not running wide on exit. Just 'seems' sluggish and the front end 'seems' to sit just a little high. Maybe I'm just comparing it to my 250 trackbike, which turns in effortlessly. Granted that has a resprung fork set up for my weight, and the forks pulled up about an inch to sharpen the front end geometry.
 

ReidMcT

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Yeah, sorry, I partially misread your first post. Anyway, I guess now you will wait to see how the major tire height changes affect things before messing with the forks.
 
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