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Wheel base?

 
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docmike



Joined: 27 Jan 2005
Posts: 630
Location: Eastern NC

PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 12:52 pm    Post subject: Wheel base? Reply with quote

Question

Measured the wheel base on the K11 / EML. With the leading link its 63 inches, compared to 61.6 from the original bike specs.

Many of the CHS bikes I see in picture look like the wheel base is strechted much more than that over stock. Some look like several inches.

What effect would that have in handling?

On a solo bike a longer wheelbase makes the bike slower to change directions. Good on a cruiser/tourer, bad on a sport bike.

Would adjusting the caster to a steeper angle bring back some of the quickness to turn lost to a longer wheel base?

Many bikes are much shorter than the K11 to begin with, maybe its actual length I need ot be concerned with instead of how much it increases.

Anyone else know what your wheel base is? Or even worried about it?
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Mike Currin
93 BMW K1100RS / EML Speed 2000
89 Honda GB 500 (6,700 miles, all original except tires)
67 Triumph 650 chopper
92 Suzuki GS500 (eldest son)
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bmcsheehy



Joined: 22 Jan 2005
Posts: 991
Location: Massachusetts USA

PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Stock on my blackbird is 58-1/2 inches.
Now with the CHS I have about 59 inches.
I like the way it looks, don’t know how it would effect handling.
I’m guessing that the longer and wider the wheels are the more stable the rig would be.
I have nothing to back this up, just thinking.
The question I have is what about the relationship of length and width.
Is it O.K. for the rig to be wider than it is long?
Will it still know what direction forward is?
I have heard that is why they make dragsters long and narrow, to help keep them pointing forward.
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Bill
High Performance Sidecaring... ...There is nothing "HACKED" about it.
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Ralph



Joined: 27 Jan 2005
Posts: 603
Location: Lexington, Ky

PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 12:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Or even worried about it?"
Cool Nope
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cbxtacy



Joined: 22 Jun 2005
Posts: 23
Location: Fayetteville, NC USA

PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2005 3:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seems that the longer it is, the longer it will take to swap ends, like a pendulem. The shorter it is the easier it'll be to swap ends. Kinda like an old Stone, Woods, and Cook Gasser. Wish I could post a picture.
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IanJ



Joined: 21 Jul 2005
Posts: 52
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2005 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

On two-wheelers, wheelbase (as related to CoG in particular) also affects the probability of a wheelie or stoppie -- longer bikes don't wheelie, while shorter ones do, generally speaking. I think on a hack, the longer the wheelbase, the more stable, or "boring," it will likely be. More resistant to changing direction, lifting a wheel, etc. Longer wheelbase should also mean you have more room to play with sidecar wheel lead, since the "ideal" spot will lengthen as whatever percentage of wheelbase.

For a HPS, I would imagine (based soley on my own conjecture here) that the wheelbase of a sport-tourer is about right as a compromise between turning ability (short wheelbase) and stability (long wheelbase). It doesn't seem to me that a shorter wheelbase would be good, since you'd get into increasingly hard-to-control (and therefore potentially quite dangerous) geometry. A longer wheelbase would be ok, but seems like it would detract from the HPS ideal and get more into MPS territory.
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docmike



Joined: 27 Jan 2005
Posts: 630
Location: Eastern NC

PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2005 7:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I other words, shorter means easier bat turns Big Grin
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Mike Currin
93 BMW K1100RS / EML Speed 2000
89 Honda GB 500 (6,700 miles, all original except tires)
67 Triumph 650 chopper
92 Suzuki GS500 (eldest son)
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IanJ



Joined: 21 Jul 2005
Posts: 52
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

PostPosted: Thu Sep 01, 2005 10:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sounds right to me. Very Happy
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 12:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Isnt this bike has an unusually long base even for HPS? Question






What do u think about it?
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