Question regarding leaning (cornering) my 1500 Standard

[superjoe37]

This is probably a dumb question but I need to ask anyway...

I previously owned a 2001 Yamaha V-Star 1100 (naturally v-twin/higher center of gravity) and felt super comfortable leaning to the point of sometimes scraping the floorboards (positioned under the rider - not forward positioned).

When I try to lean my Valk over with similar aggressiveness, it feels to me like my rear tire gets a little squirrely or loose. When this happens I immediately back off the corner because I am wondering if it is about to slip out from under me. I never felt this while riding the v-twin. Is this a normal feeling on the Valk, or something else?

Thanks.

[Boxcar01]

I just got a Valk, sort of sense the same thing.  Disclaimer; rear tire is at the end of its useful life and I’m used to a sport-tourer

[..]

Not normal. Pegs scrape without worry. In fact they will fold a little as well when circumstances are right.

Tire pressure?

Rear shock bushings?

Shock setting for rider weight?

However rather than peg scraping try leaning your upper body a little and keeping the bike slightly more upright. Roll off the butt cheek opposite the curve. Right curve - roll off the left cheek a little. It's like doing the sports bike hang off but a much milder form of it.

Find a long gradual road curve and try it.

Don't push the bike down and keep your upper body vertical!!!

[98valk]

check upper shock bushings and tire pressures.
valks handle to edge of tire while scraping pegs.
a valk can do much more lean angle than any v-twin.

[..]

a valk can do much more lean angle than any v-twin.

Especially with floorboards on the v twin.

[Jess from VA]

With a 180 rear (or a 205 car tire) and a 150 front, you have more rubber on the ground than almost any bike out there.

The only reason I can't lean more is I drag parts badly.

It's never squirmy or loose.

Now if your rear tire is bald (and hot) or seriously under-inflated...

[superjoe37]

Not normal. Pegs scrape without worry. In fact they will fold a little as well when circumstances are right.

Tire pressure?

Rear shock bushings?

Shock setting for rider weight?

However rather than peg scraping try leaning your upper body a little and keeping the bike slightly more upright. Roll off the butt cheek opposite the curve. Right curve - roll off the left cheek a little. It's like doing the sports bike hang off but a much milder form of it.

Find a long gradual road curve and try it.

Don't push the bike down and keep your upper body vertical!!!

Thanks everyone, for the info.  I keep the pressure @ 32-36psi. I am not sure how to properly check the rear shock bushings or setting for my weight, so I will need to figure out how to check those. I usually lean with the bike vs trying to push it down however, I must admit I need to work more on the shifting my butt while cornering!

[98valk]

run the max pressure on the sidewall of a motorcycle tire.

take the seat off and remove the upper shock bolts to see the bushings.

[RonW]

I run my tire pressure at 40-psi

[GWS]

I've been spending the last few weekends enjoying the (un)holy trinity of Valkyrie riders - new tires, back roads, and 4th gear. It's the best handling bike I've ever had. Very sticky, very scrapey.

Definitely check tire pressure (the consensus on this site is to crowd 40 psi.) and tire wear, as well as shock bushings. Simple and cheap fixes. Not to mention the safety aspect.

A Yamaha V Star 1100 only weighs 578 lbs. and I don't think sport bikes are much more. We call Valkyries "Fat Girls" for an obvious reason - 735 lbs. wet. You can't outrun physics. That much mass can be unforgiving if not properly set up. Once you get her dialed in, though, you'll know why we love our girls so much!

[Jersey]

Not normal. As others have suggested, you want to look at all of the elements related to the suspension and the back tire. Bushings, bearings, suspension, tire pressure and type. Just start with one and eliminate as you go.  I'd start with the tire pressure and condition.  Then look at the shocks and bushings. Some have even reported the swingarm bearings affecting similarly.

[Avanti]

If all above suggestions are in order, trust the Valkyrie it will not let you down.

[..]

  I keep the pressure @ 32-36psi. I am not sure how to properly check the rear shock bushings or setting for my weight, so I will need to figure out how to check those. I usually lean with the bike vs trying to push it down however, I must admit I need to work more on the shifting my butt while cornering!

Set the rear at 42psi.

Not just me suggesting that . It seems to be the consensus of many here over the years.

Try it. Nothing to lose?

[Bighead]

42 rear 40 front.
Sounds like you have bad top shock bushings. 
Running 36 psi shouldn’t make it real squirrely.

[98valk]

also what is the setting of your shocks? should be 3 or 4,  5 if two up.   too soft a shock setting will allow the bike to wallow which could get violent side to side uncontrollable action.

[Icelander]

Tire condition is also important. When I bought mine, the Dunlop was old. Slightly wet pavement made it feel like I was riding on glass. Road snakes caused the a$$-end to try and pass me and put me into a head shake.

I tend to ride like an old man, but I still make sure my tires are relatively new and the tread condition is good. I also don't really trust Dunlops.

Just my two cents. Hope you figure it out!

Kendall

[Bagger John - #3785]

42 rear 40 front.
Sounds like you have bad top shock bushings. 
Running 36 psi shouldn’t make it real squirrely.

No, but 32 with that weight of a motorcycle will.

Ditto what everyone else said about shocks and shock bushings.

I've had my I/S over so far in curves that things started dragging, yet the bike maintained perfect control.

[Jersey]

42 rear 40 front.
Sounds like you have bad top shock bushings. 
Running 36 psi shouldn’t make it real squirrely.

No, but 32 with that weight of a motorcycle will.

Ditto what everyone else said about shocks and shock bushings.

I've had my I/S over so far in curves that things started dragging, yet the bike maintained perfect control.

Agreed!  Sometimes I pull my foot off the peg so I can lean over further without getting it stuck as the pegs scrape and lift up.

[CoreyP]

I would play with the tire pressure. Personally I like 36 front 38 back but if I was out for cornering I would go 40/40 maybe 40/42. Could be the shocks are gone or the bushing are shot?

I played around with tire pressures when I first got my Valkyrie, I think I will fool around with them again since I got new shocks and didn't play around with the tire pressure. I could feel the difference in the shocks for sure. The bike had progressive shocks on it and I bought Bitubo shocks. The progressive shocks were worn out, not sure why since they shouldn't have that many miles on them but I don't know how old they were? End result was I was happy with the new shocks and didn't change the tire pressures.

In my tests the more pressure the easy the bike turns in. I didn't really like that riding two up. I found 36/38 PSI with Avon Cobra tires was a good combo for two up cruising.   

[Jess from VA]

(Not to get too far off topic here)... but when I rode two up, there was no hard leaning (or excitement) allowed, and nice and easy made for a harmonious day (minimizing the helmet smacks and rib pokes).  

So the suspension was never a problem two up.  

But she only went 125 (pounds or decibels).    

I took my back seat off so no one can ride back there anymore.   Best suspension mod I ever made.

[superjoe37]

Tire condition is also important. When I bought mine, the Dunlop was old. Slightly wet pavement made it feel like I was riding on glass. Road snakes caused the a$$-end to try and pass me and put me into a head shake.

I tend to ride like an old man, but I still make sure my tires are relatively new and the tread condition is good. I also don't really trust Dunlops.

Just my two cents. Hope you figure it out!

Kendall

When I bought my bike a couple years ago it had bad/hard tires. I had them replaced and just went with the shops recommendation (which were Dunlop's) Not having a lot of experience with the bike what brand tires are typically recommended by the folks here, who actually ride this bike?

[Bagger John - #3785]

I took my back seat off so no one can ride back there anymore.   Best suspension mod I ever made.

When Blondie and me were together I bought her several bikes of her own.

Ditto. 

Fast forward to present: I lost her but gained a passenger who probably won't ever ride a big street bike, so I've had to make...adjustments...to the Valkyries.

What I'm in the process of doing with one of my Concours 14s is this:



Radios are going in the top box. No passengers aloud. 

[Bagger John - #3785]

Not having a lot of experience with the bike what brand tires are typically recommended by the folks here, who actually ride this bike?

I have a D251 (F) and D404 (R) - both Dunlops - on my I/S. See my feedback regarding cornering above. With these tires and my current suspension setup it's as well-planted as one of my sport tourers.

On my Tourer I have Avon Cobras. This bike was built for long-haul duties, and the Avons are a good mix of longevity and grip.

A previously owned Standard was shod with Metzeler ME880s. The back was very easy to lock up under hard braking (Blondie did it frequently) but they did have good wear characteristics.

YMMV. Mine's averaging about 10k miles per rear w/ no burnouts.

[superjoe37]

also what is the setting of your shocks? should be 3 or 4,  5 if two up.   too soft a shock setting will allow the bike to wallow which could get violent side to side uncontrollable action.

Could you explain what you mean by 3, 4, or 5 and how to you check & adjust it if it is not right? Also is there a good way to check if the shock itself is still good or bad? Thanks

[..]

also what is the setting of your shocks? should be 3 or 4,  5 if two up.   too soft a shock setting will allow the bike to wallow which could get violent side to side uncontrollable action.

Could you explain what you mean by 3, 4, or 5 and how to you check & adjust it if it is not right? Also is there a good way to check if the shock itself is still good or bad? Thanks

When new there was a sticker wrapped around the shock showing the settings 1 to 5. If you got the tool kit there's a crescent shaped tool to adjust them. Adjust clockwise to stiffen. If you get to the stiffest position DO NOT continue clockwise. There will be a loud CLANG s the shock goes back to 1.

Adjust anti clockwise going back down to 1.

If you set the shocks on 4 and sit on the bike it shouldn't be easy to compress them.

If you want to get technical.

https://www.bikebandit.com/blog/how-to-set-suspension-sag

[Bagger John - #3785]

I'll be a smart-arse and say my I/S's shock preload indicator goes from 0 to 150, but you never want to run much above 90 in them.

(Yes, they're air shocks...with a compressor/bleed setup built into the fairing. Honda could have done this - a la every Aspencade from 1982 onwards - but features c0$t money.)