Holy Smokes Batman!! (Euro Gear observation)

[Blake]

a Question for all of those with the euro gears/and one for everyone else

This past saturday i went for a little ride to see a friend in Maryland, on the other side of DC.  To get there i had to ride the dreade 95, and 495 (beltway) for a good 50 miles.  This was the first time i got a high speed ride with the eurogears.

First of all, i was a little worried.  I looked down and im going 70, and the rpms are only at 6,000!  I swear with the regular gears i would be turning 7,000-7,500 by then!. i thought "this cant be!" then around 80 it was turning about 7,000 or so.  Last year on my rides home on the HOV lanes, there was one nice long stretch of road maybe 3/4mile long, that ended over a bridge, so basically no place for police to hide.  My highest speed attained on the vision was 103.7 and i was pushing about 8,500-9000rpms.  Which leads me to wonder, what is the top speed with the eurogears?  With normal 82 US gearing being advertised at 113mph, would i be optimistic to say now it would be around 120-130 somewhere?  ;D  I know the common thought is that it lowers rpms by about 500, but from what i can remember and seen, it must be some exponential ratio?  Next time im out ill be sure to remember the cooresponding rpms and speeds to see if we can compare the two.


Another thing that i had to get used to, the bike definately wants to take off now from a stop.  even barely getting off idle and rolling on the clutch, it immediately starts off faster than the normal gearing.  could be fun when hot rodding at the stop lights.


Also,
Before my ride i filled up the tires (avon supervenoms, 100f/120r), to the specs (28f/33r-psi).  then while cruising around 70-80 (it really is a cruise now), i FINALLY experienced the dreaded high speed wobble.  im not sure if its because of the tires or maybe if the steering stem bearings are loose, but it was QUITE touchy at that speed, and i was definately holding on tight.  Honestly i would ride at that speed and never had this problem before, so this perplexed me.  Was there ever a fix for it?  While it was happening (wasnt bad, but seemed the slightest push on the bars would make the front wobble), i thought about if a steering dampner would possibly alleviate this?  but I'll go through the bike and see if something isnt loose. 



And Finally on a side note.

Next wednesday (july 6th) I have a dentist appointment later in the day so im playing hooky from work :).  Coincidently, the local 1/8mile drag strip has its "test and tune" on wednesday evening. Now i took the vision a few years back to a 1/4mile strip, but never picked up the ticket of my times, so HOPEFULLY, if my dentist appointment lets me out sometime before 5 (the earlier the better) im going to run over to the strip to see if they'll let me get a few runs in.  :) Never went to this track before, so hopefully they'll let me in,  but of course i have to take care of my pearly white first. ;D


Blake

[Superfly]

Do you have round steering head bearings, or the tapered roller bearings. ?I noticed this made a HUGE difference in the way my V rides. ?I noticed you had a fork brace, but, how are you forks? ? Do you have the Progressive springs? ?I finally got blackie on the road this morning and brought her to work. ?I was not paying attention to my speed, and looked down & I was doing about 95 on this long stretch of straight freeway (I was running late...) and with those mod's to my bike, she did not shake at all, she was very smooth.

Also... I had a bad front rim once, and when I needed a new tire, I grabbed an extra front rim I had and put the new tire on there. ?when I put that tire on my bike, it changed the way the bike handled the higher speeds.

[Blake]

I did convert over to tapered bearings a few years ago.  Indeed that was a HUGE difference over the rollers (the balls had made a dent in the cup so the front end would want to stay slightly to the right) i found out my ruined ball bearing problem when i took it in for inspection and the new shop in town at the time ACTUALLY checked things out (he put it on the center stand and showed me).  And the fork brace also made another huge improvement.

I dont have progressive springs, but definately have thought about them.  They really make that much of a difference eh?  Maybe its time i actually get about to ordering a set..  Also, Ive never actually opened up my forks since ive gotten the bike (a good 6 years ago or so), and doubt the owner before me did either.  So i have no clue as to the quality/quantity of the oil or anything to that nature.  perhaps that could be some factor


Thanks for the help, ill defiantely have to see about ordering a set of progressive springs, and in the mean time, check my bearings (maybe add some more grease, tighten them down) and forks.  who knows, maybe the front wheel just isnt mounted right.

thanks again,
Blake

[Walt_M.]

Definitely check the steering head. And, although I don't think it is the source of your 'wobble', changing the fork oil would probably be a good thing.
As for the Euro-gears, I still haven't installed mine but it is on the list! I've just gotten a '92 TDM850 and the gearing on it is just so different! I have spent a fair amount of time in 4th gear because I am so used to the Vision. 60 mph in 5th on the TDM is about 3500rpm!

[Riche]

Blake, don't forget to check the wheel bearings too.



edit: yea like Walt said change the fork oil. Look at it like your engine and final drive oil. It's good to change it  :)

[Walt_M.]

Excellent point and probably correct!

[EH]

I  learned a long time ago to lean  forward and slightly to the side you are turning to. No need to hang off on the street. Leaning forward and to the side you are turning keeps weight on the front wheel and keeps the palm of the hand you are turning with in control of steering. If you lean back in a fast turn and you are hanging on by finger pressure,(no pressure on your palm), you will induce a wobble in the bike. You can test this on any on ramp under power.

[Riche]

Thank you Walt

My view: moving parts = wear and oil break down. The street bikes I've owned/own (all three total LOL) got/get that change once a year (when in use) at a mininum. The dirt bikes if they went more than four rides before a change that was a lot.

[VisionaryDan]

There are a set of gears on ebay right now that are in the UK. Would these be "Euro" or "American" gearing if the bike was originally sold in the UK?

Dan

[h2olawyer]

As I understand, the UK gears are the same as the North American set.  You need to find a set from the Continent instead of the Isles to get the Euro gearing.

H2O