Hey gang

There is no doubt this RYCA kit drastically changes everything about our lil thumper..I've been more than pleased with the look and fun factor. But, there is one thing.

I'm curious.. Are your bikes a little squirrerly since the conversion? I'm not sure if it's my imagination but it seems like ever since I threw the kit on (plus the 18in rear tire and clip ons) it feels like the front is just not as smooth and steady?? I have a 19in Kenda tire on front and 18in Kenda on the rear. Tires have less than 300 miles on them. No fork brace. Would a brace tighten things up??

I knew changing the geometry would affect steering(for the better) but I didn't know how squirrely the bike would become. Serowbot, any way we can counter this?? Aside from steering stabilizer(which is the same as steering dampener)?

ToesNose, I was foolishly thinking that after the Ryca conversion the bike would retain straight line smoothness AND gain quicker cornering.. In a perfect world...

I'm running Kenda tires ($100 price range), 19inch in the front and 18 in the back. Tires aren't the best, but far from the worst and they're brand new.

I've had a bike get really out of shape before because I used to heavy a fork oil (20w) - that was an fzr400

If you could describe the symptoms a bit better that would help diagnose.

For instance, the above problem was caused by heavy oil + cornering hard on a bumpy road. the front wheel wouldn't keep up with the contours of the road and lost traction, gave a small tank slapper.

Overinflated front tyres will seem a little 'wandery' over white lines and the like. what pressures are you running? i take it you haven't worn the tyres out yet (I had a squared off rear tyre on a gs550L which made it weave alarmingly over 70MPH)

This might also be just how things are compared to a savage, it will be a lot more 'pointy' because of the geometry change. have you got experience of this kind of bike to reference it to?

Hey, Dave.  You say you reduced trail with a different triple? If the offset of the new triple is less than that of the stock one, that would move the axle centerline back thereby INCREASING trail.

Or did you get a triple with a greater offset than factory?

I'm curious because I too would like to replace the triple for my roadster conversion.

Face wrote on 10/20/13 at 17:18:20:


Oops!  Your right......I have increased the trail!  Maybe that explains why mine handles fine - but does steer a bit stiff.

I used 1980 RM400 triple trees.....it was a lot of work.  The fork legs are the right diameter, but are a bit narrower and the stem needs to be modified as it was originally ball bearings and the Savage is tapered roller bearings.

MrPazloe,
Look a couple posts up, I believe we've determined that Dave's triple conversion has actually made his bike more stable at the expense of turning ease.

Here's what needs to be understood. This bike was never designed to sit like a Ryca. It was designed as a cruiser. The Ryca kit forces it into a sportier stance, but the rake angle is still WAY off from a sportbike or even a standard like the bikes you've ridden. Those bikes were designed with proper geometry in mind to get the trail and handling where they need to be for comfort and safety. While the Ryca does reduce trail and wheelbase from that of a stock Savage, it can't make up for the steer tube angle. So even though it has technical numbers (trail) that make it seem like it would perform more like a sportbike, in practice that just isn't the case.

Put your front fender back on and see if that helps. Then just be patient and re-learn how to ride. Customizing is all about compromise. Some things are just going to be the way they'll be.

Face and Gyrobob, Thanks for the great input. I will look up Dave's post on his triple conversion. Face, what you said makes perfect sense. And you're not the only Savage Veteran dropping knowledge on bike geometry. I can liken this situation to that of Mariano Rivera..I know he's retired, but, I still keep believing he will jog out of that outfield bullpen this coming spring :'(

I've thrown the fender back on and it makes no difference. I've looked into getting a T-kat brace. All reviews on them are split 50-50 on whether or not they work. You really think it makes the steering more stable??

If it all just comes down to geometry, I guess I can learn to live with her being a bit shifty