SuzukiSavage.com - Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at speed

Tocsik

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Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at speed
06/15/16 at 10:06:05

Just installed a Kawasaki front pulley and everything seems ok except for when hitting bumps at highway speeds. It feels like the rear wheel almost locks up or binds when I hit these and it's pretty startling. I've checked and rechecked the axle and shock bolts/nuts and they are OK. The belt doesn't look like it's suffering any abuse. I'm running it a little looser than before because it seemed to get tighter on me and started making noise.

The only thing I did different was to decrease the preload on the rear shocks by 2 clicks because I had them all the way up. I bought the pulley from Dave so it's professionally machined and it's not contacting anywhere after I made a few modifications. The belt seemed to contact the lower oil seal retaining plate screw after everything was all bolted up (the stock hex head is replaced with a button head screw and even that's filed down a little).

Anyone else notice anything like this? It's not a front end wobble; more a rear end shudder or binding and it wasn't there with the stock front pulley in place. I will probably re-adjust the rear shocks the way they were before to see if that makes a difference but I have to remove my saddle bags to do that.

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at sp Reply #1 - 06/15/16 at 10:13:33 Looks like the Easiest first step is change your shocks back.
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Dave YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 18099 Camp Springs, Kentucky Gender:	Re: Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at sp Reply #2 - 06/15/16 at 10:15:34 justin_o_guy2 wrote on 06/15/16 at 10:13:33: Looks like the Easiest first step is change your shocks back. Check the back tire/fender for any signs of rubbing....maybe the back tire is hitting the fender, saddlebag supports or bolts when the suspension bottoms out.
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old.indian

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Re: Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at sp
Reply #3 - 06/15/16 at 10:17:53

I installed the 25 tooth front pulley too, and I'm not having any problems . I WAS bottoming out on bumps with the original shocks when I dropped the pre load from 5 to 4, And that was with the ORIGIONAL front pulley..... FYI.. I installed Intruder 800 shocks as part of the project, MUCH better ride, and NO bottoming out.....

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Tocsik Serious Thumper Offline the singularity Posts: 1163 Denver, CO Gender:	Re: Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at sp Reply #4 - 06/15/16 at 10:21:10 Indian, were the shocks bolt-on or were other changes needed? Bushings, different belt setting etc? I've been considering this, too but haven't done the research yet so thought I would cheat and just ask ya.
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WD Serious Thumper 2005 No Login Offline Professional "scooter trash". Posts: 5207 Rosemark TN Gender:	Re: Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at sp Reply #5 - 06/15/16 at 10:48:21 Direct bolt on. Ran them on the 98, run a Progressive version on the 03. The rear fender gap will get larger and you'll likely need to loosen the belt a bit. Plan to relearn the bike's handling, as you will have a noticeable weight shift forwards.
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old.indian

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Re: Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at sp
Reply #6 - 06/15/16 at 11:21:08

WD wrote on 06/15/16 at 10:48:21:

Direct bolt on. Ran them on the 98, run a Progressive version on the 03. The rear fender gap will get larger and you'll likely need to loosen the belt a bit. Plan to relearn the bike's handling, as you will have a noticeable weight shift forwards.

Per WD... BUT you will need to trim the belt guard and the belt tension WILL be affected .
Cool

Major improvement in the ride though...

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Lectron carb, modified head, stage 3 cam, Wiseco piston, header and Dyna, Varsi's cam chain adjuster, head plug and drilled rotor, Tkat, 12" shocks and 17/43 chain conversion.EdL's 4"FCs

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Tocsik Serious Thumper Offline the singularity Posts: 1163 Denver, CO Gender:	Re: Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at sp Reply #7 - 06/15/16 at 11:25:14 Ah. So I will most likely need to extend the swingarm slot then to get enough movement in the belt as I'm pretty much all the way forward with the 140/90 rear tire and Kawi front pulley.
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old.indian

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Re: Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at sp
Reply #8 - 06/15/16 at 11:34:22

Tocsik wrote on 06/15/16 at 11:25:14:

Ah. So I will most likely need to extend the swingarm slot then to get enough movement in the belt as I'm pretty much all the way forward with the 140/90 rear tire and Kawi front pulley.

I didn't need to, and I have a tall Michelin 140/90-15 along with the 12" Intruders And the 25 tooth front pulley..... Close, BUT not a problem.....

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Lectron carb, modified head, stage 3 cam, Wiseco piston, header and Dyna, Varsi's cam chain adjuster, head plug and drilled rotor, Tkat, 12" shocks and 17/43 chain conversion.EdL's 4"FCs

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Dave

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Re: Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at sp
Reply #9 - 06/15/16 at 11:39:19

Tocsik wrote on 06/15/16 at 11:25:14:

Ah. So I will most likely need to extend the swingarm slot then to get enough movement in the belt as I'm pretty much all the way forward with the 140/90 rear tire and Kawi front pulley.

I believe the belt becomes a bit looser with longer shocks...not tighter. When the there is a straight line between the front pulley, the pivot point for the swing arm, and the rear axle....the distance between the front/back pulley is the longest - and that situation occurs with the stock length shocks. When you put longer shocks on the bike the swing arm angles down, and the distance between the pulleys is reduced slightly.

The change in belt tension while riding does change a bit more with the longer shocks however....so it is better to run the belt just a tiny bit looser when using the longer shocks.

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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at sp Reply #10 - 06/15/16 at 11:47:09 Would that be a pinch or a dash?
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Tocsik Serious Thumper Offline the singularity Posts: 1163 Denver, CO Gender:	Re: Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at sp Reply #11 - 06/15/16 at 11:53:03 OK. So longer shocks it is! Time for some shopping.
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Tocsik Serious Thumper Offline the singularity Posts: 1163 Denver, CO Gender:	Re: Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at sp Reply #12 - 06/15/16 at 12:35:45 Yikes. Pricey bits.
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at sp Reply #13 - 06/15/16 at 12:46:50 You proved it's the shocks? Sure you got them set even?
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Tocsik

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Re: Odd (dangerous?) sensation hitting bumps at sp
Reply #14 - 06/15/16 at 13:20:31

Thanks JOG. I think I have more investigation first but have been considering the longer shocks anyway.
I need to be sure nothing is hitting with the shocks adjusted as they are first. Wish I could get some adjustment before riding home from work today but the hard saddlebags are preventing me getting access. I'll take back roads home which is more fun anyway (esp with temps in the 90's; darn stop and stop traffic).

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