Blackbird gotchas?

Apropos, perhaps you or someone else here can inform me....

I have a R1200RT, which has brakes linked on the right hand - the foot
works just the rear - and ABS. I'm never sure whether I should be using the
foot as well for heavy braking, or whether if I do so I am subverting the
bike's calculations about the best balance between front and rear. It goes
against the grain not to use the pedal, but when I've been practicing fast
stops I have occasionally activated the rear ABS when I have used it. Can
you explain how it works?

 

Sounds like you're in the same position as me with the Tiger 955 - the
question is why? I've never really gelled with it the way I did with
the old Tiger. There's no doubt it's a fantastically capable bike, but
it doesn't rattle any of my senses, hence I'm now looking at all sorts
of weird shit[1] as a possible replacement in the hope of finding that
unexplainable something that makes you love a bike rather than just
appreciate/admire it.

I guess my point is if that's how you feel about the Sprint, then a
Blackbird probably isn't a good choice - frying pan --> fire etc. Maybe
you should be looking south rather than east - an ST4 would probably be
a good choice.

[1] Cagiva Navigator was top of the list until I spotted the Benelli
Tre-K. A bit spendy, but I've got a remortgage going through at the
moment, so I might not be able to stop myself.

--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

Yes indeed. Great. Just when I think I have made up my mind.... I have
always liked the Ducati ST2/3/4. I think I just need a huge garage and
unlimited financial resources.

 

I was thinking about this yesterday and recalled that you had written up
your riding impressions of the 'bird then - a quick google and added
your thoughts to my overall opinion of the bike.

 

Sir wants an ST4-*S*
It's the 996 engine (and the ohlins/brembo/marchesini kit) that makes it
worth while.

 

....

er, apologies to my alter ego - I forgot this was your thread. Needless to
point out, the previous post was from the Jeremy who doesn't run into
deer^W^W^Wknow shit about bikes.

 

Hmm, watched one of those come out of the crate the other day (kinda brown
and white 'Limited Edition'?) - I was surprised how small it was but it made
me wish I was about, er, er, a *lot* of years younger!!

 

You're going TOG-touring on it? If so... CIHAGM?

 

Talking of which, in the past I've used my magentic tank bag but am I
right in thinking that the 955i Sprint ST has a plastic tank?

If so, does anyone know if the 1050 is plastic or metal? Paging Catman!

I may need to get some throw over panniers before next week.

 

That would be the ideal situation. The former I have, although five
bikes plus the Corvette have pushed it to capacity. The latter is a
whole different kettle of sea-lions.

--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

your line-length is iffy. Or googlegroups is iffy. Again.

Anyway, yes, I've never really liked white as a colour for bikes, but
the new limited edition white/silver 'busa looks great.

 

Krusty says...

Possibly because it looks as gay as **** and your old Tiger looks like
it'd tear your head off and shit down your neck.

--
Lozzo
Triumph Daytona 955i SE (Black with added black bits)
Suzuki GSX-R750L trackbike (Shite with added shite bits)
Yamaha SR250 Delusion (It's "Special")
I ride way too fast to worry about cholestorol.

 

Sure no probs, several tried it at the Middle of Spring Meeting

 

I think that rather depends on the bike and the car, but overall, yes.

I didn't know that.

Ah, well, that's partially the point. Arguably, you *don't* want to
alter the steering geometry under braking, which is where Telelevers
come in. On a bike with quick steering, you might not want to quicken
it any more (I appreciate this doesn't apply to 'Birds). This has long
been one of the arguments against telescopic forks.

Hmmmmm...... I still think linked brakes have their place on some
bikes.

 

The brake balance on most cars is automatically adjusted by a valve
somewhere near the back axle, so you don't need to worry about it,
unless you drive a Vauxhall.

 

Which is of course nothing to do with the linked system. You'd get
exactly the same effect if you used the rear brake manually, which I
guess you rarely do given your surprise.

I don't use the rear brake at all on the MV, but if I rode the Tiger
like that I'd probably be dead by now. Use of the rear brake (or linked
brakes) makes sense on softly-suspended bikes as it stops the shock
extending, which would obviously result in far more pitching than you'd
get on a typically stiffly-suspended sports bike. I really don't see
the point of it on something like a Blackbird though.

I think the rider, & which bikes they're used to, is the key. If Honda
would just fit isolation valves in the transfer lines allowing the
rider to switch off the system, this whole debate would go away.

--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

In F1 the drivers often change the balance for specific corners. E.g.
on fast entries there's enough down-force to overcome any weight
transfer or rear lockup problems, so they can put more brake bias to
the rear wheels.


--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

Heh, there is that. I've tried riding it with my eyes shut though & it
didn't help.

--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

Not even minorly fat really.

Anyway it's a moot point for now as the ebay item in question has ended
early.

 

Don't get sucked into this 'noobie' shit:

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk...uk.rec.audio&q=Keith+G&qt_g=Search+this+group

....but I do have one mystery - I use OE because I can't be arsed with
anything else (tried Forte Agent but didn't like it) and have settings as
follows:

Mail Format = Mime

News Format = Uuencode

(Both 76 characters/plain text.)

Is this right - I've no idea ?

Ditto and ditto....