ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Tech => Parts, Mods And Hacks => Topic started by: ZEM Tahiti on December 30, 2015, 08:23:29 AM
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Before any better stock steering, does someone did some mods on their frame stops?
Many are surprised by the angle (myself too!), saying that the bikes (specially S/SR) are very slim, feel light (low CG), and so should almost steer like scooters in the city!
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What you are asking about, is usually referred to as the "turning circle", steering angle usually refers to the lean angle of the headstem. A steeper head angle will give you quicker steering, but a slacker head angle will give more high speed stability, it's a compromise between the two. Small scooters have a shorter wheelbase and smaller wheels, so they will always have a tighter turning circle.
If you look at your bike, with the bars fully turned to one side, you will probably see that the triple clamps or fork tubes are very close to the frame, and enough room needs to be left for electrical cables to run alongside the frame too. If the triple clamp or fork tubes are nearly touching the frame, then you won't be able to modify your bike to have a smaller turning circle.
One thing you can do to make slow, tight turns much easier, like for a u-turn or parking, is to lean the bike over to the inside, but keep your upper body 90 degrees to the ground, rather than leaning with the bike.
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Sorry BenS, English is our second langage here in Tahiti, sometimes 3rd as we have french and Tahitian currently spoken...
But you understood what I meant, turning radius is the point, and is a weak point on Zero bikes (not tried the FX/FXS yet), and even if you lean (it improves for any bike), it will still be wider that most of the same size bike.
I checked and didn't see any cable to be compressed, and there is about half inch free before the fork tube touch the frame...
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No problem regarding your English, I figured it might not be your first language, but I was expecting the subject matter to be different. :)
My FX turning circle is comparable to my other bikes, and is probably better than the bigger ones because it has a shorter wheelbase.
On my 2015 FX, there is very little room to make the steering turn any tighter, because the forks would then touch the fairing, and I have electrical cables and brake lines(ABS) between the fork tube and frame. If your steering stops are the same as on my FX, you could cut/grind the steering stops a small amount, on the triple clamp and/or frame, but that will weaken them, and it would compromise the strength that the engineers intended. It can be important to allow plenty of room for the cables and lines if they move around when the handle bars are turned, they could wear or it could affect operation(especially important when you have manual throttle cables, but of course we don't have them!). I think it would be fairly safe to say that ZERO has done their best regarding the turning circle, and I can't see how they could make it much better.
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I always thought Zero did a pretty good job with their turning radius design. Much better than some IC brands that I could think of - such as a certain popular, expensive and complicated Italian model. ;)
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I always thought Zero did a pretty good job with their turning radius design. Much better than some IC brands that I could think of - such as a certain popular, expensive and complicated Italian model. ;)
Don't mention the "D" word, they are a sore point for me, because of their constant cheating with handicaps in racing! ;) It might have something to do with the racing being run by Italians? ;) I really feel sorry for the Japanese manufacturers, doing their best to make a good machine and play by the rules! But, lets not get off topic here! :)