Quote:
Originally Posted by FXSTi
Not to be a naysayer, but are you sure want to add the ballast to the back end? I thought the idea was to put the weight up front like an arrow.
Kirk
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Full sit up motorcycle tail section add ons get so high that they get blown around in cross winds quite badly so these guys talk about adding ballast to the nose to make the system into a dart but I have never read any reports as to whether this really helps anything or not. I would think not. Unless they could get the weight up behind the headlight. The Honda CBR250R has a really excellent self correcting mechanism whereby the side winds force the trail in the front geometry to countersteer and set up an opposing lean. Right back into the wind! (Thanks for the excellent explanation Ken Fry!) It is really an amazing feeling. As if the bike had some sort of active crosswind compensation. The feeling is intensified while riding in a tuck with my chest on the tank as I always do at highway speed because the body weight and stiffness is removed from the handlebars so the steering is free to respond as it can. And, the mass of the bike and rider is centered with a lower polar distribution right on the cg of the longitudinal roll axis. This makes it feel as if side winds blow only on the bottom of the bike. The wheels go back and forth as if by magic to correct for the wind while the nose of the bike, anchored by the concentrated mass, stays straight on line. Adding 100 pounds on the seat, right behind my hips will only lock that roll axis in even tighter while taming little instantaneous gusts with it's increased soak.