Do you know the limits of your scooters handling?

[lshigham]

This is something that's only just become apparent to me, as my scooter has become more powerful and faster.

I have problems with the back end going AWOL (did it 3 times earlier today in a 20mi ride) and wheelies come when you really don't want them (speed bumps are interresting :. I haven't yet found the grip limit when cornering (it's pretty extreme, I took a sharp 90* corner at 65 earlier today), so, who has?

Any stories?

[90GTVert]

I haven't done anything too nuts to really push the limits of grip. I have had a couple of interesting experiences at about the scoots limits.

My first crash I initially chalked up to sand or moisture or something on the turn, but since then I have realized it was pretty fast for that particular turn. I was doing about 35 MPH and turned into a tight 90 degree turn. I low-sided it. When I say tight 90 degrees, I mean just that. I had about 10 ft to turn into and the corner had a very small radius. After trying it in a car, I think I overestimated the scoot or myself. At that speed in the car, the tires are squealing hard and it definitely feels like I was a little too confident on the scoot. lol It was an intersection, so there could have been debris and there are bumps, but at this point I think I was just dumb. lol

The other time I have felt a scoot beyond it's limit for sure was when I had a fuel tank leak just above my rear tire. Apparently it let go just before my turn. I was going a little fast anyway and the ass end slid around so I was kinda sideways. That's quite a surpirse when all grip just disappears. I think the only reason it didn't high-side is that the tire just could not get traction. It was so slick that after I stopped I was going sideways trying to accelerate under any throttle. It was probably the most fun thing I've ever done on the scoot that I never want to do again.

Other than that, I've scraped plenty of centerstands and stuff like that. That can feel weird like it starts to catch on cracks or something at times. I've felt it get loose, but not gone like the times above. When I was into to midbikes, I ground my footpegs down as much as possible for more clearance and you could still watch sparks fly on every turn. That was before I ever crashed and I think stupidity made me braver than I ever should have been wearing no helmet, no gear.

One thing that does constantly bug me is the front drum brake on the Venus. It has good stopping power for a drum, but it comes on crazy the first times you touch it. If feels like you slam on the front brake and the front wheel gets a little wobbly. I've rode a little on sportbikes with nice front brakes and never even had that problem. It's just something with the way it engages initially or cable feel with the drum.

That reminds me, I used to sit way forward and lock up the rear brake from 40-50MPH on T1 to leave skid marks. That was pretty fun, but hard on tires. I rode a friends scoot with rear disc and had to get off cause I kept wanting to skid it since it was so easy. lol

[reveeen]

I have a pre-bug Zuma, that came to me as a "parts bike", having been owned by a seeming succession of idiots.

As I got the thing sorted it just got faster, and faster, and I found myself making chassis/tire improvements the better the engine ran.

Currently I have run out of front end, as the front forks do not work well over 40mph, and at 50mph I have to pay more attention to hanging on than to my surroundings.

So, I really don't have any "stories" (other than left turn in front of me stories). My riding style is "to the pin" at all times, and with chassis improvements to keep up with power improvements, I am keeping out of trouble so far..........................

I have a new (to me) front end that will be going on when the weather turns, and several projects "in the pipe" to develop.

[stepthrutuner]

Ok. Try this one. Gravel roads with rocks 1/2 the size of baseballs on street treads. The front end is all over the place all the time. The trick is to use speed to your advantage. That way you miss about 1/2 the bumps and the gyroscopic effect helps keep you upright. You gotta slow way down for curves though so the front end doesn't wash out. I run intermediates now and the 'dancing' on gravel is much less.