What part of the bike touches down first?

[BeamishTripleBlack]

I have seen a lot of 1200GS's on trackdays quite recently, If you get abit carried away what part of the bike is most likely to ground at big lean angles? I am no Rossi but the GS is so flickable its easy to get a bit carried away when out with other sportsbikes, also my last trackday instructor was on a GS so I know big lean angles are possible

 

[davegs]

gounding

Footrests have always ground first on mine (1150)

 

[Pablo1]

those big sticky out bits on side of engine (rocker covers).
Ive dropped mine once and fortunately had the panniers on at the time, side case took the whole impact.

 

[Pukmeister]

You'll get the outside edge of your toes down first, it'll probably give you a bit of a shock the first time but you'll soon get used to it.

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

Always the centre stand on my GSA, maybe the GS is different.

 

[Farmer Palmer]

Always the centre stand on mine on fully loaded two up compression in the corners......Mind you that's not on the track!

FP.

 

[Dahoum]

All of it usually
.
.

 

[GibGSA]

All of it usually
.
.

 

[Kintessack GSr]

GSA, Centre stand first, then foot rests, then wife starts screaming down the autocom!

 

[pinkytiff]

I have seen a lot of 1200GS's on trackdays quite recently, If you get abit carried away what part of the bike is most likely to ground at big lean angles? I am no Rossi but the GS is so flickable its easy to get a bit carried away when out with other sportsbikes, also my last trackday instructor was on a GS so I know big lean angles are possible

If you have TT crashbars the lower bar that runs beneath the cylinder touches - & has been known to dig in, lifting the front wheel & putting you in a ditch

 

[Big Red]

On the 1150 it will be the pegs but on the 1200, if you have the metal cases on then they will and if you don't it's either the crash bar or the centre stand, (depending on your weight).

 

[BeamishTripleBlack]

Thanks guys I will think twice before hunting down sportsbikes, I noticed there were no hero blobs as such so was wondering how the hell my trackday instructor knew when he was at his max lean, he was ultra impressive and to be honest the GS's performance on a track was one of the many reasons I had to try one. I couldn't understand how he was managing to get round Cadwell so efficiently Cant wait to pick mine up, anyone from the Lincoln area?

 

[BeamishTripleBlack]

GSA, Centre stand first, then foot rests, then wife starts screaming down the autocom!

 

[Rasher]

I find the tips of my toes catch the ground first, I assume the pegs won't be far behind so don't really go trying to find out!

I runa lot of pre-load as I like the bike to turn better and this helps with clearance, and if doing a track day I would probably add a couple more mm of pre-load.

I also add stacks for two-up to prevent issues, on my Wilburs I add 12-15 turns for a pillion and 18-22 with luggage, at which point there is virtually no static sag - and no ground clearance problems either.

I can't see many riders having clearance issue on a GS on track, plus when it starts to scrape a bit you stop leaning further!

 

[BeamishTripleBlack]

All of it usually
.
.

Is that yours? Looks expensive.

 

[BeamishTripleBlack]

I find the tips of my toes catch the ground first, I assume the pegs won't be far behind so don't really go trying to find out!

I runa lot of pre-load as I like the bike to turn better and this helps with clearance, and if doing a track day I would probably add a couple more mm of pre-load.

I also add stacks for two-up to prevent issues, on my Wilburs I add 12-15 turns for a pillion and 18-22 with luggage, at which point there is virtually no static sag - and no ground clearance problems either.

I can't see many riders having clearance issue on a GS on track, plus when it starts to scrape a bit you stop leaning further!

Good advice thanks.

 

[(RIP) Miff]

On my 2 2005 1200GSs, the stands touch down first. So I trimmed the little rubber stops down a bit.

It's only a problem when 2 up.

 

[Cooky]

On trackdays if I don't hang off the seat (which I don't yet) then the outside of my boot touches down first (that's with my foot positioned with the ball of my feet on the pegs). It shouldn't be distracting but I find it a little unsettling because I've only started to lean the GS that far consistently on the last couple of trackdays.

Rather than leaning the bike over more and more on the track and seeing what grinds next, I will probaly start experimenting with shifting my weight off the inside off the bike so that the bike doesn't have to lean so much. I do lean my upper body to the inside a bit but may try doing that more and/or a bit of actual hang off on my next track day for a few sessions just to experiment.

I think there's a danger that focussing on "how far can I lean the bike" sets you on the wrong path to going fast on the track. Still I tend to overthink this stuff as I'm borderline Rainman.

 

[mikef]

Just come back from riding one up in Italy and Sardinia on a rented 1200GS and it was always the outside of the toes of my boots which touched down first and its the same with my own GS in the UK. On the other hand, our guide in Italy/Sardinia, who is a bit of a riding god on his GS, always seemed to be scraping his centre stand but he was always riding 2 up. This was confirmed by a couple of my mates who rode pillion with him for a few kms. Could it be that if you're one up without luggage, the pegs touch down first but if you're 2 up or with luggage, the stand hits first?

 

[Giles]

...I think there's a danger that focussing on "how far can I lean the bike" sets you on the wrong path to going fast on the track. .....

.... Along with focusing on trying to get yer knee down.