There is a ton of info on this site, but I have yet to see a topic on adjusting the TW steering stops. (Their not adjustable, gotta grind)
My dirt bikes have threaded adjusters but the TW just has a lug welded to the steering tube. On my bike it was stuck on crooked and I say stuck because I won’t call that a weld. I found that my bike would turn more left than right so I got out the grinder and trimmed the stop.
Before I started the fork was far from the tank but I kept trimming until the fork nearly hits the tank gas tank when cranked over. This makes for a much tighter turning radius and I can tell the difference when I ride my wife’s bike that’s uncut. You won’t notice it riding but will really appreciate it on slow stuff, rocks and u-turns.
Go check your stops, I think Yamaha let’s the noobie weldors learn on the tabs, the rest of the frame just looks like rushed robots.
How much material are you removing? Pictures please. I could see this being helpful when I’m manually backing my bike up to turn around. My concern is if I would ever experience a tank slapper the stops stock may help to pull out. When I was running the Goldenboy 244 my bike was squirrelly on the highway and I always felt scared it may happen.
Remember in a tank slapper it is not just the bar-to-tank clearance you need to worry about but having clearance for your hands is nice too. I once left some knuckle sized dents in a borrowed Honda Nighthawks tank from my thumbs during a near death moment. Thumbs eventually recovered as did my relationship with NightHawk's pissed off owner. The dents never recovered though.
So when testing how much steering stop to shave off you might consider a holistic approach that includes your pinkies.
...How much material are you removing?...
This will vary from bike to bike the amount determined by YOUR existing clearance. I was cheated out of tight rights so I removed a lot more on one side to make it “right”. I used a die grinder and took off a pass and checked it, grind some more, check again.
I took off as much as I could without letting the forks hit the tank, if I had a plastic tank I would remove more and let it hit.
Can’t fathom tank slappers on my TW
...How much material are you removing?...
This will vary from bike to bike the amount determined by YOUR existing clearance. I was cheated out of tight rights so I removed a lot more on one side to make it “right”. I used a die grinder and took off a pass and checked it, grind some more, check again.
I took off as much as I could without letting the forks hit the tank, if I had a plastic tank I would remove more and let it hit.
Can’t fathom tank slappers on my TW View attachment 153073
I did just that....cut the stops so it contacts the plastic tank at the same time....the bike turns sharper and is much easier to balance at a stop (at full lock). It kinda brings the TW a little bit closer to a trials bike. Sadly, I have never revealed this little trick to my riding buddies who struggle with track stands....
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