| #21  26-May-2005, 11:25 | |||
| |||
| Quote:
Movign seat/tank forward alters weight fore/aft distribution, it will put more weight further forward but doesn't alter riders position. I've been thinking about this since it came up and I'd say you can get the same effect by dropping the bars down the fork ( not the same as pushing forks up though yoke which actually alters head angle), the bars would end up the same amount lower than the seat as if you raised the seat pad and you'd push more weight onto the nose in exactly the same way. if you raise the seat height ( not ride height) it has to increase c of g and theres no way that can be beneficial. We've tested mountain bikes at pretty high DH speeds and i can guarantee anyone whos done it with different BB heights will prefer one thats lower. Add in the where it places your weight at high angles of lean and increases the distance from contact patch and once again it ain't good. Obviously theres some sideways and forces to consider in that one. I'm aware MTB doesn't relate to motorbikes in the same way as you've got much higher lean angles and the balance between machine/rider weight is vastly different but I'd take a bit of convincing that moving weight up is good I'd say the benefit is the riders ergonomic preferences, most people prefer the race type position for fast road/track use which the 999 doesn't really have, its long and flat rather than arse up a la 998 etc, raising the seat height puts you back in that nose down/arse high position which means you can feel the front end and it feels more secure or planted hence the impression its better ( which it probably is). Reading about Toselands F05 Ducati have moved a lot of weight down to lower c of g, the only reason to move seat up is if you can't get bars low enough as they might catch fairing. I'd think its the relationship between bars/seat which is the critical factor but hey, I'm just an armchair race engineer, Moto GP 2 on X box anyone   |
Threaded Mode