Fake Name wrote:
>Specifically what were/are the problems with the stability of a TL
>1000?
The design.
The long V-twin engine which had to be mounted too far back in the TL1000S
chassis unweighted the front tire.
Lack of weight on the front tire contact patch and/or a tire profile that was
too pointy made the TL1000S feel squirrelly to some motojournalists testing
the machine, so they gave it a bad report.
I don't remember if it was the British testers who first knocked the TL1000S'
stability or not.
The Brits tended to say anything they wanted, however rude and true, while
the Americans tended to be sychophants, writing only what was acceptable to
the distibutors.
Suckass American motorjournalists realized that they couldn't badmouth the
products they were testing, because they might not get any more long term
test bikes from the distributors and they started calling squirrelly-handling
machines "hooligan bikes" and praising how easy and fun it was to do a
wheelie on one.
Japanese engineers came to realize that, in spite of the desires of
motojournalists who had been pressing for an inexpensive Japanese version of
a Ducati, the inline-4 was a more compact engine which could be mounted
closer to the front wheel for better weight distribution to enhance cornering,
and that's what a sportbike is really all about, not wheelies.
Now, if you want to ride a motorcycle which feels like the front tire is
"planted" in the turns, ride a 1988 through 1996 Yamaha FZR1000.
The FZR would leave everything else in the dust until it came to really tight
back roads, then it was just too stable to change directions quickly.
An FZR was just fine for a longer high speed race track, but the complicated
20-valve engine didn't lend itself to the fettling of American motorcycle hot
rooders who loved Suzukis and Kawasakis for their big bore potential.
Riders said that if they wanted a box stock machine, just leave the FZR alone
and race it in a production class. But it was too much trouble to modify it.
The FZR1000 was the standard by which all large sportbikes were judged until
the CBR900RR came out in 1993, with its light weight and the midget 16-inch
front tire that would wash out unpredictably.
But the CBR had the twin spar aluminum frame pioneered by Yamaha and newer
engine technology with a lighter simpler engine.
Riders became increasingly "hooked" on light weight, squirrelly motorcycles.
So you see a lot of 450 pound I-4 sport bikes around.
And, what happened to the big bore Japanese Ducatis?
In order to be competitive with the I-4's, ALL the TL1000R's and the RC51's
needed more heavier, more robust crankcases, built to withstand 180
crankshaft horsepower, because a FEW of the total production run might be
raced on a track against I-4 superbikes...
--
Message posted via
http://www.motorcyclekb.com >> Stay informed about: TL 1000 
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