Advice on soft salt

[nrhs sales]

Are there advantages or disadvantages to filling the gas tank full as per handling and weight distribution?

Every bike would be different depending on how you have your suspension set-up.  That is not a question that can be answered unless you know how your bike is currently balanced.

[wobblywalrus]

The international track was real good.  It was closer to the floating mountain than it was last year.  No problems at all.  Denis did a real good job of location and prep.

I did see remnants of the SCTA track.  It would have been pretty dicey to ride a bike over some parts.  Bikes need their own track when they are at meets with cars.  The car guys and gals would have shorter lines and the bike folks would feel safer.  A win-win situation for both. 

[wobblywalrus]

My attempt at getting a weight distribution.  I went to the truck stop.  Everything there is set up for big rigs and not bikes.  The speaker to talk to the office is way up in the air.  I tried to weigh each end of the bike and there was not enough weight to get a scale reading.  I also tried to weigh each end with me on it.  It would not work, either.  Not enough weight.   

[wobblywalrus]

Next I weighed the entire bike with me not on it.  It is full of oil and has a full tank of gas.  The scale reads 520 lbs.  The weight is somewhere between 510 and 530 lbs.  This seems reasonable.

The grand finale was weighing me and the bike.  The weight read as an elephantine 740 lbs.  This means the weight is between 730 and 750 lbs.  Again, this seems reasonable.

How do you experts get the weight distribution? 

[Gu11ett]

Go to a local speed shop, drag strip or dirt track. Ask around and someone will have a set of scales for setting their car up. They might let you borrow the scales. Or try they recycle /scrap yard, they might have a smaller scale you could use.

[Jon]

Do any of your local produce shops have scales in the range your looking for?
Makes sure its sitting flat to get your weights then lift up one end and re-weigh the other and you can work out the height of your COG.

Cheers
jon

[wobblywalrus]

Jon, could you scribble up a set of example calcs to find the CG location, both horizontally and vertically?  Or point me to a good reference?

[RidgeRunner]

     Check out: http://www.longacreracing.com/articles/art.asp?ARTID=22.  Should give you enough to get started.

     We used it to figure the height of the center of gravity on my buddy's lakester.  With a short WB like a bike I would try using the 10" min lift first then work it up from there.  With the long WB it took a lot of front end lift [close to 30" IIRC] to make significant changes to the rear weight for more accurate calculations.

            Ed

[Dr Goggles]

How do you experts get the weight distribution? 

Hey Bo, the weight will be distributed between the front and the back of the bike....what?.....I was trying to help

[Elmo Rodge]

     Check out: http://www.longacreracing.com/articles/art.asp?ARTID=22.  Should give you enough to get started.

     We used it to figure the height of the center of gravity on my buddy's lakester.  With a short WB like a bike I would try using the 10" min lift first then work it up from there.  With the long WB it took a lot of front end lift [close to 30" IIRC] to make significant changes to the rear weight for more accurate calculations.

            Ed

I used that program to determine the CG height of my Lakester and to mount my 'chute attach point. So far, (to 150) it hits really clean with funny stuff going on.  Wayno

[maj]

i use cheap digital bathroom scales, they cover the range of a bike untill you get realy heavy

[Elmo Rodge]

     Check out: http://www.longacreracing.com/articles/art.asp?ARTID=22.  Should give you enough to get started.

     We used it to figure the height of the center of gravity on my buddy's lakester.  With a short WB like a bike I would try using the 10" min lift first then work it up from there.  With the long WB it took a lot of front end lift [close to 30" IIRC] to make significant changes to the rear weight for more accurate calculations.

            Ed

I used that program to determine the CG height of my Lakester and to mount my 'chute attach point. So far, (to 150) it hits really clean with funny no stuff going on.  Wayno

I meant no funny stuff. 

[wobblywalrus]

The bike seemed to be light in the front at speed and it would tend to follow ruts.  This last meet I did something different.  I ran with a full tank of gas and sat in the front of the seat and tight against the back of the gas tank.  This helped a lot.  It could be a lack of ruts, too, that was making it feel more secure.

Thursday morning the bike goes down to the metal scrapper to be weighed on their scale. 

[salt27]

The bike seemed to be light in the front at speed and it would tend to follow ruts.  This last meet I did something different.  I ran with a full tank of gas and sat in the front of the seat and tight against the back of the gas tank.  This helped a lot.  It could be a lack of ruts, too, that was making it feel more secure.

Thursday morning the bike goes down to the metal scrapper to be weighed on their scale.  

You had me worried for a second, Bo.  

[wobblywalrus]

The weight distribution is 405# on the rear wheel and 350# on the front, static, with me on the bike and a full tank of gas.  I am not sure what this means as a weight distribution for LSR.  Any help is appreciated.