Fork, triple clamp, bar question

[rhythminblues]

Back years ago when I had my first 906 I had the belts done by this shop in Maine; Moto Milano.
The owner and I were talking about the front forks, geometry, tires, a bunch of stuff really.
He said he knew of someone who machined the top triple clamp and bars to allow for fork tube movement in the clamps.
Has anyone seen or heard of this? I've read some threads here and it seems that people talk about fork swaps quite a bit rather than this mythical mod that I describe. I also understand you run in to a clearance issue with tire/radiator. I think the bike is just about perfect out of the box for the purpose it was intended; maybe it could use a bit more power but all in all I was happy with my last one. Therefor the purpose of this inquire is for theory really. It would be nice to have this in my bag of tricks. What spawned this question is a pic of a lime green 907 about 2/3rds the way down the first page of this thread http://forums.ducatipaso.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2165
Anybody have any insight? Is this possible? Do you suppose given the adjusted rake that you could get the bike to turn in a bit better or change direction a little quicker without the buy product being the tendency to head shake? Thanks!

[ducinthebay]

Sliding the forks up into the triples will steepen the fork angle, and shift the weight forward, and generally quicken the steering. If you do a lot of around town, or have tight twisty roads, then this will help turn-in and agility.

The side affect is that it will affect high speed stability, and as you pointed out, you may hit the front fender on the fairing in compression.

You can achieve somewhat similar affects by raising the rear ride height of a bike. (some aftermarket shocks allow you to do this, and some bikes like the superbike and ST series have this feature built into the linkage)

Some have tried a low profile tire to achieve the same result, but I can't recommend that.

On my Sport, I have slid the forks up about 20mm (3/4") and have a shock that I can adjust the ride height, and raised the backend about 13mm (1/2"). I have hit the fender on the fairing, once, in a really odd corner with a big dip in it. Yes, it turns into corners really quickly now, maybe too quickly at times.

This is a common suspension adjustment in all forms of racing. Once you start looking at race bike photos, you start to see that the forks are set at a bunch of different heights. Flat track guys are probably the easiest to see the differences.
Street bikes are usually fixed because the lawyers got involved, just like modern bars and controls are fixed.

On the Paso, you need only to machine out the handle bars to allow the forks to rise up. The triple clamps already have the ability. You can experiment with it on your bike already, but the limit on the top is set. Start by seeing that your forks are already slid up to the stops. Bar risers for the Paso may allow you to do this also.

Cheers,

[rhythminblues]

Thanks ducinthebay, nice comprehensive answer! I probably should have given a little background; i've been a sportbike rider for the better part of 15 years. I'm very firmilure with the desire, reason and affects both for and of this adjustment. I can't think of a bike I've owned that I haven't done this too except the 906. My question pertains to the 907 both in feasibility and characteristics. I did however mistakenly describe the quote about machining the triple clamp which obviously has a conventional adjustment. I'd really like to hear what peoples experiences have been with this model in perticular. Excellent feedback, thanks!

[907pasonut]

interesting paso you have there r&b...Im trying to work out whats the dial on the front is for?...you wouldnt have any problems finding parts for your bike...whatever you happen to have, just chuck it on...and if you dont have it, just leave it off ...sorry, cant help you with your question

[paso750]

Claude, that´s not his bike and the dial is for heated grips.

G.

[907pasonut]

I should read the posts properly before putting my brain in gear

[rhythminblues]

Higgy, you seem to be a guru; any input? Seen this done successfully?

[higgy]

There was a time I was inclined to do a lot of experimenting with front and rear geometry, spring rates tire compounds and the like looking for that little extra edge. I read every book, article, SAE paper I could find. I understood the math and had access to some for the era very sophisticated modeling software. I ate drank and dreamed of going faster and quicker than the next guy who generally weighed in 7 stones less than I. It ended for me in disaster. Three very long hard years of surgery and recovery.
These days I can tell you the last thing I would suggest any one to do is drop the trees on the tubes or to modify in anyway either of the trees and most certainly not in combination with any modification that in anyway changes the weight distribution

But that's just me

[rhythminblues]

Thanks Higgy, I can respect that.

[Duc750]

Remember the 907 has different handling traits due to the taller profile tires. I have seen a picture somewhere on here where someone has machined out the bar mounts to let this happen but the idea apart from anything else has never appealed to me as there's no a great deal of metal their anyway and without knowing its make up and propoerties its abit of a stab in the dark. Particularly with a component that is so key to keeping the bike rubber side down

[rhythminblues]

as there's no a great deal of metal their

I tend to agree with you regarding this. Thanks for your input.
My thought in measuring the adjustment was to etch a ring on the upperfork legs (like 5 marks every 10mm) like a conventional set-up to indicate how far you pull them up through the clamp. Though, the reason for this thread was good input and personal experiences, so thank you. At this point I don't plan to go rouge and just make a geometry adjustment off the hip.. I probably wont even lay my grubby mits on this bike until next spring. Thats plenty of time to stew about it...

[ducinthebay]

One of the very few reasons to mill out the handlebars to let the forks come through is if you had a 750 or 906, and put on 907 forks and front wheel. The 907 forks are longer, so to keep close to original geometry of the 750, you have to slide the forks up into clamps. But that is the only situation that I can think of. Since the picture you show if of a highly modified bike, We can only guess what the origin of the parts were.

As with any of this, pull the springs and check the full travel to see what hits before you go and ride it.

Cheers,