How much steering rotation lock to lock?

[timtune]

So in the process of grafting the the 750 front end to the Wing I had to cut off the original wing steering stops - they would not work with the stops on the 750 lower triple.
I now need to add stops to the neck. Since I've made up some radical rear sets it seems only fitting that the bars be down low to take advantage of the rearsets. Lower bars mean less rotation before the bar ends hit the tank.
This is my quandry. How much rotation is required? It's a drag bike so I should be able to get by with less. That said the last thing I want is to have to cut off the stops because of some rediculously large turning radius.

Any help appreciated.

 

[GreyGhost]

@Brian P made a drag bike out of his 1000. There is a great thread on it. Not sure if he had to mess with angle stops.

 

[Mad Mike]

Don’t you have another GL and CB in your barn? I’d just measure those. If you don’t have them handy, I’ll go out and measure my old GL.

 

[timtune]

Don’t you have another GL and CB in your barn? I’d just measure those. If you don’t have them handy, I’ll go out and measure my old GL.

I can check the CB to get a baseline but really my question is "can I get away with less and if so how much?"

 

[GreyGhost]

I can check the CB to get a baseline but really my question is "can I get away with less and if so how much?"

From watching drag bikes, it looks like you could get away with much less angle. The problem comes with low speed sharp turns. You could use the side stand for those. Alternatively, pretend it's the klr, kick it over spin it to the desired direction and stand it up again.

 

[Brian P]

My roadrace R3 has an aftermarket steering stop, which is necessary if you install lower handlebars to stop them hitting the tank and the instrument cluster. It has a huge turning circle. You don't need much steer angle on track. For a drag bike, as long as it can make the turn at the far end of the strip, and maneuver in the paddock, good enough.

 

[timtune]

My roadrace R3 has an aftermarket steering stop, which is necessary if you install lower handlebars to stop them hitting the tank and the instrument cluster. It has a huge turning circle. You don't need much steer angle on track. For a drag bike, as long as it can make the turn at the far end of the strip, and maneuver in the paddock, good enough.

Thanks @Brian P. Any chance of a rough measurement of the angle your bike has? Also I'm interested in the aftermarket stops. I'm really scared to weld on the steering stem for fear of shrinking it and having trouble getting new bearings in. ( This fear is based on how well the weld and shrink works for getting old races out)
This year at the Bad Living rally I saw a bike were a short length of chain was used to limit fork turning. It was crudely done but the idea is simple and could be done well.

 

[GreyGhost]

Thanks @Brian P. Any chance of a rough measurement of the angle your bike has? Also I'm interested in the aftermarket stops. I'm really scared to weld on the steering stem for fear of shrinking it and having trouble getting new bearings in. ( This fear is based on how well the weld and shrink works for getting old races out)
This year at the Bad Living rally I saw a bike were a short length of chain was used to limit fork turning. It was crudely done but the idea is simple and could be done well.

How is the form/function ratio on this bike? Can you put the stops on the bars where they hit the tank? Keeps welding away from the bearings. Alternatively, a linear steering damper probably works too and looks racier.

 

[Brian P]

I have about 15 degrees of steer angle either side of center.

The steering stop in this case is a bent piece of steel plate which secures to two bolt holes on the front of the lower triple clamp which (on a street bike) would normally be used for the horn bracket. It has a tab on either side bent over so as to come in contact with the tab on the frame prior to the stock (cast into the lower triple) steering stops coming in contact with that tab.

Dunno about drag racing, but in roadracing, if the steering damper limits steering travel, that will fail tech. Steering dampers are not supposed to reach the end of their travel.

 

[Ash]

No idea of my actual steering angle, but I've taped & wired pieces of 1/8" aluminum flat stock to the OEM steering stops on my trackbike so the brake/clutch levers won't contact the fairing. The aluminum also provides a soft crush zone in case of a crash. I've also heard of people using stick-on wheel weights for the same purposes, which are even thicker.

The reduced steering angle only matters when trying to make 3-point turns in the garage. Even my hardest steering inputs on track don't come anywhere close to the stops.

 

[Ash]

It's hard to measure with the tools I've got, but it looks like I have about double the angle that Brian has. About 30 degrees from centre each way.

 

[timtune]

I did a quick check on 3 bikes that were easy to get at. All between about 32-35 degrees per side.
When I get the front end back together I'll compare that to what I need and go from there.