defying countersteering ?

[jalal]

Hello,

I had my 2nd opportunity to test ride a demo HM. The first ride was a 20 mile loop when the hypetruck was in town on a std HM. The bike handled like there was 15 PSI of air in the front tire. the second ride was on a slightly used 2008 S model with about 2500 miles. Both rides felt uncomfortable, and I was working harder then I should to steer the bike.

I took the S on a 40 mile tight twisty ride (20-50MPM) with lots of ups and downs. I am very familiar with that road because I ride my DRZ400SM and my R1200GS there all the time. The entire time the bike was fighting me, when I countersteered right it wanted to push the bars to the left, and so on. When I steered by hugging the tank really tight, and leaning the bike in the corner, it felt much better, but that is not the way I am used to riding, and it is way more work than I am willing to put in. The HM appeals to me because of it light weight, tall suspension, and simplistic bodywork, and I have hoped that it will handle like a dream. I wanted to ride like a DRZ400SM but with way more power and brakes.

I am a very experienced rider, and I own a SuperSport 900 and had an MTS 1000 for a while. I understand that the HM is a "radical" bike, but does it really ride so much different from every bike that I have ever ridden ? I am told the bike suspension and ride height are setup at factory defaults. The shop that I was at, didn't have any definitive answers on why it was behaving in that manner. It is a nice shop, but their bread and butter are monsters, and superbikes, and I have a feeling they don't know much about the HMs.

I did some searching on this site and others, and I saw some posts that mentioned how adding a bit of ride height (10 mm) in the back will make a huge difference. Is that all I need ? Why the heck would ducati setup a bike in a way to make it handle that badly ?

I loved that motor, and the look of the bike, but if I can't figure out the handling, I will not be buying an HM.

I appreciate any feedback you might have. Ciao!

[Giest]

I dont know bro. I have had a k6Gixxer6 and a 07 Aprilia RSVR1000. I love how this thing handles compared to the both of them. In the situation where it felt like it had 15 psi and felt shitay maybe it did. I got my bike back from the shop unloaded it and took it for a spin and it felt way wrong up front. I check the psi and it was at like 10. And as for riding it one specific way to get her to behave, nah. I will hang off of her like a supersport or sit on top of her and get all crossed up like a dirt bike. Sometime I will corner sitting straight up just to, and either way she still feels good.

[PedroHM]

how heavy are you?

[johnchypermotard]

@ jalal -

seems like you should not buy a hypermotard, based on your self stated riding level and your dislike of the handling.

[crashman]

Hey Jalal,
I did the same thing and went from a DRZ-SM to the Hyper. What I found is that if you take all of the preload out of the front and jack the back up it feels more like a SM and less like a garbage truck. It gets a bit more lively but still stable. It seems like there is 2 schools of thought. Some people go the other way and like it.
There was a guy that went by the name Ghezzi on the forum that posted some setup guidelines that worked pretty good for me. It would be worth doing a search for some of his posts.

[MarksFriggin]

I found that putting a set of Michelin Pilot Powers on the Hyper helped a bit when I felt that my Hyper was fighting me in the corners. It was a pretty remarkable difference.

The Hyper will never handle like the DR-Z. I have an SM and hoped that the Hyper could replace it. My Hyper handles just fine, not like a garbage truck, but it's not quite as nimble as the SM. I ended up keeping the SM for tight backroad blasts and the Hyper for main roads.

[dave2riff]

I'm glad countersteering wasn't invented yet when I started riding or I'd still
be confused. This bike doesn't handle that much different than a
Multistrada, in general, so I'm surprised you had issues with it. I've ridden
on and with the DRZ-400SM quite a bit and it is definitely more nimble-- just
think about turning and it turns. The DRZ is even faster to turn in than my own
Yamaha Supermoto bike, despite mine having 50 pounds less weight. That
said, the DRZ400SM and similar bikes do give up something in stability-- try
cranking it over at 65+ in a big sweeper and it doesn't take much to unsettle
the bike and lose the line. The DRZ is not confidence inspiring at speed like a sport
bike should be, gets twitchy in crosswinds, and feels dangerous when the
rear breaks loose.

The Hypermotard is a compromise between a sportbike and a motard.
Even with that compromise and the relatively long 58.5" wheelbase
and the conservative rake and trail numbers, I believe the HM shines brightest
where the turns get really tight and the surface gets uneven. Coming from
a dirt bike the HM feels heavy at first, but after some days of canyon bashing,
it became a very flickable hooligan bike in my opinion.

After two test rides the HM still feels wrong?... maybe it is not good for you or
your riding style. I was hooked after my test ride and couldn't stop thinkin'
about it... really, it was the test ride that sold it for me. There are some
tweaks to steepen the rake (raise the rear link, slide the fork tubes up in clamps),
and a rounded profile tire helps the bike drop into turns better, but these are just
tweaks and do not radically change the nature of the bike.

[jalal]

Originally Posted by PedroHM

how heavy are you?

I am under 200lbs with all my gear.

[jalal]

I agree with your analysis about the DRZ not being so good at anything much faster then 65 miles an hour. Not only the suspension can't handle it, it just does not have the power/brakes to deal with hi speed. I use the DRZ for really short trips (50 miles and less), and it does fine there since I avoid all highways...

Originally Posted by dave2riff

I'm glad countersteering wasn't invented yet when I started riding or I'd still
be confused. This bike doesn't handle that much different than a
Multistrada, in general, so I'm surprised you had issues with it. I've ridden
on and with the DRZ-400SM quite a bit and it is definitely more nimble-- just
think about turning and it turns. The DRZ is even faster to turn in than my own
Yamaha Supermoto bike, despite mine having 50 pounds less weight. That
said, the DRZ400SM and similar bikes do give up something in stability-- try
cranking it over at 65+ in a big sweeper and it doesn't take much to unsettle
the bike and lose the line. The DRZ is not confidence inspiring at speed like a sport
bike should be, gets twitchy in crosswinds, and feels dangerous when the
rear breaks loose.

The Hypermotard is a compromise between a sportbike and a motard.
Even with that compromise and the relatively long 58.5" wheelbase
and the conservative rake and trail numbers, I believe the HM shines brightest
where the turns get really tight and the surface gets uneven. Coming from
a dirt bike the HM feels heavy at first, but after some days of canyon bashing,
it became a very flickable hooligan bike in my opinion.

After two test rides the HM still feels wrong?... maybe it is not good for you or
your riding style. I was hooked after my test ride and couldn't stop thinkin'
about it... really, it was the test ride that sold it for me. There are some
tweaks to steepen the rake (raise the rear link, slide the fork tubes up in clamps),
and a rounded profile tire helps the bike drop into turns better, but these are just
tweaks and do not radically change the nature of the bike.

[PedroHM]

if its setup right it should be ok. if the springs in the forks have too much preload you'll get that kind of thing. stock setup is probably too hard in the front hense poor turn in. mine falls on its side nicely..