[Tosteetos]

Alright, so I have a love hate relationship with my Hyper. I've owned it since it was almost brand new (second owner bought with just under 1k miles, now closing in on 11ks). I'd like to think of myself as a pretty adept rider, riding since I was 14 on and off. I still have not figured this one out and I am reaching out to you guys to see where am I going wrong or maybe I have the wrong expectation?

So to give this some perspective, I come from sports bikes, I currently own a 2015 R1. Understanding the Hyper will never handle the way an R1 does, I do still think something is not right.

So what is my issue? I can never feel my front is hooking. I don't lean as much as I could because I feel my front is pushing as I'm going through my turns, and I fear I'll either run wide onto oncoming traffic or if I lean further the front will fold. I'm using the same tires I use on my R1 and that thing is on rails, I know the tire is not the issue as I can throw anything at it and it will handle it with ownership. Again, I know this can't be the case with the Hyper, but I need to find front end feel. Is this thing just not meant to be leaned? Shouldn't my lean angle be limited by clearance and not by a lack of mechanical grip?

I've set sag at 1/3 of the suspension range on both ends. Still that has not fixed the issue, I have brand new tires on both ends, still pushes, I warm up my tires pretty well before twisty section, still. I increased preload by a few turns on the back, helped a bit but still I don't feel the confidence.

Tires are dunlop Q3. stock Marzocchi forks and Ohlins shock. Any pointers?

 

[soko]

Many factors could be at play here.

Perhaps air pressure could stand to be lowered?

Putting a leg out will help you get farther forward on the seat which puts more weight over the front tire. But depends on the type of turn I suppose.

Adjusting the suspension preload, comp, rebound on both ends, but that's a whole other can of worms that you need to study before just changing it.

Be mindful of your body positioning when cornering and handlebar grip. But it could also just be your subconsciously looking for your Hyper to feel similar to your R1 in front-end feel, and you know that's not gonna happen. I suggest heading to an open parking lot and slowly doing some figure 8's and circles while leaning it over to try and give you a better idea.



Maybe someone with more experience riding aggressively or races can provide more insight as I tend not to push my bike too hard.

 

[t_bare]

Try 5 clicks in for Rebound, better or worse? Try 5 clicks less compression, better or worse? Try different settings but make meaningful adjustments not 1 or 2 clicks.

t_bare

 

[Austen]

Getting the suspension adjusted for your weight helps a lot. Had a local reputable suspension shop set mine up. My SP was set very stiff in the front and after softening it up it's helped a lot with feel. When I climbed on it before, it was only the rear shock that would compress and now the front end and the rear compress simultaneously as they're supposed to.

 

[Reckless_Kelly]

Former sportbiker here as well. After selling my 749, I found the same feeling when I first started riding the Hyper ('13SP), and it was a little bit alarming at first. Checked air pressures, did plenty of suspension setup, even tried different tires, but it still felt vague in the front end. Eventually, I just got used to it and realized that it's just the way these bikes handle. I've done a couple of trackdays with it, and it just keeps sticking as I dive deeper and deeper into the turns. I've since had the rear tire spinning up on corner exit and dancing side to side under hard braking coming into a corner, and the front still has a slightly vague feel. I think it has to do with the rake/trail geometry and the wider handlebars giving more leverage/less feedback. This was bolstered when I rode a friends 1199 on the track, and was astonished by the amount of feedback and feel that the front end provided compared to the Hyper.

 

[ZeeBee]

First time I changed the fork oil in my '12 1100 SP, I discovered that the tubes were set lower in the triple clamps then the service manual called for. Putting them up higher to spec (reducing rake), resulted in a better handling bike, I felt much more comfortable in corners.

 

[Mike Colford]

The feel front the front end on the stock Marazzochi sucks ass, I did a full K-Tech race cartridge drop in, was 2K CDN. The front end feel now is a thousand times better. I am running Dunlop Q3s on it now, front end stays planted and I get great feed back. The riding style on the hyper is different than a supersport, you have to ride it more like a dirtbike if you want to push it hard.

 

[NYSport]

I added Ohlins 25mm cartridges to my 08 Hyper. Different bike after the install and setup.