Police bike is 'serious threat' - Honda ST1300

[Rhino]

Article on the BBC website

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6600897.stm

[Honeymonster]

Helps if you read it

"The inquest was told that problems affected only police models of the motorcycle with their heavy emergency and communications equipment".

[LazyRider]

Helps if you read it

"The inquest was told that problems affected only police models of the motorcycle with their heavy emergency and communications equipment".

Has anyone any idea of what sort of weight and its distribution that is causing the problem?

[minkyhead]

mmmmmmmm   not so a freind of mine has one and it weaves  over 100mph 
  it starts with  a slight shimmy ..... the effect feels like the rear tyre is coming off the rim
it was loaded with two weeks luggage  ....
   i wouldnt touch one till the new model comes out   

[Craig67]

   i wouldnt touch one till the new model comes out   

I've heard Silver is all the rage.

[Tarwdu]

I don't know if this is a similar problem which I encountered on my vara a few weeks ago.  I was heavily loaded with top box and side panniers.  Rode for several hours, no problems untill I overtook a car which was  doing about 65-70.  I misread the road which had a hidden dip in it,  and out of nowhere appeared a land rover and livestock trailer.  I was probabably doing slightly more than the car (without incriminating myself)when I overtook, pulled into my side of thr road in the nick of time to allow the oncoming vehicle to pass.  As soon as it passed I felt myself being torn away from my bike with the bike going into a violent shimering action for the next five seconds or so.  I put this down to turbulence of a strange kind.  Not the kind you get when a lorry comes towards you, or passing a lorry on the motorway.  I was scared.

Moral of the story is,  do not go stupid with full luggage.  I was lucky.  I am not even going to joke about my underwear.

Tarwdu

[xlrik]

Apparently they dont weave if you have fat bolkes driving them because they stick to the road better.

I have a friend with one (as well as our 3 friends on here) and none of them have ever reported a weave when sober!

Rik

[Redeye]

Has anyone any idea of what sort of weight and its distribution that is causing the problem?

The rear light unit is supplied and fitted by Sonic. It's Home Office approved, so basically it's the only unit the Police are allowed to fit.
If you look at the unit it is shaped like a "ski-run" and acts as a wing ie F1 cars etc and creates downforce at the rear of the motorcycle.
The sides of the unit are small replicas of the top (at 90 degrees) so air passing around the rider hits these mini-wings and create a side force. If the rider is in still air then the force exerted on the side wings is equal and the bike is stable. If you are in lane 2 passing an HGV in lane 1 then the forces are unequal due to the turbulence from the HGV on the left and this can cause the bike to be unstable and the dreaded weave can start.
I've done just over 22,000 miles on my ST1300 in the last 20 months and never had a wobble, weave, or anything else of that nature at any speed up to 140mph (that was in Germany your honour!)

All these plonkers on civvi bikes who complain are either incompetent riders, don't check tyre pressures or found at the bar recounting how "the bike went into a high speed weave but due to my extremely good riding ability I saved it" type tossers!

The people who want shagging for the death of the police officer are Sonic and the Home Office for approving an untested chunk of plastic that has the aerodynamic qualities only previously found on Kamikaze aircraft.

[The Prodded Dog]

My friends on the police force agree with you Red, The road bike is a completely different, and stable, kettle of fish!
TPD

[jp]

Has anyone any idea of what sort of weight and its distribution that is causing the problem?

probably a bit more kit than two modest panniers and a smallish VHF radio fitted when I used to fit these Rickman Triumphs with radios.

[Poppy]

The rear light unit is supplied and fitted by Sonic. It's Home Office approved, so basically it's the only unit the Police are allowed to fit.
If you look at the unit it is shaped like a "ski-run" and acts as a wing ie F1 cars etc and creates downforce at the rear of the motorcycle.
The sides of the unit are small replicas of the top (at 90 degrees) so air passing around the rider hits these mini-wings and create a side force. If the rider is in still air then the force exerted on the side wings is equal and the bike is stable. If you are in lane 2 passing an HGV in lane 1 then the forces are unequal due to the turbulence from the HGV on the left and this can cause the bike to be unstable and the dreaded weave can start.
I've done just over 22,000 miles on my ST1300 in the last 20 months and never had a wobble, weave, or anything else of that nature at any speed up to 140mph (that was in Germany your honour!)

All these plonkers on civvi bikes who complain are either incompetent riders, don't check tyre pressures or found at the bar recounting how "the bike went into a high speed weave but due to my extremely good riding ability I saved it" type tossers!

The people who want shagging for the death of the police officer are Sonic and the Home Office for approving an untested chunk of plastic that has the aerodynamic qualities only previously found on Kamikaze aircraft.

Thanks Red - made interesting reading 

Also a warning to us all to be mindful of what we are doing when loading up the bikes with piles of luggage - or adding anything really that's going to alter the aerodynamics of the bike 

[Redeye]

Just as another "warning" about bikes and equipment ...... Yamaha give a warning in their literature about running the FJR1300 with a top box, and in the USA they are not even listed on the accessories brochure.