All you folks making basic changes to you front end geometry or getting ideas from watching them, Please be very careful when changing geometry of your Paso it changes the weight distribution and quickness of your steering. There is a point where you risk first hand experience of a two wheel death rattle. And let me tell you from personal experience,you don't ever want to go there. What is a death rattle? it is the point where your handle bars will oscillate lock to lock faster than you would believe is possible and it most often occurs at low speeds, 35 to 45 mph(56kmh to 72kmh) It will break you steering locks at about the time you say OH Shit! And then you will get high sided. It is the main reason 16 inch tires are gong by the way side. It is a simple matter of the laws of physics,
By the way Bridge stone tire are very durable and have great traction.

We call that a tank-slapper. Been thru a couple. Very scary!!

Having just watched the video clip, I wonder if #34 could have stopped the shakes by getting back on the gas? Not sure I'd have the presence of mind to do it myself, but just wondered.

My Paso has had the tendency to do this somewhat when I take my hands off the bars under certain relatively low speed conditions.

I have now fitted a new Pirelli 120/80V16 front tire along with the NOS Michelin M59 160/60x16 rear I found at the Mid-Ohio VMD swap meet, and suspect the steering may be a little slower, due to the taller rolling radius. I'll report back when I ride it next.

If in fact it is a tank slapper there is a chance hitting the gas will help( the video was of a tank slapper) if you are able,in a death rattle your hands are no longer holding onto anything of use. When I had my experience with the death rattle on an 84 750 interceptor back in 1986 I was holding on to my rs clip on and master cylinder complete with stainless steel brake line when they scooped me off the highway and put me in the ambulance to spend the next 3 weeks learning about chest tubes and morphene and the kind of surgery they don't dare put you out for.. Now just to make a point I had two steering dampners installed at the time.I was 200 lbs of muscle and could press 100 lbs with either arm for 50 reps at any time. All I did was move the fork up one inch( yes just a mere 24.5 mm) in the tree and put on the clip ons under the top tree and went to get gas on a sunday.

Suzuki actually purpose built some lovely machines in the '80s that did this on demand called a GSX1100EFE.

I was one of the lucky ones to actually buy one.


Jaffa

Higgy, you refer to a big shimmie? At the moment I feel the bike very steady. I considered to install the original steering damper from this forks but now I think it isn't necessary. I have 200 kms only with this modifications and I have still to adjust the forks and the rear shock better, to do a definitve test.
This modification is, efectively, a big variation of Paso's geometry, but many simple things like change a tire sizes (130/70, 150/80, 120/80...) area big variation too .

I had a tank slapper at low speed on my at the time new GPZ 550 that put me on the ground (fortunatley only my pride was hurt) and later had a slapper on a GS1100E at high speed. both bikes were in good mechanical shape and unaltered. the point is all bikes are capable of tank slappers in the right conditions (food for thought) John

Pompone, did you change the reat fork to fit a 17 inch wheel?

Arnout

no he didn`t. Check the pictures.

G.