Mo' Pipe = Mo' Money
Club Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 10,815
Likes: 16
From: Virginia
RE: Mo' Pipe = Mo' Money
I once was riding with 1 screwdriver and a socket wrench and spark plug socket in the right side saddle bag and nothing in the left. Well I had taco bell for lunch so needless to say I wasn't feeling so great not long after. Anyways I let one rip while doing 60-65 on the highway and as usual I leaned to the right to let it exit from the left. Well let me tell you I shot to the right side of the road almost immediately and wobbled to a stop. I think this balance thing has something to it.
From that day on I have always carried 2 of everything, one in the right and one in the left side saddlebags. I have really become gung ho on the art of balance. The hardest part was getting both of my nads to cooperate and stay on both sides of the tank, they both keep regrouping and sometimes decide to stay on one side or the other and in the meanwhile putting me in great danger.
This has been a public safety announcement.
Until next time boys and girls,
Ride safe!
From that day on I have always carried 2 of everything, one in the right and one in the left side saddlebags. I have really become gung ho on the art of balance. The hardest part was getting both of my nads to cooperate and stay on both sides of the tank, they both keep regrouping and sometimes decide to stay on one side or the other and in the meanwhile putting me in great danger.
This has been a public safety announcement.
Until next time boys and girls,
Ride safe!
Road Master
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 873
Likes: 2
From:
RE: Mo' Pipe = Mo' Money
ORIGINAL: diablo666
You state someone once told me to weigh the pipes.I'm quoting you not my statement.May I tell you that you need not worry.If you change your pipes you will not die from the difference in weight if any.The handling will not change.I have done pipes on 3 Sportsters and never felt a difference in handling.I have also carried a 12 pack(with a full bag of ice)on one side and couldn't feel it.That is in a saddlebag bro.I guess if you know your bike you don't feel it.Your mind will make adjustments for you if you have the experience.Maybe you need to ride more.
You state someone once told me to weigh the pipes.I'm quoting you not my statement.May I tell you that you need not worry.If you change your pipes you will not die from the difference in weight if any.The handling will not change.I have done pipes on 3 Sportsters and never felt a difference in handling.I have also carried a 12 pack(with a full bag of ice)on one side and couldn't feel it.That is in a saddlebag bro.I guess if you know your bike you don't feel it.Your mind will make adjustments for you if you have the experience.Maybe you need to ride more.
Actually, to be more precise, I heard that that when you start tearing things off of your bike and replacing them with different parts, you should take into consideration the balance changes that can occur if you buy non-exact replacement parts that may effect the handling of the bike through changes in weight and center of gravity, etc., and that if you wanted your bike to be properly balanced as it was originally, you should weigh the parts and make adjustments accordingly, if you are able to do so.
And I ride my bike whenever I don't need my truck. I don't know how more I can ride it.
And I never said a person wouldn't be able to ride his bike and risk immanentdeath if he didn't perfectly balance it while doing pipe changes, I merely just was trying to give those who appreciated it food for thought, if they had never thought about this before.
Balance changes can cause problems occasionally, which is why some bags have warning lables on them advising you to distribute the loading of them as evenly as you can. Even Harley owners manuals tell you this.
As for your ice comment, etc., imagine for a moment you replacing your stock Harley exhaust with some type of shortened exhaust system that came in 10 pounds lighter than the original. Then imagine that you also replaced your stock Harley rotors and brake parts with something on the other side that weighed around 10 pounds more than the stock parts. Then imagine the ice weighed about 10 pounds or so and you placed it in the left bag. Through all of these three things you could end up with a 30 pound change in weight difference between the two sides. Lots of people might not have too much trouble with this, but there's always a chance that it could affect someone in some certain circumstances and possibly cause someone some problems that they didn't need in some situation.
I've felt my bike wandering or pulling to one side on occasion when I had my bags very unevenly loaded, and changes to these other things I've mentioned could indeed make it worse, and make the problem worse as well.
As I said, I just offered this as food for thought, and it's accurate and worth thinking about, if anyone cares to. Lots of people get excited and gung ho to start replacing stock parts with custom parts, and when they buy these things, none of the sellers ever have to mention things like this, and lots of people never think about things like this. It doesn't hurt to take this into consideration, though.
Road Master
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 873
Likes: 2
From:
RE: Mo' Pipe = Mo' Money
ORIGINAL: ray1970
People who overthink things are funny. Based on the weight of the exhaust system causing "balance issues" you may not want to overlook other potential problems- maybe you should make sure the stuff in your saddle bags weighs the same on both sides. Or how far does it go? Should I carry two wallets when I ride so the balance remains the same? Sorry.. not poking fun at you... just the people who really take things too far with their thought process.
ORIGINAL: Zeb
Lot's of people buy new pipes without ever taking into consideration the balance changes to their bike that could come into effect.
Harley's are engineered balanced through things like pipes on one side, rotors and brakes on the other, etc.The weights of these items are also deliberate to try and insure balance between the sides. When people start changing pipes and so forth, very few people take into consideration the effect it can have on the balance of their bike.
Someone once told me that whenever you replace pipes, you should weigh the ones you're getting rid of and try to match the weight of the new ones and their hardware the best that you can with the old ones.
The same's with the brake components. Whenever you buy new rotors or other parts on the opposite side of the bike that aren't stock Harley replacement parts, you should weigh your old ones or find out their original weight and try to come close to that weight with the new parts.
Lot's of people start tearing things apart on their bikes and replacing things without giving much thought to the balance changes that might be occuring. These things aren't overlooked by those who know better, however, as it has the potential of causing handling problems down the road.
Lot's of people buy new pipes without ever taking into consideration the balance changes to their bike that could come into effect.
Harley's are engineered balanced through things like pipes on one side, rotors and brakes on the other, etc.The weights of these items are also deliberate to try and insure balance between the sides. When people start changing pipes and so forth, very few people take into consideration the effect it can have on the balance of their bike.
Someone once told me that whenever you replace pipes, you should weigh the ones you're getting rid of and try to match the weight of the new ones and their hardware the best that you can with the old ones.
The same's with the brake components. Whenever you buy new rotors or other parts on the opposite side of the bike that aren't stock Harley replacement parts, you should weigh your old ones or find out their original weight and try to come close to that weight with the new parts.
Lot's of people start tearing things apart on their bikes and replacing things without giving much thought to the balance changes that might be occuring. These things aren't overlooked by those who know better, however, as it has the potential of causing handling problems down the road.
If I'm "overthinking" this, then Harley engineers are overthinking it too when they do their best to design and engineer their bikes' balance.[/align][/align]I'm not stating anything that Harley doesn't doesn't do themselves.[/align]
Road Master
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 873
Likes: 2
From:
RE: Mo' Pipe = Mo' Money
e
Hilarious post! but I must warn you that you might get a PM admonishmentfrom the monitor for using sarcastic humor on a Friday night, like I did last week.
But I liked it!
I remember once when I got a bad haircut and the barber left one sideburn a little longer than the other. Well, I got on the bike and rode down the street fighting my Harley tooth and nail to keep her from falling over to the side with the longest sideburn, it was that bad.
So, be sure and get your sideburns even as well, especially if their Elvis mutton chops like mine.
ORIGINAL: PigInaBlanket
I once was riding with 1 screwdriver and a socket wrench and spark plug socket in the right side saddle bag and nothing in the left. Well I had taco bell for lunch so needless to say I wasn't feeling so great not long after. Anyways I let one rip while doing 60-65 on the highway and as usual I leaned to the right to let it exit from the left. Well let me tell you I shot to the right side of the road almost immediately and wobbled to a stop. I think this balance thing has something to it.
From that day on I have always carried 2 of everything, one in the right and one in the left side saddlebags. I have really become gung ho on the art of balance. The hardest part was getting both of my nads to cooperate and stay on both sides of the tank, they both keep regrouping and sometimes decide to stay on one side or the other and in the meanwhile putting me in great danger.
This has been a public safety announcement.
Until next time boys and girls,
Ride safe!
I once was riding with 1 screwdriver and a socket wrench and spark plug socket in the right side saddle bag and nothing in the left. Well I had taco bell for lunch so needless to say I wasn't feeling so great not long after. Anyways I let one rip while doing 60-65 on the highway and as usual I leaned to the right to let it exit from the left. Well let me tell you I shot to the right side of the road almost immediately and wobbled to a stop. I think this balance thing has something to it.
From that day on I have always carried 2 of everything, one in the right and one in the left side saddlebags. I have really become gung ho on the art of balance. The hardest part was getting both of my nads to cooperate and stay on both sides of the tank, they both keep regrouping and sometimes decide to stay on one side or the other and in the meanwhile putting me in great danger.
This has been a public safety announcement.
Until next time boys and girls,
Ride safe!
Hilarious post! but I must warn you that you might get a PM admonishmentfrom the monitor for using sarcastic humor on a Friday night, like I did last week.
But I liked it!
I remember once when I got a bad haircut and the barber left one sideburn a little longer than the other. Well, I got on the bike and rode down the street fighting my Harley tooth and nail to keep her from falling over to the side with the longest sideburn, it was that bad.
So, be sure and get your sideburns even as well, especially if their Elvis mutton chops like mine.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 8,438
Likes: 6
From: Gulf Coast of Mississippi
RE: Mo' Pipe = Mo' Money
There is some truth to what Zeb says... though I found it to more noticeable on touring models and a long time ago I must say...
I had an ElectraGlide at one time... that was stock for the most part except for a custom paint job... but I will tell ya' that I use to get a little kink in my back when I would ride it for a while...
To make a long story short... the local police department's traffic dividson (motorcycle) turned me on to balancing a bike...
After they were done... there was a day and night difference in the way the bike rode...
I think I could have fell asleep while riding and it would have taken me home... lol
Now a days may be a lot of difference than back then... and have to say that I have changed all kinds of parts on my Sportster and haven't noticed any difference at all...
Who knows...
Charlie D.
I had an ElectraGlide at one time... that was stock for the most part except for a custom paint job... but I will tell ya' that I use to get a little kink in my back when I would ride it for a while...
To make a long story short... the local police department's traffic dividson (motorcycle) turned me on to balancing a bike...
After they were done... there was a day and night difference in the way the bike rode...
I think I could have fell asleep while riding and it would have taken me home... lol
Now a days may be a lot of difference than back then... and have to say that I have changed all kinds of parts on my Sportster and haven't noticed any difference at all...
Who knows...
Charlie D.
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