Just had my Kawi dealer put new 27" ITP 589's M+S on my 2003 Prairie 650. They also installed a EPI Clutch Kit. The rig looks great, but the machine has developed a shimmy that starts at about 28 mph and quits at about 38 mph. I asked the dealer if they should reduce the amount of toe-in. He told me with the toe-in set at zero, the machine would wander all over the trail. Does anyone have any ideas? The problem is a bit annoying.

 

I think that I would disagree with their assessment. I only have 26" bearclaws, but when I changed my toe-in from the factory (almost 1 inch)I changed to zero toe and feel much more stable. You should change it and see, it is a simply 5-minute operation, you really don't even have to take the tires off (if you don't though, you might have to be a contortionist, especially with 27" tires)

 

I will try the "0" toe setting, when it is time. Don't think it will make your P-650 wander, though. If it does, just crank a little toe-out into the mix. Say, maybe, 1/8" each side.

 

I think NYROC has the same set up and he set his to 0 and said it did great.

NYROC SITE

 

Toe wont cause shimmy, it causes handlebar jerk and bad handling when going over 30-40. It is scary and unpredictable. Shimmy is only annoying at most.

Dickie boy, I balance my front tires using a cheap bubble balancer if they shimmy. You notice balance problems the most on the road.

Although mud makes them go out of balance sometimes, it usually falls off, or is washed off and is no biggy where I ride. It is better to balance them before you put slime in them.

My 650 handles best a 0 toe in. I tried .5 in, but it was bad. It came with .79 out, and it was awful. You notice toe problems on the trial. You won't notice toe problems (not much) on the road.

 

it should be either a bit toe-in, or a bit toe-out. i tried
0 toe on my sprint car and it was all over the track, toed it in 1/8
ran great.not the same vihicle, but i would think princaple would be the
same.

 

I measured the amount of toe-in using the center line of the new front tires. Comparing the front half distance with the rear half, there was exactly a 1" difference between the front side and rear side. It strikes me as a fairly significant amount of toe-in. I will reduce the amount of toe-in to 1/2" and then drive the machine to determine its handling qualities. If there continues to be some shimmy, I'll reduce the toe-in to zero.

 

Woah Dickieboy, 1/2" is definitely too much toe.

Although I might argue that different suspension geometry, tire, riding surface means that the 650 does not neccesarily require a similar toe to a street machine, 1/8" is definitely a lot better for your 650 than 1/2.

Set it for 0 or 1/16", since when your weight is on it will toe in a little.

 

my ride was a sprint car on dirt, dirt is a little more forgiving than asphalt, also caster will give it the "wobblies". like i said before,these are two different beasts,when i toed her in 1/8 she ran like a 3 dollar ***** on 2 fer 1 nite! leaning the axle back,(top of kingpin pointing towards the back would cure this problem, but its harder to steer. its a fine line deal. might work might not. two different animals.

don`t mind me, i`m on pain meds, muscle relaxers, and beer.

 

I set mine for 0, knowing that when I sat on it it would toe in a bit, like aoround 1/16.

On every car I have ever set the toe on, 1/16 was within the toe in requirement, so I figured I would shoot for 1/6 with my the weight of my fanny on it. Kawi's spec for 0 to .75 seems awful cockeyed. I thought maybe 0-1/8 would be more appropriate.

However, I don't know how every body checks it. I don't have a track guage, and I could not seem to get an accurate measurement measuring the tires. When I used the straight bars, I feel like I got a better measurement.

Dickieboy, I tried 1/2 toe, and it stunk. However, if you tell me to shut up I will, I was just hoping to save you the trouble of trying that much toe.