Ground Clearance Blues

Hey Guys,

I am loving my Michelin Power RS tyres however, all that grip has led to some ground clearance issues. I favour left hand bends and have, on multiple occasions, scraped my gear change lever. Yes, I too was surprised that it was'nt the pipe that went down first!.

Anybody else experienced this, or taken steps to adjust the lever to gain clearance!

Any feedback would be appreciated

Steve
Sunshine Coast
Aus

Stephen_Spencer said:

Hey Guys,

I am loving my Michelin Power RS tyres however, all that grip has led to some ground clearance issues. I favour left hand bends and have, on multiple occasions, scraped my gear change lever. Yes, I too was surprised that it was'nt the pipe that went down first!.

Anybody else experienced this, or taken steps to adjust the lever to gain clearance!

Any feedback would be appreciated

Steve
Sunshine Coast
Aus

Click to expand...

Steve,
Sorry mate, no where near that brave. I love my wide chicken strips and dual compound sports touring tyres

John Snead had all sorts of ground clearing issues on his 961 race bike. There is a thread about it somewhere with all his mods.

I knicked the ground on a right turn a few times yet never found the scrape. I did develop a broken exhaust clamp but still not sure of what I hit. Always on the same curve. Fun

Stephen_Spencer said:

Hey Guys,

I am loving my Michelin Power RS tyres however, all that grip has led to some ground clearance issues. I favour left hand bends and have, on multiple occasions, scraped my gear change lever. Yes, I too was surprised that it was'nt the pipe that went down first!.

Anybody else experienced this, or taken steps to adjust the lever to gain clearance!

Any feedback would be appreciated

Steve
Sunshine Coast
Aus

Click to expand...

You’re not alone.

This is a problem as you gain confidence in the bike’s handling.

The foot pegs on the 961 are located further from the bike’s centerline than the typical sportbike. This causes the pegs and the shift lever to encounter the ground fairly early before you would normally expect. Also, If you set normal sag in the suspension as recommended in the manual (34mm) it will rob you of valuable ground/cornering clearance. Back in 2016 forum member G84 Can Cycle (John Snead) raced his 961 in the vintage racing association and found most of the handling issues on these bikes. First and foremost was cornering clearance. Of course most riders will never have to concern themselves with these issues, but if you are someone who periodically enjoys aggressive riding, it’s something to think about.

If your exhaust is tucked in enough to avoid grounding, then you can adjust the shift lever to rotate the level slightly higher. It may be uncomfortable to operate. This will provide you with some relief. G84 can Cycle found that he had to machine new foot peg mounting plates on his race bike to raise the pegs in order to resolve the problem.

Once you fix the peg/lever issue, the next problem is the alternator bump on the primary cover. Grounding an exhaust pipe can he a warning, but if you ground the engine cover you will lose the front end and probably high side. Not the way to end your day’s ride.

Search the 961 forum with “vintage racing” to find John Snead's race updates.

Stephen_Spencer said:

Hey Guys,

I am loving my Michelin Power RS tyres however, all that grip has led to some ground clearance issues. I favour left hand bends and have, on multiple occasions, scraped my gear change lever. Yes, I too was surprised that it was'nt the pipe that went down first!.

Anybody else experienced this, or taken steps to adjust the lever to gain clearance!

Any feedback would be appreciated

Steve
Sunshine Coast
Aus

Click to expand...

I wonder which pipes you have that they don’t hit first...

Thanks for your feedback guys,

Raphi, I have the standard long pipes fitted. They are heavily modified with Cats removed and most internals also. I think that I will try adjusting the gear change lever up slightly and see what occurs.

I'll keep you informed.

Steve

Steve,

I adjusted my lever too, but because I have long legs it forces an uncomfortable angle in my ankle for shifting.
Maybe for you it would be so bad.
Really only way to resolve the problem is with higher pegs moved inboard slightly toward the bikes centerline.
This requires new mounting plates.
John Snead indicated that he might manufacture sets someday, but they haven't appeared yet.

John was also thinking about building a custom 2 into 1 exhaust for sale like he used on his race bike.
The pipes are tightly tucked into the frame with super cornering clearance.
I hope he hasn't changed his mind.

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