The Ten Best Handling Motorcycles of all Time

84ok said:

it is necessary to select one considered the best Most riders who have experienced a Norton Featherbed’s (based on the famous Manx Norton's frame) handling will use this chassis to judge all others. It was a revelation in its day, and can still put to shame many modern bikes.

Click to expand...

maaan, have no clue, but hey,


first bike for me left a mark, for sure

In many ways, Norton set the standard for good handling bikes with their Featherbed frame. The Commando offered rock steady handling further proving Norton’s ability to produce bikes that showed their lineage. Many years of success at the Isle of Man TT proved invaluable for Norton, who transferred many of the lessons learned onto their street bikes.

Click to expand...

Don't know about the Ducati's specifically, but Laverda played about with yokes of a different offset between the 3C and Jota and Mirage, supposed to shorten the trail and alter the steering characteristics.
Obviously a cheap change for a factory to make compared to frame alterations, which could have a noticeable difference in the feel of the bike. It certainly did between my Mirage and a friend's 3C

When the Featherbed was created, every other race bike had a rubbish frame - that was the comparison. The Seeley G50 was the ultimate in British single cylinder race bikes. An Aermacchi Ala D Oro 350 is probably better that a Seeley 7R.
With later bikes - some are a spin-off from endurance racing - hence the very stable steering. Laverdas and Ducatis were probably developed through endurance racing. If your bike has 27 degree rake, by changing the yoke offset you can get the full range of options from stable to self-steering. A bit depends on the wheelbase because the effect is due to the change in rake as the rear end squats. I don't think you could make a Ducati with 31 degree rake, self-steer by reducing the yoke offset. You might just make it easier to turn in tight corners. Original manx featherbed frames have 24.5 degree rake and it is very difficult to reduce the yoke offset, however they tend to self-steer slightly more than neutral - very confidence inspiring. The modern Manx frames are often built with 26 degree rake and use 18 inch wheels - they steer like Suzuki two strokes. There are no big sweeping glides into corners, you simply race up and tip in.