Thruxton Daft Question, But...

Fellow Thruxton 1200S riders, do you find the handling of your bike is hugely improved if you sit right on the front of the seat?

I’ve found that in my normal riding position, sitting toward the back of the seat (over the rear shock) the front feels light and twitchy and the rear feels like a hard tail!

Is it just me, am I just too Lardy, is this the way to ride the bike, or is there a problem with the bike set up

All opinions greatly appreciated

Thanks
Nick

 

That makes sense Joe but sitting with the Crown Jewels kissing the tank makes me a little nervous and makes for a slightly odd riding position, looking at the bike geometry this morning the seat does seem to be positioned further back than my previous bikes have been.
I’m surprised that quite a small shift in weight position has such a large impact on handling
All the best
Nick

 

Thanks Capt I will probably have a look at this solution when it goes in for its next service. Again makes sense to get more weight forward, or do I go for the lower bars and nose fairing now there’s a thought......

 

I think that’s it Tony I need to lose about 7 stone
I’ve fiddled with the tyre pressures and 36 psi front and rear seems right and sitting tight up against the tank and leaning forward the bike corners lovely, but even slightly sliding back and it gets twitchy again
I’m wondering whether cranking up the pre load on the rear might help? Anyone tried it?
Thanks
Nick

 

Unfortunately the S doesn’t have adjustable suspension like the R which is universally praised for its handling, looking around the web it’s probably a mix of the front suspension being too firm and the rear too soft
Also the seat position is perhaps a little too close to the rear suspension unit do those of us who are a little larger than average sitting on the suspension will of course push the rear down (sag?) without simultaneously putting weight on the front, which would explain the ‘light’ feeling at the front
This all makes sense in my head but please correct me if I’m being an idiot

 

I’m probably going to end going down this route Joe, just trying anything else first before shelling out
Thanks for all the advice
Nick

 

The low clipons may well help Tony, I find the riding position quite comfortable with the normal bars on and am leaning so far forward that I’d probably find the low bars just as comfy!

 

I’ve just had a look at the K-Techs and they look pretty good, I’ll be interested to know your thoughts when you try them out! Thanks for the steer

 

Just cranked the pre load up to 5 max, and what a faff that was! Had to drop both silencers to access the adjustment hole

Seat height previously
And seat height now

Which is about 2.5cm higher, now to take her out for a spin before storm Dennis starts lashing down, again......

 

Just given her a good blast on the back roads to Pevensey and it’s like a different bike, more ‘solid’ ride, feels firmer in corners without the front end twitch or feeling like a hard tail
So I am clearly the same size as Triumphs idea of rider with pillion plus luggage
Are Triumph designers all anorexic dwarfs?