********************************************************************************
******************************Team Benwell Golden Rules*************************
********************************************************************************
    
    
Test Number:	002
Name:		Ian Foxwell				 
Chassis:	NF502 chassis no. 1				

Date:		29-05-2002	
Time:		16.00
Place:		Travel lodge Gravesend		
Weather:					

Object of test:	The effect of rake on bike handling
	



	
********************************************************************************
   
Setup Rules

Reducing the rake angle decreases the stability of the bike and its desire to go 
straight on or.....

Increasing the rake aids stability and makes the bike more stable but less 
inclined to turn.

When reducing the rake angle, there comes a point, approx 21-22deg rake angle with
a kit front tyre the front tyre, that the bike starts to turn into the turn. This
makes it turn tighter around very tight corners (unlikely to experience when racing)
but then fall into the turn and not come back out. Complete opposite of problem
with Benwell set up 1 where the bike would fall over but not dig into the turn, 
regardless of rider input




Wobbles


As the stability is decreased the bike has an increased tendency to oscillate 
(cat 1 wobble). This occultation is in itself unimportant only making the bike
slightly harder to place on a line precisely but Steve Newey won the first race at
Brooklands with a bike exhibiting sever cat 1 wobbles

Cat 1 wobbles are an oscillation of the steering as the wheel tries to turn through
the corner. They can be damped out with the steering damper however... The damper 
only transfers these small steering inputs through the frame which in turn upsets 
the of the bike. In the extreme this leads to a cat 3 wobble which is very hard to 
ride through or out of as the whole bike is now effected.




Steering damper

General rule should be only use it to damp out cat 2 wobbles and only then if they
are not controllable. Cat 2 wobbles general stop when the power is removed if 
everything else is correct. Various different pieces of heat shrink with differing 
amounts of silicon can be made up for a Benwell damper and then exchanged as required.




Rear Damper

Interestingly the component with the biggest single control over front steering
oscillations appears to be the rear damper. If there is slop any where in its links
or air inside it then it is unable to damp out the wobbles and problems are develop
much quicker.  



Conclusions

Assuming stability is not an issue (bumpy track, high winds etc) then we should run 
no steering damper and min rake poss. before front starts to turn in and fall over.

Approx 22 deg