Melandri's Ducati

[caloots]

What's with melandri's Ducati down the straight?
The faster he goes the worse the rear shakes..


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[Paul_E_D]

It's demonic

[Paul_E_D]

That is a symptom of not enough trail. I'm not sure why they can't resolve it for him though. There must be more than meets the eye. Chaz' bike is stable.

[adouglas]

If these guys weren't top-level riders I'd be wondering if Melandri is too tight on the bars, given that Chaz isn't getting the wobble but Marco is.

Maybe there's some harmonic that's striking that bike, caused by a combination of factors of which trail is one. It looks like a divergent oscillation (once started, it increases in amplitude until conditions change to damp it). Perhaps the chassis is getting excited by a vibration of some sort? So much going on... tires, engine/drivetrain, suspension dynamics, geometry, steering damper....

[JettaJayGLS]

Melandri and Chaz are like Paul and Kris...I’m willing to bet their size has a lot to do with it. Not saying that Chaz’s weight keeps it stable, but the setup that works for him is stable compared to the setup that works for Melandri. Melandri wasn't slow last year, but he found something this off season at the expense of high speed stability. I bet they can fix it, but his lap times get slower. They were saying they were trying to jack up his seat foam so he could try to physically push it down. To me, that sounds like they’re not willing to compromise geometry to solve it.

[Paul_E_D]

Chaz is skinny as a rail though. I'd be surprised if he weighs enough more to make that big a difference. He likely can get more of his weight forward though. They definitely have all the adjustability to change it. I agree that marco must need it this way to get the laptimes.

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[caloots]

Melandri and Chaz are like Paul and Kris...I’m willing to bet their size has a lot to do with it. Not saying that Chaz’s weight keeps it stable, but the setup that works for him is stable compared to the setup that works for Melandri. Melandri wasn't slow last year, but he found something this off season at the expense of high speed stability. I bet they can fix it, but his lap times get slower. They were saying they were trying to jack up his seat foam so he could try to physically push it down. To me, that sounds like they’re not willing to compromise geometry to solve it.

That's what I was thinking.. melandri is tiny..
Wonder if they have tried adding weight to him just to test..

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[Paul_E_D]

That's what I was thinking.. melandri is tiny..
Wonder if they have tried adding weight to him just to test..

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I sincerely doubt they have tried that. I think ballast is illegal on the bike. I think it would just hamper a rider to have it on him

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[caloots]

I sincerely doubt they have tried that. I think ballast is illegal on the bike. I think it would just hamper a rider to have it on him

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No kidding!! I didn't know that..
It's just crazy watching his bike do that the faster it goes..

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[gixxer72]

Chaz is skinny as a rail though. I'd be surprised if he weighs enough more to make that big a difference. He likely can get more of his weight forward though. They definitely have all the adjustability to change it. I agree that marco must need it this way to get the laptimes.

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About 17lbs between them. Cg probably accounts for more of the stability, like you said. It’s painful to watch Marco down the straights, he must have titanium balls.