Vs 1400 handling

[Jvogt89]

Hi I am new to the forum and was just wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to improve handling and comfortability on a stock 01 intruder 1400. Thx

[enforcer]

What issues are you experiencing?

[enforcer]

Off hand, an aftermarket seat and Progressive front and rear suspension fix the lower back issues and front end dive. If you have significant wobble, check the steering head and wheel bearings and replace as necessary.

[jonnycando]

After 15 years the suspension will be mush, I am sure......replace the fork oil and seals. Progressive springs are a fine choice, but a cheaper option is slightly heavier fork oil. Worked for me anyway. And the stock shocks can get pretty bouncy too. Good tires go without saying. Of course this a cruiser and it's never going to straighten out curves, but in good nick it handles pretty well. Tend to the basics and you'll see....oh....if the steering feels notchy now would be a good time to do the stem bearings.

[Jvogt89]

After 15 years the suspension will be mush, I am sure......replace the fork oil and seals. Progressive springs are a fine choice, but a cheaper option is slightly heavier fork oil. Worked for me anyway. And the stock shocks can get pretty bouncy too. Good tires go without saying. Of course this a cruiser and it's never going to straighten out curves, but in good nick it handles pretty well. Tend to the basics and you'll see....oh....if the steering feels notchy now would be a good time to do the stem bearings.

I will say it feels pretty good. I know up until three years ago it was fully maintained by the dealer due to warranty. After that it was parked in a house and sat. Very clean very excellent bike. Just went and checked but just as an eyeball the sag actually looked pretty good in the rear. Maybe a little over an inch. The forks do seem like they should be a little stiffer but like I said I'm new to this. I know the bike is all set at factory settings. Also I know it's a cruiser so leaning is a little more difficult but I feel like it could lean better but when in a turn I don't feel I am achieveing max lean on it, I heard maybe taking a pound or pound and a half of air out of the tires would help??

[jonnycando]

I don't about air in the tires...worth a shot maybe but I think that would take me backwards a step. I'm not sure what max lean is, but I guarantee if you had the right amount of space and the necessary speed you could drag your knees....while at the same time grinding the pegs off of course. The bike will turn reasonably tight and never hit the pegs, though I might have polished mine a time or two. In stock form it's not a particularly low slung bike, though it doesn't take much to slam it....with shorty shocks I bet you'd find the lean limits advertised with a minor shower of sparks! I must say, I don't go looking for a bike's limit....I will find it one way or another through serendipity, but actively looking for it, well, that will get me in trouble. We got good bikes, reliable bikes...pretty fast bikes....handling is fine but....it is a cruiser.

[Herb]

For comfort, ride shorter distances! Seriously, forward controls or at The very least, you can pick up a set of highway bars and foot pegs to help you stretch out.

I used to be able to ride mine for 100 to 300 miles a day with no problem. But when I took the bike on any kind of extended road trip, I suffered a lot of back pain. Specifically, lower back pain. This was likely due to the position that you sit in on the bike.

I run the Memphis Shades Slim windshield and have an adjustable backrest to lean back on. Installed a hiway peg bar with extensions on it to give me an alternative to the stock pegs I thought about putting on forward controls but all of them do away with the stock pegs, I wanted more than one position for my feet. Huge difference in the way my back feels. At 66 I need every bit of help I can get. 400-500 mile days are no big deal. 900 kinda sucked though.

[scootermcq]

I went onto the 1400 from an 1100 Virago and had the same feeling that the cornering was different.

Now I have a few drag marks on the bottoms of the exhaust and I have ground up the pegs a wee bit. Riding it a bit should make you start to feel more comfortable. It has a longer rake that most street bikes and it does change the feel.

One big thing is proper leaning. Get your butt over and lean into the corners, this bike does better if you low side the corners vs high siding them.

[Prodigal_Sun]

Off hand, an aftermarket seat and Progressive front and rear suspension fix the lower back issues and front end dive.

+1 on Progressive suspension, at least the front fork springs. I drove mine less than a mile before I got rid of the stock ones. No feel going into corners, wallowed wanted to run wide. Not much control when you're trying to guess where the front tire is going to bounce next. Not to mention my fillings getting rattled on every bump in a straight line. Pretty simple job, degree of difficulty is about a 2 out of 5, mostly because there are some odd large size nuts on the top of the forks, and a big allen bolt underneath that. It gets a 2 because I had to go to the hardware store to buy the right size sockets to remove them.

It only had about 3,300 miles on mine when I got it, so they weren't worn out or anything. I guess I would have eventually gotten used to it, but the springs weren't that expensive and was worth every penny.

[dwd58]

That bike is sharp, Prodigal Sun.

[Jvogt89]

Off hand, an aftermarket seat and Progressive front and rear suspension fix the lower back issues and front end dive. If you have significant wobble, check the steering head and wheel bearings and replace as necessary.

OK so after a while I have gotten used to the way the bike runs and have even scraped a peg a time or two, however I don't know where to start looking to fix this issue----> going around corners at a more significant lean angle the back tire seems to want to sway back and forth, it will settle a little bit as I roll on the throttle but even then even the smallest dip in the road and it sways. Am looking and a new set of tires to start with as the back one is about at the point where it doesn't like wet roads anymore and thought that was at least part of the problem. Is there anything else to look at as a cause for this behavior?...also when replacing the springs and what not I plan to go progressive but don't know if I want to change the height or not...I'm leaning towards not. So I know the stock rear Springs are like 13.75 I think. So if I just went stock ride height and that size rear progressive (and this may be a stupid question but) how do I know what pro Springs to get for the front? And then the same question but if I do decide to lower the height would be appreciated if it varies any from stock height. Sorry if any of that's confusing ask and ill explain.

[Lechy]

When you have the back wheel off, try moving the swig arm from side to side, if there is any movement change out the swing arm bearings, It's a popular bearing but the inner race/bushing may be a problem if it is too worn. Check the wheel bearings also.
I have posted the bearing #'s on this site somewhere, but always check to make sure.
[emoji41]

[enforcer]

When you have the back wheel off, try moving the swig arm from side to side, if there is any movement change out the swing arm bearings, It's a popular bearing but the inner race/bushing may be a problem if it is too worn. Check the wheel bearings also.
I have posted the bearing #'s on this site somewhere, but always check to make sure.
[emoji41]

Also check the pressure. It will wallow a little if it's low.

As for the springs, try adjusting the stiffness first. For the stock ones, stick a Philips screwdriver in the hole and turn to adjust. Progressives help, but not a lot with lean angles. If you go too lean, your gonna scrape, nothing you can do. Lower rear shocks will not help that, in fact, it will get worse. If you lower the rear, lower the front the same, it keeps the original geometry.

[hurleyfrank]

personnally, the whole ''creature comfort'' thing isn't on my list of priority, but i did hit my limit with this bike. i got the bike with a mustang seat (or something very similar) and some kind of not adjustable handlebars. being 6'1, i couldn't fit the stock pegs easily enough. a kuryakin highway bar did the trick and now i'm used to shift with my heel. Since the handlebars wasn't adjustable, very low, but looked cool i made my own DIY riser by piling 2 inches of flat washers. Sometimes, my rear tire seem to touch my fender when riding 2-up; progressive will be on the way if i hear it again!

[JamesC]

With the crash bar and foot peg setup I have, I can actually brake and downshift with my heel while stretched out on long rides. I really love the way it all came together.

[Night_Wolf]

With the crash bar and foot peg setup I have, I can actually brake and downshift with my heel while stretched out on long rides. I really love the way it all came together.

Got a picture of that bike lit up @ night? One of my fave colour schemes on your bike

[Herb]

I put 1inch spacers on top of the stock front springs, long before progressinve had springs for an intruder. Stopped the sag, bottoming out on speed bumps and wallowing feeling in the front. Running the darkside tires stopped a lot of the rear handling problems.

[Jvogt89]

Anyone have any cheap tires that fit 01 vs 1400? Broke atm and don't wanna put the bike up through the riding months due to tires?

[jonnycando]

Dang, I gave my old ones to the dealer and he threw them on a truck.....well you wouldn't have wanted them, they were sad.

[RapidRoy]

I put 1inch spacers on top of the stock front springs, long before progressinve had springs for an intruder. Stopped the sag, bottoming out on speed bumps and wallowing feeling in the front. Running the darkside tires stopped a lot of the rear handling problems.

Resurrecting this old thread... I was looking at my bike today and wondering if anyone did this... I'm curious to know if anyone else has added a spacer to the front suspension, seems like an easy upgrade that would do wonders to the soggy front suspension.. Herb, what did you use for the 1'' spacer, and did you just pop the caps off the top of the fork and put it in the top above the springs?