Not many might know this but if you check out your bikes and the bikes around you a lot more properly, you will notice that the distance between the wheels of two motorcycles is different. The ones made for cruising have more distance between the wheels while the ones made for the track or the sports bikes have a shorter wheelbase. Wheelbase is actually nothing but the distance between the front and rear wheel of any automobile when drawn a straight line to connect them both.
There are advantages of both types of wheelbases, long as well as short. Just that depends on the type of use. When the wheelbase on the bike is long, the bike has better on road stability. Which means the bike will keep going in a straight line very easily and changing direction easily is a bit of a tussle. The same is inverse in case of bikes with a shorter wheelbase; the bike can be easily maneuvered, but it loses out on the stability of staying in the road. There are chances of the bike to wobble easily under extreme speeds which do not happen in case of longer wheelbases.
This is the reason why the drag racing bikes have a very long wheelbase. The reason because the motorcycle’s weight distribution gets affected making it forward biased and eventually the bike not only keeps going straight but also does not go into a wheelie. The exact opposite is on MotoGP and other racing bikes. The reason is because the shorter wheelbase allows for the bikes to be a lot compact and light and also makes it very easy for the bike to move around and corner at higher speeds.
Even on the road, the cruisers like Bajaj Avenger have a longer wheelbase compared to the Pulsar series of bikes. This is the best example to showcase how the wheelbase affects the bike’s dynamics and what significance it holds in the designing of the bike and its purpose. The longer the wheelbase, more the stability and less the maneuverability; smaller the wheelbase, less the stability and more the maneuverability.
One has to understand that there are no pre-calculations made by anyone as to how much should the wheelbase be. It all depends on the manufacturer of the bike as to how much wheelbase he/she wants to keep depending upon many factors like the purpose of the bike, the aesthetic appeal, the tyre sizes, the ground clearance provided to the bike. The ground clearance also plays an important role in the handling of the bike, hence even that has to be considered when playing with the wheelbase of the bike accordingly.
So remember how significant the wheelbase of the bike is. When you adjust your chain slackness, in some bikes the rear wheel axle is moved a bit to the back to tighten the chain. Even this small change creates quite a difference to the handling of the bike, but is not that evident to an untrained person. We do not even understand if the handling dynamic of the bike has changed even a bit. But the person who has been working on track machines can easily make out the difference.
Hence remember not the fiddle with the stock settings of the bike and those includes the stock profile of the tyres of the bike because even that makes an impact in the wheelbase of the bike and hence in turn its handling capabilities. Ride hard, ride safe and stay tuned to BikesIndia for everything on two wheels.
By: Pratik Patole
There are advantages of both types of wheelbases, long as well as short. Just that depends on the type of use. When the wheelbase on the bike is long, the bike has better on road stability. Which means the bike will keep going in a straight line very easily and changing direction easily is a bit of a tussle. The same is inverse in case of bikes with a shorter wheelbase; the bike can be easily maneuvered, but it loses out on the stability of staying in the road. There are chances of the bike to wobble easily under extreme speeds which do not happen in case of longer wheelbases.
This is the reason why the drag racing bikes have a very long wheelbase. The reason because the motorcycle’s weight distribution gets affected making it forward biased and eventually the bike not only keeps going straight but also does not go into a wheelie. The exact opposite is on MotoGP and other racing bikes. The reason is because the shorter wheelbase allows for the bikes to be a lot compact and light and also makes it very easy for the bike to move around and corner at higher speeds.Even on the road, the cruisers like Bajaj Avenger have a longer wheelbase compared to the Pulsar series of bikes. This is the best example to showcase how the wheelbase affects the bike’s dynamics and what significance it holds in the designing of the bike and its purpose. The longer the wheelbase, more the stability and less the maneuverability; smaller the wheelbase, less the stability and more the maneuverability.
One has to understand that there are no pre-calculations made by anyone as to how much should the wheelbase be. It all depends on the manufacturer of the bike as to how much wheelbase he/she wants to keep depending upon many factors like the purpose of the bike, the aesthetic appeal, the tyre sizes, the ground clearance provided to the bike. The ground clearance also plays an important role in the handling of the bike, hence even that has to be considered when playing with the wheelbase of the bike accordingly.So remember how significant the wheelbase of the bike is. When you adjust your chain slackness, in some bikes the rear wheel axle is moved a bit to the back to tighten the chain. Even this small change creates quite a difference to the handling of the bike, but is not that evident to an untrained person. We do not even understand if the handling dynamic of the bike has changed even a bit. But the person who has been working on track machines can easily make out the difference.
Hence remember not the fiddle with the stock settings of the bike and those includes the stock profile of the tyres of the bike because even that makes an impact in the wheelbase of the bike and hence in turn its handling capabilities. Ride hard, ride safe and stay tuned to BikesIndia for everything on two wheels.
By: Pratik Patole
