I think offset refers to how you separate the whites?
Okay.. The trail is measured where a line through the centre of the steering head stem meets the ground, to a point plumb from the axle on the ground (the centre of the contact patch).
Several factors influence the trail.
1) The rake, The angle of the forks. This is primarily set by the angle of the steering head tube in the frame, but can be effected by pitch change due to changes in wheel size and how the front and rear ride height is set. (not to mention the dynamic changes when riding).
2) Offset of the fork tubes in relation to the steering head. (the YOKES)
3)Offset of the axle. This can be placed ahead or behind the fork leg, but in the case of Ducatis is on the centre line.
By using YOKES with more forward offset, the wheelbase is increased and the trail is reduced. the former improves stability very slightly (unnoticeably) and the latter removes stability and increases sensitivity to rider input.
Further reduction in trail is induced by raising the rear end, as this steepens the rake. As does dropping the bike on the forks.
If the front is raised by the same amount as the rear, rake and trail are maintained from the starting point.
Bitza, everything you are proposing will reduce the trail and stability (quite a lot!)
The lack of rear wheel grip is not really effected by these factors except for the fact that a bike with severely reduced trail will be more sensitive to all inputs.
However if you mean weight distribution, when you mention front bias. that does effect the grip, if the rear wheel has less weight over it.
Dropped bars move your upper torso forward. This can be compensated for to a degree, by shifting your bum back, but makes it uncomfortable and not easy to reach the bars if you're a shortie.
Under braking (say entering a corner) the weight is transferred to the front wheel and helps no end with grip for the braking force, (provided the forks have fully compressed and the contact patch has expanded).
The rear wheel will be correspondingly lighter and could be in the air. ( don't use the back brake in an emergency stop as the gyroscopic effect of the rotating wheel provides stability.)
It takes some time for the weight distribution to recover to the normal ratio after hard braking, while your body settles back, the forks rebound, the fuel sloshes back and so on. It's very easy to whack the power on before this is sorted out and the result is a bit of a fish tail.
My SS was a sod for this! Answer… Get a Monster..
