Staff Stuff: MegaM.A.X. Frame-Measuring Machine

My $1,500 Craigslist 2000 Yamaha YZF-R1 was sitting there in the Chuckwalla pits when somebody hurled an obscenity at it. "Man, that R1 is f—ked."

Pardon me?

“It’s tucked! Look at it. At least a degree, maybe two.”

Oh, tucked. The speaker was Dave Ciesielski of USMegamax, who was working with the chassis on Evan Steel Performance's BMW S1000RR that day. "Look how far it's leaning on the kickstand and how much swingarm downslope it has for a stock shock. It's probably a degree-and-a-half back."

Sure enough, my R1 was 1.49 degrees short and 0.46 degree twisted when Ciesielski mounted his high-tech Scheibner MegaM.A.X. machine to it later. Imported from Germany and the brain­child of Bernd Scheibner, the MegaM.A.X. has been in the States for 10 years, where it's become the frame-measuring device of choice for respected chassis tuners like Paul Thede of Race Tech. The Mega mounts in your bike's swingarm pivot holes and uses infrared lights and cameras to measure its frame and swingarm, which it compares to a data­base of more than 1,500 motorcycle specs—from Norton Commando to the latest Ducati Panigale. Since it requires no bike dis­assembly, the MegaM.A.X. can read a bike in less than 10 minutes with unprecedented accuracy—results are repeat­able within 0.002 degree.

When a motorcycle has been in a front-end collision and is tucked/short of rake/short of trail, it’s typically unstable, doesn’t give good feedback, and wants to tuck its front end. The remedy is to straighten and or realign the frame in a jig. After measuring it with the Mega, Ciesielski used the Motojig by Globaljig to straighten my R1. Typically, a frame can be pulled up to 2 degrees without compromising its integrity, he says, and steel frames actually grow a bit stronger through being “work-hardened.” After pulling the R1 back to its God-given 24 degrees of rake, etc., Ciesielski was able to put the MegaM.A.X. back on the frame while still in the jig, saving time and increasing accuracy. With our R1 together and straight, he then treated the bike to MegaM.A.X.’s Chassis Maximizing System attachment, which sets rake, trail and swingarm downslope to their ideal values.

Ciesielski would charge you about $600 for a Mega reading and frame-straightening, a bit more for the CMS treatment. Prices will vary depending upon your servicer but will always be cheaper than the $1,761.16 BikeBandit wants for a new frame and far cheaper in time—including avoiding the whole VIN transfer bureaucracy. With an eBay Öhlins steering damper in place, even the great Freddie Spencer had no complaints with our untucked R1 around Chuckwalla. For a MegaM.A.X. near you, consult your favorite search engine.