Is it Eureka ?

Just sent a set of dampers to Australia ,the guy Dave as a triumph Daytona with norton forks. After fitting them e emailed me to say how good they are.
When he advised on the oil amount he was using i was a bit surprised to say the least!
dave advised the forks where "super" ,with only half the amount of oil 80cc instead of 160cc .
Then the penny dropped, what he had produced is a Pneumatic /hydraulic suspension . some thing i have considered in depth .
What he as produced is a air/oil system , with the compression side filled with oil/air the damper firstly compress's the trapped air to produce a Scott type action, this will react to sharp bumps by simply compressing air, then the oil is "compressed" {yes i now oil will not compress] . in the second stage.
the result is a pneumatic.hydraulic damper . much better than shim type. Due to the range of damping offered. with just a turn of a key.
I will use the MK3 to test the new idea.

Progressive air spring is ancient application in forks but Roadholders w/o extra sealing method pump the air pocket down so must use less oil or hydrolocks or looses the progressive air spring advantage after some good bumps. Maybe with a regulated air supply air tight sealing on top would not matter over a long ways.

with less oil in the forks, will they wear out quicker.
Dereck

Haha, so he has got rid of the compression damping for the first bit of travel because his springs are too stiff and now will have very marginal rebound damping..... Maybe you should suggest he but a few mls of water in first to give lower initial damping :lol:

His springs are built up ,stack 5 high with nylon connecters. his original travel was only 50mm with stock Norton internals ,now with the be-spoke set up he as 90mm ..due to the light weight of 130kg the front end was to firm.
I machined the spring OD to 3.6mm from 4 mm, springs are stainless . It's tricky to get the "firmness" right with email info..so i accessed the stock Norton and made the new ones 15% less... As i have said he only 1/2 filled the dampers . giving him what he required.
He Gold plated the parts! so water will not rust them :lol:

Cheesy said:

Haha, so he has got rid of the compression damping for the first bit of travel because his springs are too stiff and now will have very marginal rebound damping..... Maybe you should suggest he but a few mls of water in first to give lower initial damping :lol:

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