Which shock absorbers?

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Frankie17 said:
it will be interesting what the new Girling range performs like when it arrives later this year
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It will.

However, apart from the name, I doubt there is any link whatsoever to the Girling of old. I’d be delighted to be wrong about that of course...
 
Firstly ,I like black springs on black bikes ! ... Nigel ,what is 1 stone in pounds ? ..... the black spring Hagons perform fine for me , no wallowing ever , I have the JRB Lansdowne front end with a steering damper .... all good to 100mph (once) ... great on twisty and long sleepers .... suspension is big portion of making a bike right .... we all tend to have a different view range of “right for us” .... more money is not always best choice .... a lot depends on you and your bike and what you do with it, eh ....
 
What if any is the calculation for getting the correct spring rate... it can't be the weight of rider & pillion or rider + weight of bike
AN springs are rated according to old Brittst at 118lb so two equates to 136lb or 9.7 stone... so I'm confused
 
olympus said:
What if any is the calculation for getting the correct spring rate... it can't be the weight of rider & pillion or rider + weight of bike
AN springs are rated according to old Brittst at 118lb so two equates to 136lb or 9.7 stone... so I'm confused
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126lbs for Mk3 as fitted.... (from where does 136 come from???)
 
Oh boy.... the lock down is turning my brain to mush
118x2 = 236lbs or 16.8 stone ... which is only the weight of the average rider
 
I’m around 175 lbs figure maybe 25 lbs of ride gear and my tank bag ... so on average 200lbs added to bike when in use ...
 
olympus said:
I don't want to go racing, track days or Sunday mornings out scratching with the lads...
I appreciate that Maxtons are the best but they also come with a high price tag... I just want a decent ride at a middle of the road price
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What is a middle of the road price to you, £300 , £400?
 
Fast Eddie said:
It will.

However, apart from the name, I doubt there is any link whatsoever to the Girling of old. I’d be delighted to be wrong about that of course...
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I thought Girling quit the motorcycle shock market when they sold their business to Alf Hagon?
 
Craig said:
Firstly ,I like black springs on black bikes ! ... Nigel ,what is 1 stone in pounds ? ..... the black spring Hagons perform fine for me , no wallowing ever , I have the JRB Lansdowne front end with a steering damper .... all good to 100mph (once) ... great on twisty and long sleepers .... suspension is big portion of making a bike right .... we all tend to have a different view range of “right for us” .... more money is not always best choice .... a lot depends on you and your bike and what you do with it, eh ....
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I have the same set up. Newish Hagons, Lansdowne dampers in front with steering damper set in middle range. Solid performance during spirited riding. Also have rear sets and low “Clubman” style bars which may have something to do with it, but the Hagons have never seemed like the weak link (to return to topic).
 
And of course the other question to be asked is linear or progressive spring...
 
olympus said:
Oh boy.... the lock down is turning my brain to mush
118x2 = 236lbs or 16.8 stone ... which is only the weight of the average rider
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Spring rate is different to rider weight and is affected by that, spring design, preload, etc.

Spring rate, also known as spring constant, is the constant amount of force or spring rate of force it takes an extension or compression spring to travel an inch of distance or, in the metric system of measurement, a millimeter of distance. The units of measurement of rate in the English System are, lbf/in (pounds of force per inch) or N/mm (newtons per millimeter) in the Metric System.
 
Select spring rate for laden weight, then damp to the springs. I like about 20% to 25% of travel for laden sag, I use a progressive or dual spring rate to protect, as best I can, from hard bottoming out for the not as infrequent as I'd like pot hole or frost heave. I set the suspension to be the best it can be at the mid of the speed range I ride most at, below that I expect a bit on the stiff side, above that I expect a bit of vagueness to let me know that I better start paying attention to the motorcycle's behavior and not the scenery.

Never skimp on suspension or brakes it can easily become the difference between pissing in your pants/trousers or pushing up flowers. And putting cheap shocks on the rear and great forks up front, or vice versa, is like running radial tires one one axle of your car and bias tires on the other its all about balance.

Best.
 
I'm even more confused
So some scenarios
Rider weighing 16 stone 224lbs
Rider & pillion combined weight 28 stone 392 lbs
So Does the spring rate need to be matched for the full laden weight. Or rider alone
How does the calculation differ for linear & progressive spring
 
olympus said:
I'm even more confused
So some scenarios
Rider weighing 16 stone 224lbs
Rider & pillion combined weight 28 stone 392 lbs
So Does the spring rate need to be matched for the full laden weight. Or rider alone
How does the calculation differ for linear & progressive spring
Click to expand...

You are what we call an impossible to please biker, by wanting to have a bike that will be happy to cope with solo or 2 up riding.
 
olympus said:
I'm even more confused
So some scenarios
Rider weighing 16 stone 224lbs
Rider & pillion combined weight 28 stone 392 lbs
So Does the spring rate need to be matched for the full laden weight. Or rider alone
How does the calculation differ for linear & progressive spring
Click to expand...

Just give the info to the shock supplier and they can calc the spring rate for you. You are confusing the spring rate per inch with weight.
 
olympus said:
I'm even more confused
So some scenarios
Rider weighing 16 stone 224lbs
Rider & pillion combined weight 28 stone 392 lbs
So Does the spring rate need to be matched for the full laden weight. Or rider alone
How does the calculation differ for linear & progressive spring
Click to expand...

This is partly why off the shelf shocks for road bikes are such a compromise (the other BIG reason being cost), they have to be able to function in such a huge variety of situations from a lightweight solo to two obese humans loaded to the hilt for a touring trip, and everything in between.

It’s beyond the laws of physics to expect them to be perfect at everything !
 
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