Product of the week ( 2)

[rocketonarail]

Lowering links ..... not applicable to the twins and triples I know ....... maybe the Zanes , but I have never delved into the grime ridden , inner chassis neighbourhood of a Nico Bakker , so I would`nt know for sure ......

Anyway , if you wish to lower the ride height of a bike with a linkage set up , you will fit a longer link arm ( aka dogbone in some cases ) .

In order to get my bottom closer to the ground , I have eventually settled on two different , but similar options .............. ..... Lust Racing , and German made TRW / Lucas .......

These two items mimic the dimensions of the factory item they are meant to replace , apart from being longer of course ......... the TRW / Lucas item also comes with TUV approval , just for your peace of mind .


However .......... as part of my earlier endeavours to make better contact with the Earth`s surface , I purchased a USA made Soupy`s lowering link ......

This device has the two bushed eyelets at either end , as you would expect ....... but instead of being cast in one piece , the two eyelets thread into a chunky middle section ..... this middle section is hex in profile .... the idea being that you can adjust the ride height my turning this middle section with a spanner , in the same way you might adjust the height of a gear lever fitted with a linkage rod .......

Once you have found the height you desire , the middle section is secured to the eyelet pieces by tightening a plain locknut at each end .

There were two problems ......

Firstly , although being advertised as a lowering link , with a range of 30 mm , setting the link at it`s longest setting gave a ride height exactly the same as the standard arm ... ( in other words no difference at all ) ......... the 30 mm range only operated from a standard height setting to a height 30 mm HIGHER than standard , not lower ........

Secondly , It was possible to unscrew the middle section completely from the end eyelets ........ So it would be possible for some hapless owner to adjust it to the longest length possible , to try to obtain the lowest ride height .... ( which is the whole point of the thing in the first place ) ....... not realising the engagement between the middle section and the end pieces is relying on perhaps just a couple of thread pitches / turns of the middle section .......

........ and he would then ride off , blatting along at three figure speeds quite happily , unaware that the rear part of his bike ( plus himself ) , is only being supported by a couple of millimetres of thread , and that only being locked into place by a plain locknuts ....... with no guarantee that they would not also work themselves loose at any time as well ........

Needless to say , I soon consigned this item to use as a paperweight , and then eventually dumped it into one of the skips at the local re-cycling centre ........

I was`nt happy to be reminded that this item could eventually be responsible for someone finding the rear of their bike had collapsed , and was now suddenly making contact with the rear tyre at 90 mph ........


A little while back , there were concerns also regarding Aprillia link arms performing a similar quick collapse trick by snapping in the middle .... these were the original fit factory items , not aftermarket parts ............ It seems lack of maintenance / lubrication of the linkage bushes could lead to sudden seizure , and breakage of the link arm ........

Presumably proper lubrication on assembly / change of design / change of use from monkey metal , has fixed that by now ........

 

[Exmoor beast]

Lowering links ..... not applicable to the twins and triples I know ....... maybe the Zanes , but I have never delved into the grime ridden , inner chassis neighbourhood of a Nico Bakker , so I would`nt know for sure ......

Anyway , if you wish to lower the ride height of a bike with a linkage set up , you will fit a longer link arm ( aka dogbone in some cases ) .

In order to get my bottom closer to the ground , I have eventually settled on two different , but similar options .............. ..... Lust Racing , and German made TRW / Lucas .......

These two items mimic the dimensions of the factory item they are meant to replace , apart from being longer of course ......... the TRW / Lucas item also comes with TUV approval , just for your peace of mind .


However .......... as part of my earlier endeavours to make better contact with the Earth`s surface , I purchased a USA made Soupy`s lowering link ......

This device has the two bushed eyelets at either end , as you would expect ....... but instead of being cast in one piece , the two eyelets thread into a chunky middle section ..... this middle section is hex in profile .... the idea being that you can adjust the ride height my turning this middle section with a spanner , in the same way you might adjust the height of a gear lever fitted with a linkage rod .......

Once you have found the height you desire , the middle section is secured to the eyelet pieces by tightening a plain locknut at each end .

There were two problems ......

Firstly , although being advertised as a lowering link , with a range of 30 mm , setting the link at it`s longest setting gave a ride height exactly the same as the standard arm ... ( in other words no difference at all ) ......... the 30 mm range only operated from a standard height setting to a height 30 mm HIGHER than standard , not lower ........

Secondly , It was possible to unscrew the middle section completely from the end eyelets ........ So it would be possible for some hapless owner to adjust it to the longest length possible , to try to obtain the lowest ride height .... ( which is the whole point of the thing in the first place ) ....... not realising the engagement between the middle section and the end pieces is relying on perhaps just a couple of thread pitches / turns of the middle section .......

........ and he would then ride off , blatting along at three figure speeds quite happily , unaware that the rear part of his bike ( plus himself ) , is only being supported by a couple of millimetres of thread , and that only being locked into place by a plain locknuts ....... with no guarantee that they would not also work themselves loose at any time as well ........

Needless to say , I soon consigned this item to use as a paperweight , and then eventually dumped it into one of the skips at the local re-cycling centre ........

I was`nt happy to be reminded that this item could eventually be responsible for someone finding the rear of their bike had collapsed , and was now suddenly making contact with the rear tyre at 90 mph ........


A little while back , there were concerns also regarding Aprillia link arms performing a similar quick collapse trick by snapping in the middle .... these were the original fit factory items , not aftermarket parts ............ It seems lack of maintenance / lubrication of the linkage bushes could lead to sudden seizure , and breakage of the link arm ........

Presumably proper lubrication on assembly / change of design / change of use from monkey metal , has fixed that by now ........

Massive forces acting on suspension links- I saw a welded sidecar dog bone snap and the bike crashed rather badly. Reminds me of Front fork Slugs- Instant chopper threaded extensions to front fork legs that put huge loads on the joint between or near bottom yoke.

 

[Vince]

Been there, I had my local Suspension pro lower my 2005 Husky 25mm plus correct the spring rate to suit my 120kg and revalve both ends, it made a huge difference to the way the bike worked. This lowering involved adding a spacer to the inner workings. Lowering links are just a dumb way to go. Rear multilink suspension works on a ratio, X amount of shock movement results in Y amount of wheel travel, change link length and that ratio changes. Do that and without changing the damping you have now mismatched it and who knows what will result and I bet it's not good. BTW here is a resent article from the same bloke. Terry Hays.
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[Vince]

I don't know why it's so hard to link a Facebook post, every operation there is so clunky and frustrating. It's just not worth mucking with.

 

[Sir Sidney Ruffdiamond]

Zane bikes are pretty low as standard ? - buggers up your sidestand angle as well

 

[rocketonarail]

Zane bikes are pretty low as standard ? - buggers up your sidestand angle as well

Yes , it can leave your bike too upright on the sidestand ........ although two identical bikes lowered in a similar manner had one looking as if it was about to topple over , whilst the other looked hardly any different from normal .

You can get adjustable sidestands from some suppliers ............ but they look fug ugly .............. I took the one that needed shortening to an engineering firm in Yate , who said they could do it ............... I suggested they take a chunk out of the middle , and to drill and fit a steel reinforcing pin to join up the two halves again .......

In the end they managed to cut the required amount out at the bottom , between the tang and the pad , so the reinforcing pin was`nt needed , and repainted it as well , for £40 , which was very reasonable .