Motorcycles even still had pedals for the first decade or so of their existence. Now that we have that little primer out of the way, let's talk about motorcycle suspensions. The earliest motorcycles were little more than bicycles with little engines clipped to the frames, and early motorcycle engineering was more like bicycle engineering. Note the standard, non-sprung bicycle forks. This 1901 Indian Camelback Single is a bicycle in all but name. The tire stays in contact with the road so you can steer, stop, or speed up. The rider feels the bump but the energy is mostly absorbed by the springs and does not jar your fillings out. When the tire rides over the top of the bump, the springs magically push it down again, no need to wait for gravity. The springs compress as the tire hits, storing up the energy so the tire can follow the shape of the bump. Also, landing is a bit hard on the spine and kidneys.Ī vehicle with suspension can absorb the bump and keep going while maintaining control. Cool, right? The problem is, with your tires off the ground you cannot stop, steer, or speed up very well. It continues in the air until gravity pulls it back down. If there is enough forward energy for the vehicle to pass over the bump, it will be deflected into the air. If there is not enough forward inertia to push over the bump, the vehicle stops instantly and the rider or driver gets thrown off. When that vehicle hits a bump only one of two things can happen-it either stops dead or keeps going. Imagine vehicle with no suspension at all, like a skateboard.

MOTORCYCLE: The Basics: Modern Motorcycle Suspensionīeyond the obvious comfort value, a suspension’s most important job is to keep the tire in contact with the road. How engineers control and minimize the effect of that bump is one of the biggest challenges in motorcycle design. Instead of a pretty tame old-person dance, it’s an obstruction in the road that jars your entire bike and body when you slam over it. For motorcyclists though, the bump is something completely different. Videos exist, I recommend that you do not watch them. You and your partner just stood beside one another and bumped hips while Parliament-Funkadelic laid down the beat. It was pretty simple as 70s-era dances went. THIS WEEKS SPECIAL SALE PARTS AND PRICES.What about the bump? In 1976, yours truly was in seventh grade and The Bump was the most popular dance around. Īnd 100's of nos autolite generator parts

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