GS suspension travel

[lkyphl]

Right then. BMW claim the front suspension travel on an 1150GS to be 190 mm.

My original shocker when relaxed, or p'raps I should say stretched, as it is when the bike's on the centre stand and the front wheel is off the ground, has 66 mm of available travel.

I also have a Technoflex front shocker, and when it's in a similar relaxed / stretched position it has about 75mm of available travel.

Considering the shocker is mounted on the telelever at, let's say, 2/3 of the distance from the telelever pivot to the knuckle between the forks, HTF can the front suspension have 190mm of travel ?

Surely to achieve 190mm of front suspension travel one would need a shocker with 126mm of travel ??

Maybe the front suspension has 190mm of travel without a shocker fitted .....

Phil

 

[Frank Warner]

1) How are you determining the 66mm of original shock travel?

2) If the shock is at an angle to the levers travel than the lever will move more than the shock moves. Hard to explain with words alone ... Velos had srear shocks that you could change teh angle on -
more vertical = reduced wheel travel - increased stiffness (both spring and damping)
More horozontal - increased wheel travel - sotfer ride

 

[lkyphl]

Frank,

1) by measuring between the upper body and the lower body of the shocker. The travel may actually be less if the thing becomes springbound, perhaps due to excessive preload, before the two ends of the shocker meet.

2) The shocker is pretty much perpendicular to the telelever. Naturally the angle will change through the shocker's stroke, but not enough to allow very much more suspension travel.

Phil

 

[Mouse]

You can measure the travel at the forks: put a cable tie around one of the fork tubes, just above the oil seal. Then ride the bike over some serious bumps. When you get home, measure the distance between the oil seal and the cable tie (with the suspension fully unloaded). That's the maximum distance the forks compressed during your ride.

Although you can probably see this anyway as there will usually be a mark on the fork tube at this position.