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HPS Suspension

 
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bmcsheehy



Joined: 22 Jan 2005
Posts: 991
Location: Massachusetts USA

PostPosted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 12:46 pm    Post subject: HPS Suspension Reply with quote

I am still relatively new to HPS and have been trying to sort out my suspension. The following is my opinion and is based on my experiences only.

My thought would be to set it up for the type of riding I plan on doing most. For me I plan on having two shock and spring combination for my sidecar. One for when it’s empty or carrying lighter people, my kids, and one for when someone heavier like myself is in the sidecar. Either will do in a pinch. If I know I will be going on an extended trip I can easily just change the shock setup for the passenger and or cargo.

For my driving style and comfort level, which may be different for different people, the suspension is set up soft, very forgiving. If the suspension is too stiff, bumps in the road tend to make it wander or wiggle. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve experienced it. It’s an unnerving feeling. Any time there is no one in the sidecar, I have at least 50 lbs of ballast in it. This makes a huge difference. Other things can factor in on this as well, crown of the road, weight in the sidecar, wind speed, etc…. like I said, It’s a fine line of compromises. I am amazed how much difference small adjustments make, just a tire pressure adjustment of a couple of pounds even.

To be continued….
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Bill
High Performance Sidecaring... ...There is nothing "HACKED" about it.
2006 ZX-14 / HANNIGAN HP.
2011 Concourse / California Friendship III.
2016 Suzuki Bandit 1250s
1936 Ford Fordoor Humpback
www.Yankee-Engineering.com
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swaybar2002



Joined: 26 Jan 2005
Posts: 380
Location: Central Pa.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 5:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Matching a spring and a shock to the loads required of them and road conditions is for sure the way to go. With the thought that all things are a compromise and all roads are a little different the boundries of this compromise can get pretty large. If a suspension has a good deal of adjustment built into it and if the operator knows what his machine likes for certain conditions it is, of course, a good thing.
From my experience a soft suspension is more forgiving when speaking of complying to the road surface. By the same token a soft suspension is not happy when horsed around. It has it's own mind and the vehicle must be handled within the limits it defines. A stiffer suspension allows more rapid moves from side to side without getting all upset about it. The exception to this obviously has to do with specific road conditions.
Someone once said it is more difficult to set up a rig for the street to go fast than it is for the racetrack. I beleive there is truth to this as on the street the conditions are so varied with the compromises being greater on the street than on the track.
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Claude Stanley

Founder: Internet Sidecar Owners Klub
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/SCT/

2007
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bsajeff



Joined: 31 Jan 2005
Posts: 1
Location: Westland Michigan

PostPosted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 9:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi, Claude
I agree with you 100%. Street set up be it car,motorcycle or a rig has to be more compliant for most street use cause of road condition(at least around here) than on a track. That makes tuning it a finer line so the tires stay on the ground. It is hard to control any vehicle at speed if the tires are only on the road half the time. Don't ask how I know!
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