Thanks for that suggestion Norman, I have been experimenting with spring rates and lengths on the Comet since I fitted your JE/NW steering head conversion and am currently on one 33lb/in and one 30lb/in spring, both 16.5" free length fitted but still find the ride quite harsh even though the fork friction is very low. I can't go softer on rate however as I am bottoming out regularly and the damper is already on full soft as well so the idea of a short helper spring is very useful. Incidentally I have already drilled a vent in the lower spring box exactly as suggested and found that made a noticeable difference to the front end stiffness, although I should note my spring box inners look to be modern replacements made with seamless stainless tubing and are a very close fit to the outers. I have been playing with ride heights as well as I was concerned about the amount of topping out I was getting on rough roads with the recommended ride height and so far have found no issues with running with a slight nose up incline on the lower link contrary to your recommendations. Obviously the lower ride height doesn't help with the bottoming out so trying the short helper springs will be a good next step. Cheers, Nick
FF: Forks Front spring boxes breather hole?
- Thread starter twobyfour
- Start date
Thanks for your comments Nick. Please let us know how things go with the experiments. The more feedback from a variety of people we can get then the more we can optimise the system.
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If you are bottoming AND topping out surely you need more damping, so try a touch more on the damper for a bit then try 2 x 30lb springs.
If you have the links pointing upwards you will be reducing what travel is left.
If you have the links pointing upwards you will be reducing what travel is left.
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If you are running an AVO on the front of a Comet, even on its softest setting it will be too stiff........I found the Avo's are only "ok" on a twin........The spring set up is no good.........you should be using 2 x 36 lb springs with about 25 to 30 mm cut off each one.......using them uncut you will have way too much pre load.........This is what is causing the front end to be topped out.......A reconditioned original or a new Maughan's shocker is best for a Comet........Soft long springs with too much pre load and a stiff shock absorber is not the way to get a decent ride........Earlier this year we took 3 bikes on the first Tasmanian Vincent rally.......my 21 year old son rode our fully restored Comet using this set up on the front for over 2000 km's and no front end issues.......next to my twin racer, the pic on the left, this Comet is probably the nicest most compliant Vincent i have ever owned.......If you shorten the cases by about 15 mm max each as per Norman's instructions the front end should not bottom unless you hit something very heavily........Only when I used the soft 30 lb springs, i could easily bottom the front end.........remember it is the springs and the springs alone that support the weight of the bike and rider do not be tempted to mask the weak springs using a stiff shocker.......this is wrong........read up on some info from the bike suspension experts. The best way to test how well the springs will cope is to ride the bike not too far and using the brakes not too aggressively with the front shock absorber removed all together........this will tell you quickly if the springs are able to cope or not........When i tried this with the 30 lb springs, the front end bottomed very easily........the 36 lb ones came out best, but only once shortened to reduce the amount of pre load.......the bike at rest should not sit "Topped out" you should be able to pull up on the bars and lift the bike a little.......always use the longer eyebolts for the lower shock mount no matter what shock absorber you use........if you use the shorter ones you will loose some of the suspension travel........the rest is up to the back end, but that is a different story.........Good luck with it.
Not directly related to the spring box hole but another suggestion here: I glued some UHMW inside of the spring boxes both fore and aft and for a very long time they sure worked a treat to eliminate the normal scuffing from outer to inner tubes. One of the rear sleeves I put in has just come half-loose and it is showing, but still no scuffing. Then too I hard chromed the bottoms and highly polished them before plating. The hard chrome is dull but will shine pretty well if you do a lot of polishing on the bare metal before plating. Gluing the sleeves in was the trick, and don't recall what substance I used, possibly contact cement.
But...do they have breather holes?????