Inverted and upright motorcycle front shock absorber features

Most performance locomotives have an inverted configuration

To understand the advantages of "inverted", it is necessary to understand the mechanism of the mechanism: whether it is upright or inverted, it belongs to the "periscope type shock absorption system". In periscope-type shock absorption, there are several important components: Samsung, Samsung, front shock absorber inner tube, front shock absorber outer tube, shock absorber spring, damper, oil seal, etc.

Periscope front shock absorption (positive, upper and lower)

Samsung in the front shock absorption (the legend is called "three cores" at the earliest, and is slowly called "Samsung", many areas are also called triangles), both ends are clamped before shock absorption, and the bead bowl (bearing) and Frame connection. In the high-handed street car models, Samsung is often used as a lock point for the handlebars for fixed support.

(on Samsung)

Samsung's role is similar to that of Samsung, which clamps the front shock absorber and connects it to the frame. In design, the next Samsung will be combined with the steering axis vertically, and the upper part of the shaft is locked with the upper triangular table, and the front shock absorber is fixed on the frame.

(under Samsung)

The outer tube and the inner tube can be moved relative to each other, and the oil seal is used to prevent the damping oil from flowing out. In addition, the front-mounted front shock-absorbing outer tube must also be designed with a caliper seat or lock point and an axle lock hole to mount the caliper and tire on the vehicle.

(front shock absorber outer tube)


(The caliper lock point on the outer shock absorber outer tube)

The front shock absorbing inner tube is usually subjected to surface treatment such as electroplating, in order to increase the surface hardness, achieve the function of rust prevention, and also reduce the frictional resistance. In appearance, it will have a shiny and bright luster. Even some front shock absorbing inner tubes will be painted with gold, which looks quite eye-catching.

(front damping inner tube)

The oil seal is the basic mechanical component used for the joint between the inner and outer tubes to prevent leakage of the damping oil. On the oil seal, a soil seal is also installed to prevent dust or dirt from entering the oil seal and scratching the surface of the oil seal. The competitive models use shock absorption for smoother movement and lighter weight performance, and some have no soil seal design.

(oil seal)

For the motorcycle, the front shock absorber system requires a steering function in addition to the shock absorber function. In addition to being able to move up and down to achieve shock absorption, the front shock absorber of the motorcycle can also be rotated by the driver to enable the vehicle to turn.

Upright and inverted features

Upright type: the structure is relatively simple, the maintenance and disassembly is relatively easy, the cost is relatively low, and the damping oil has no gravity problem, resulting in lower leakage, but the weight is also higher under the same rigid demand.

Inverted type: strong rigidity, unsprung weight is more conducive to vehicle control, but the cost is relatively higher, and the damping oil is more demanding for the oil seal due to the gravity problem, the probability of leakage is higher, and the weight is lower than the same rigid demand. Upright.

Inverted front shock absorption

In the 1990s, another type of front shock absorption began to appear in mass production vehicles, and manufacturers claimed higher overall rigidity and more sensitive shock absorption response. The new type of shock absorption is to place the inner tube and the outer tube upside down, also known as an upside down fork. After the late 1990s, inverted front shock absorption gradually became the main equipment for performance models. Today, most of them are inverted front shock absorbers, whether they are imitation cars, super sports cars or performance street cars.

Performance-enhancing models are equipped with inverted front shock absorption

On the front-mounted front shock absorber, the diameter of the inner tube is the focus of the design. For the SUZUKI GSX1400 model, in order to cope with the extremely high weight and the rigidity required for high-speed cruising, a giant inner tube with a diameter of 46 mm (the outer tube must be thicker) has appeared. In the design of the front-mounted front shock absorption, in order to increase the rigidity, it is necessary to increase the diameter of the inner tube, which leads to an increase in the overall weight of the shock absorbing system. When evolving from a front-mounted front shock absorber to an inverted front shock absorber, the diameter of the inner tube can be reduced if the required rigidity is the same, which is the relative advantage of the inverted front shock absorber.

Increased rigidity

The increase in rigidity has always been one of the inverted selling points. Under the same inner tube diameter design, the inverted type can increase rigidity compared to the conventional upright type. Therefore, under the same rigidity requirement, the inverted inner tube diameter can be smaller, and the overall front shock absorbing weight can be lighter. The tires are transmitted to the shock absorbers in all directions from the ground. The thicker outer tubes are placed close to the triangular table, which makes them have better rigidity.

Inverted steel is stronger under the same conditions

Reduce the quality of the unsprung

The unsprung mass is the mass below the spring in the damping system. In the inverted front shock absorption, the inner tube is designed to be under the overall front shock absorption, except that the inner tube itself may have a smaller diameter, and the quality is lighter than the relatively thick outer tube. Reducing the unsprung mass In actual tests, the vehicle uses an inverted front shock absorber for a more sensitive response, which is why most of the locomotives that emphasize the performance of the locomotive use inverted front shock absorption!