01-11-2016, 09:58 AM
(01-11-2016, 01:35 AM)Paulb_imp Wrote: Very interesting and amazing detail. Just one point I noticed which is confusing, the fork tops both have preload adjustment and Honda ask owners to ensure that exactly the same adjustment is made on each.
Paul,
was a notice for Std riders or both the Std and EX owners? I could see it applying to the std riders since they have the same fork set up on each side. The EX riders have a different set up, so if you added 0.5" to one side, you would add a different amount to the other.
That said, I don't think it makes a significant difference if one was different from the other unless you figured out a way to add 2 extra inches to the preload spacer and you added it to the stiffer side.
Does the EX model have a fork brace of some sorts? It might just be a curved metal plate under the fender. On some Honda bikes, like the ST1100, that utilizes a different damping functionality in each fork leg, you should have something the ties the fork lowers together. It seems with the EX fork internal differences, they would have added a [stonger] brace to keep the forks working in unison.
For the other guys, thanks for the kind words.
Now for the air spring.
Theory
If you could imagine the fork as an enclosed tube with a fixed air volume, then you can start to appreciate the air spring affect. At sea level, the atmospheric pressure is 14.7 lbs/in^2. If you could imagine the tube filled with the damping rod, spring, spacer, and oil taking up all of the volume except the last 6" from the top. Now, if you compress the fork so the air volume is 1/2 of what it was (3" from the top), then the air pressure doubles to 29.4 lbs/in. Now compress the fork another 1.5" (half of 3") and you find the air pressure doubles again from 29.4 to 49.8 lbs/in. Then squeeze it another .75" and the pressure goes to 99.6 lbs/in. squeeze it 0.375" and the pressure doubles again to 199.2 lbs/in^2.You can see at some point the air pressure gets to the point you may not be able to fully compress the fork.
I'll post more info at halftime of the NCAA championship game.
Jerry