New Suspension System on Harley-Davidson® Motorcycles
When you think about shocks on a motorcycle, you don’t really pay much attention to them until they start giving you problems. Good ones will last a long time and keep your bike tires pressed into the pavement without shaking you up too much, while bad ones don't make you feel every pebble and bump in the road. Of course, there’s more to suspension than just comfort. In fact, a good suspension system actually affects every aspect of your ride, which is why Harley-Davidson® put so much effort into perfecting it on the 2017 models! These bikes are superior because of their ability to absorb intense vibrations and keep you braced to the pavement, but without sacrificing a bit of performance. If you’d like to take one for a test ride today, come on into Willamette Valley Harley-Davidson® so you can see what we’re talking about. We’re in Eugene, OR, where we serve customers from Salem, Roseburg, and Bend.
How does a Suspension Affect Performance?
A bad suspension on a motorcycle can seriously hinder your performance. On one hand, a rigid suspension might hold the tire tight on the road, but it’ll bounce you up and down until you’re sick. It’s pretty hard to maintain control of a bike that rides that hard so that obviously won’t work if you want maximum performance. On the other hand, a loose suspension might feel more comfortable, but that’s because there’ll be too much give on the tires. This can make your bike extremely difficult to control. Because these two extremes impact performance so poorly, your best option is a motorcycle with a suspension that strikes a good balance between tight and relaxed settings.
When you do have a high-quality suspension, like the one on new Harley-Davidson® motorcycles, your tires make consistent contact with the ground, allowing you more confident control of your vehicle. This takes a careful balance between tightness and looseness, because your bike needs more contact with the ground for better traction, but can’t be so tight that it shakes up its rider.
Suspension Parts
To understand better what parts go into a superior suspension system, you might like to know a little about the parts involved. Generally, you’ll find two separate systems, rear and front suspensions, that work together for a unified effect. The front relies on a telescoping torque, in which a coil is placed in a metal shock absorber tube, which is called a damper. These dampers are filled with oil at a low-viscosity, and a plug inside with a small hole controls the movement of that oil. This fluid and damper are responsive to the amount of vibration that your tire encounters and the system adapts to muffle out any extra shaking before it is passed onto the rider.
The rear suspension system on a Harley-Davidson® has an opposite design but ultimately has the same functionality. It uses a coil over system, in which the coil is wrapped around the shock absorber, instead of inside it. Typically, you’ll find that these shock absorbers are connected to a reservoir. You can also adjust the emulsion on your own bike, so if you don’t like the level of smoothness or rigidity your motorcycle is delivering, it’s easy to make a few tweaks until you match it to your preferences
The Innovative Harley-Davidson® Suspension
While there are plenty of other reasons to fall in love with a new Harley-Davidson®, one of the best aspects of these new motorcycles is the innovative suspension, which is carefully manufactured to deliver a comfortable, better-performing ride. From the front forks to the adjustable rear emulsion, everything on a Harley® works in sync to give you the best ride you’ll ever have. Come test ride one of these amazing bikes today atWillamette Valley Harley-Davidson® of Eugene, just a short ride from Salem, Albany, Corvallis, Roseburg, Bend, Coos Bay, and Medford, Oregon.