In search of a softer ride

[PetePeterson]

This is actually a continuation of the Saddle Fix For A Soft Ride I'd posted back in August. Bit the bullet and got me some Horst HCS shocks. Understanding my situation, Horst set these up to be soft.

Delivery took only 15 days. The box arrived a bit beat up

box as rec'd.jpg

but the internal packing was super well done and the hardware was undamaged.

Front and rear shocks went on pretty well. About 90 minutes with the help of my son.

front.jpg

rear.jpg

No adjustments were necessary. I'd purchased a mix of alloy 316 stainless nuts and bolts and even though Horst provided the hardware for the front fork mounting I wound up improvising over the existing hardware for the rear shocks.

Couldn't manage the sidecar though. That lower bolt defeated us.

IMG_5069.JPG

IMG_5068.JPG

The connections were under load even with the wheel off the ground, and it may work out we couldn't extract the bolt. Nor could we slide the top shock connection off either. Going to need a spring compressor. Probably will wind up pulling the wheel and disk brake, cutting off the head of the bolt and reassembling with the bolt head on the outside and the nut inside.

Reassembled the sidecar shock hardware and climbed onto the saddle for a brief test ride. Wow! If I bounce up and down on the saddle the machine is no longer stiff. Taking it down the street and back it now dips a bit in the turns. Don't know how it'' maneuver at speed but I'm pretty sure that the ride has gone from harsh to comfortable.

Will post a follow up once the sidecar problem is resolved.

[RC20]

The side car shock is a bit tricky, I fought it and it turned out there is a simple solution.

There is a rubber piece under the bottom and that is easily removed, it looks like its integrated but it comes out.

I did it the hard way, I managed it with some leverage etc but one of the knowledgeable guys (windmill) showed it is easy. I forget what I did on the lower bolt, there is a thread on it.

You have to read deep into this but I believe that shock replacement on the side car is in there

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=58212&hilit=Side+Car+Shock+Mount

[GregoryUSSR]

Going to need a spring compressor.

Only I wanted to advise you to buy or make this thing yourself:





But you yourself understood what needs to be done.

[harryball]

I reached out to Horst based on your previous thread, info tomcatfixer supplied and some details here. I told him the rider weight, asked what spring rate I need to order for a smooth comfortable ride (based on the fact in the previous thread Chad suggested you tell him that information so he can set the springs for you) and ... I kind of got a response that just explains these are better than Sachs shocks. No mention of options like custom spring rate.

So... what did you order? Did Horst just ship the CP106's he sells off the shelf? Or is there a spring rate mentioned, or part number or custom settings or some such?

[RC20]

There seems to be a wrong assumption here.

The CP106 and I believe the NB (?) have adjustable spring. Ergo, no need to have a custom spring when you can add or remove tension as much as you want. Its a threaded adjustment so its not in steps.

The other two adjustments (compression and rebound, both settable on the CP106) can be adjusted to suit the spring rate

My CPs came with Horst settings he has found to work well and while I have played a bit with them they have gone back to his settings.

[Tomcatfixer]

The CP106 and I believe the NB (?) have adjustable spring. Ergo, no need to have a custom spring when you can add or remove tension as much as you want. Its a threaded adjustment so its not in steps.

Spring rate and pre-load are two different, but related, suspension concepts. The rate is typically how much weight it takes the compress the coils 1 inch. The rate is selected based upon the load the suspension will be carrying. Pre-load is compressing the springs a bit to set static sag; basically choosing where in the springs' travel and at what load they start compressing. The HCS shocks have pre-load adjusters, but it's also important to choose the appropriate spring rate for the particular application. I'm sure that HCS has selected a spring rate for their Ural shocks that covers the widest use case, but that doesn't mean that this rate is ideal for everyone.

[PetePeterson]

The side car shock is a bit tricky, I fought it and it turned out there is a simple solution.

There is a rubber piece under the bottom and that is easily removed, it looks like its integrated but it comes out.

I did it the hard way, I managed it with some leverage etc but one of the knowledgeable guys (windmill) showed it is easy. I forget what I did on the lower bolt, there is a thread on it.

Here's the image showing the lack of headspace to remove the lower shock mount bolt on my 2021 cT:

inteference.JPG

And here's the solution:

swingarm lifted.JPG

(Don't know why these images rotated 90° CCW)

I took this sucka as a personal challenge. I'm a mechanical engineer and if someone was clever enough to design this I figured that it disassembled somehow. It took a while to find the solution though. Lifted the sidecar frame. Then lifted the sidecar swingarm. Turns out that the rubber was simply an end-stop bumper for the swingarm. The bolt lifted clear

It's hard to locate an appropriate spring compressor tool. Harbor Freight's product was way to large. But Amazon sent me this ORX tool that did the trick.

ORX motorcycle spring compressor.JPG

These are amazing shocks. My son Tom is a professional motorcycle drag racer

230917 Tom new shocks s.jpg

and he was really impressed with the quality and the 3-way adjustment capability.

[PetePeterson]

ROAD TEST

The CP106 shocks are everything I'd hoped for. What a huge difference in comfort. As expected, the bike handles a bit "looser" but for street use it is fine. Took about 2 curves to adjust to the new handling characteristics.

Did about 20 miles of road test, hitting washboard that previously required getting on the pegs. And was comfortable seated this time around. Handling is stable at highway speeds. The ride is just much plusher.

THANK YOU HORST

[Tomcatfixer]

I'm pleased that you are pleased.

[RC20]

Sweet.

With a jack up and a bit of finese the shocks will come off without a spring compressor.

Windmill made it clear that rubbber thingy comes out but too late for me. I was looking at the monkey motion of the side car suspension all wrong.

[PetePeterson]

Sweet.

With a jack up and a bit of finese the shocks will come off without a spring compressor.

Windmill made it clear that rubbber thingy comes out but too late for me. I was looking at the monkey motion of the side car suspension all wrong.

Much easier with a helper. As you noted, just a jack and a bit of finesse for the 4 on the bike. With my cT configuration the spring compressor was necessary on the hack.

[Tomcatfixer]

With my cT configuration the spring compressor was necessary on the hack.

Very curious, as this was not necessary for the Sachs-to-HCS shock swap on my 2015 cT.

[PetePeterson]

With my cT configuration the spring compressor was necessary on the hack.

Very curious, as this was not necessary for the Sachs-to-HCS shock swap on my 2015 cT.

Maybe there's a difference between the 2015 and 2021 cT setup????

While I forced the top end of the old sidecar shock off of the pin while the lower end was still attached it was not possible to put the upper end of the new Horst shock onto the pin when the bolt was in place and the swing arm lowered.

When installing the upgrade sock, it was necessary to place the upper end onto the pin before working the lower end. With the swing arm down the bolt couldn't be inserted. With the swing arm raised the shock had to be compressed before the bolt could be inserted. With the CP106, when the spring is compressed just 1/2 inch or so the spring becomes loose and it's possible to remove the holding plate at the bottom of the spring. And this allows the piston to be compressed enough for the bolt to align/insert. Then the swingarm was lowered, the spring retention plate was put back onto the shock, and the spring compression backed off.

For safety and simplicity, I compressed the spring on a workbench and installed it with the compressors in place.