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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> When Sluggo starts thinking out loud
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Message started by Salad_Shaker on 05/15/06 at 07:48:27

Title: When Sluggo starts thinking out loud
Post by Salad_Shaker on 05/15/06 at 07:48:27

I know this should really be accompanied by some pics and I did take some but they're all too dark to be worth posting. Maybe next time.

Anyway, some weeks back, Sluggo was wondering whether the stock seat could be mounted on springs as a new solution to the Savage's No.1 bugbear. Hm, thinks I, lets give it a try.

Went on eBay bid 99pence and won four 3" m/c seat springs. They got lost in the post but finally turned up.

Fitting at the front is easy, they simply go beneath the front bar-clamp-slot thingy but the rear pair can't go in vertically because the curve in the seat pan means the mounting bolts are angled out at about 45º. I used the stock parts plus a short bar because the captive nut won't line up once you alter the relation between the three mounting points, front and rear. The rear springs were therefore in a semi-liedown position. It went back on but looked a bit odd because its all raised up, there's clear air uderneath and all the wiring and assorted gubbins is on show.

I'd have been happy to live with that if the ride quality had been a marked improvement. Certainly the extra height was good for my legs (I'm 6´1") but I'm sorry to have to report that otherwise its an experiment that doesn't work. And its for this reason: the stock seat-pan is plastic and while it may flex somewhat with the simple seat mod, it can't go far as it comes to rest on the frame rails. However, boost the thing skyward a couple of inches and all the extra bounce is taken by the combination of the new springing and the seat pan flex. I did a 100 mile test run and it felt decidedly wallowy, as if I wasn't quite moving in concert with the rest of the bike (do all sprung seats make you feel like that I wonder?) and as if the seat pan might give way.

So, back to the spannering. Set-up No.2 has removed the rear seat springs but kept the front pair. Yet to try it more than round town, but at least I now know that flex is limited to touching down on the frame rails. Too early to tell if the front springs will truly be an aid to comfort. Thanks, Sluggo, for the inspiration.

Title: Re: When Sluggo starts thinking out loud
Post by sluggo on 05/15/06 at 13:22:22

thanks for the report, i envisioned just the front instead of the spacers. hope it works.