Anyone using struts?

[mortation]

I was wondering if anyone was running with struts on their bike instead of rear shocks? I have been thinking about doing it myswlf but I wanted to get some input on the ride first

 

[PAULYBOY]

My son and I are making a hardtail for him. The 1st idea I had was to have a welder buddy weld some threaded bungs into each end of a 8" piece of DOM tibing. Then, we threaded heim joints in, one left and one right hand thread, so we could still adjust the height. My welder buddy took it upon himself to put the finished struts on a metal lathe and taper the ends so it kinda looks like a torpedo. My next idea, since these were still too long, thanx to my woodworking credo of "measure once and cut til u git it right" was to get hexagonal already threaded tubes from ballistic fabrication and use more of the heim joints. These will adjust from a low of 8" to a high length equaling the original shock length. Yeah, baby, these are the schnits!!! If you look closely at the mock up picture, you'll see version number one.http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f77/SUMOBOY2/GS PARTS/PIC00026.jpg

 

[mortation]

Looks cool. I was just going to buy some 10" struts for a sport and mount em up. I was more concerned about the ride. Would it make it suck, to rough on the back side? Or not to much. I hit a giant crater on the highway last summer doing 65 and I wonder what the outcome would have been if I had struts instead of shocks...

Now one more question, where'd ya get the rear fender

 

[Ironriot]

Looks like the stock fender that comes on "L"s

 

[TurboChris]

Back in 1995 when I had my first 83 1100E my buddy and I used to tear up the streets a LOT....he had a 83 CB1100f and we used try all kinds of things to make them faster on a budjet. We cut pieces of steel and drilled holes and made our own struts....ran them off and on for a while....they ride ok on the street.....but you'll find yourself standing up on the pegs if you go over railroad tracks or anything like that ......I found it to be pretty manageable....and seemed to make a decent improvement on our launches as I recall.....

 

[Steve]

If you happen to live anywhere but oHIo, you might be able to do it.

Here, I am trying to convince the highway department that they would save a BUNCH of money by putting up "SMOOTH ROAD" signs instead of the "ROUGH ROAD" signs they use now. They wouldn't need nearly as many of them. :shock:


.

 

[TheCafeKid]

When i bought my 750, the PO had attempted some sort of bastardized strut/spring thingy (ask n1elkyfan, he now owns them) He'd cut the shock piston arms (for lack of a better word that i know of) and welded them into place, and then cut the springs short, in essence making them a 10 inch shock. Well, 10 inch spring really. WHY? Why not just use some struts? NO IDEA. BUT believe it or not, and keep in mind that the seat, or lack thereof, consisted of a peice of sheet steel, covered with some memory foam and some old 50s sparkly gold vinyl (you know the kind grandma had on her kitchen chairs?) it didnt really ride THAT uncomfortably. Would i take it out on a 500 mile ride? HELL NO. but for riding to work and cruising thru town (thankfully my butt covered most of the "sweet" vinyl) it really wasnt bad. There were some times when i was pretty sure my spine was going to come out of my throat, but generally, it seemed ok even over some unavoidable spots in the road that i was sure was going to make my spinal discs call me names not invented yet.

Sorry, went off in a tangent there...heh. but yeah, it was much lower in back, and essentially a rigid. But couple that lower stance, and a GINORMOUS 52 tooth rear sprocket (stock on that bike was 41) it really hooked up well, so much, that i am quite certain, had it a smaller rider on it, and not been so hunkered down in back, it would have stood up from a stand still. Least it felt that way VERY much.

Concerns for me with it were simple. A) it wasnt the look i was going for in my cafe project. B) these frames were not MADE to be rigid.

Hence, they are passed on to someone who actually wanted them.

End of long pointless trip down memory lane...hehe

 

[rosco15]

I run struts on my dragbike. I think they would really suck on the street.

 

[mortation]

Well I guess I can give it a shot and if it doesnt work out put some short shocks back on. I love the general look of this bike:

and thats what I am going for, but with drag pipes and a bobtail fender.

 

[PAULYBOY]

My son and I are making a hardtail for him. The 1st idea I had was to have a welder buddy weld some threaded bungs into each end of a 8" piece of DOM tibing. Then, we threaded heim joints in, one left and one right hand thread, so we could still adjust the height. My welder buddy took it upon himself to put the finished struts on a metal lathe and taper the ends so it kinda looks like a torpedo. My next idea, since these were still too long, thanx to my woodworking credo of "measure once and cut til u git it right" was to get hexagonal already threaded tubes from ballistic fabrication and use more of the heim joints. These will adjust from a low of 8" to a high length equaling the original shock length. Yeah, baby, these are the schnits!!! If you look closely at the mock up picture, you'll see version number one.http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f77/SUMOBOY2/GS PARTS/PIC00026.jpg

So, I found a close up of version one.

The same DOM tubing used for roll cages, etc., so you know it won't fail, even with my big lard a@$ on the bike.

 

[ccoale]

i chopped the shocks on my 78 750E and turned them into struts. as far as the ride, it's about what you'd expect. like someone said earlier, its fine for fairly local short rides. i wouldn't take off on a two week trip with them.....cc

 

[Rock]

I was wondering if anyone was running with struts on their bike instead of rear shocks?

I'm not into punishing myself.