[zee monkey]

So I should get my Nitron shock here in the next couple weeks and it has the hydraulic preload adjuster but I didn’t get the remote reservoir. i ride 95% Street most of time right now with some canyon carving on weekends so I didn’t think I really needed it. I’m not touring on the bike or riding off road. I think it’s a better overall shock design to have it it’s just a matter of cost. here is some basic resovoir info i found useful.

Remote Reservoir Shock Absorbers Explained | Superior Engineering

Michael Hayes talks about remote reservoir shocks for your 4WD. They are designed with an external reservoir that increases fluid capacity. Read full article.

www.superiorengineering.com.au

Kawasaki Motorcycles Shocks- Nitron USA

www.nitronracingshocks.com

 

[Ampy]

Cheers zm
Interesting ...always wondered what the reservoir does

 

[Ungarisch]

Cheers zm
Interesting ...always wondered what the reservoir does

Shocks heat up with use, when they do the oil thins out (especially if it's old oil), thinner oil flows through the restriction passages faster and thus changes the shock's damping characteristics as it heats up and as you ride, not something you want. You want the shock to keep consistent regardless whether you just hopped on the bike or at the end of your riding session. A a reservoir type shock will contain a lot more fluid then a regular emulsion shock. More fluid takes longer to heat up, and also having the oil outside of the shock body (and inside an aluminum canister) will cool it much better.

But like you said for street/commuter use, this makes little difference to the average rider. Even at the track, I dont ever feel my shock's reservoir heating up to maybe +5*F more than ambient. I think where it makes the most difference is in off-road applications where the shock is really having a workout.

For road racing use, the advantage for a reservoir shock comes in at the valving size. On an emulsion shock the valving can only be so big because it has to fit within the shock body, which limits you to only low speed damping circuit. On a reservoir shock you move the valving outside the body, onto the canister, allowing you to make larger valves that have more impactful effects over damping changes and somewhat negate the oil thinning issue (though not completely). Also the canister allow for room to put in a high speed damping circuit that bypasses the low speed damping during harder hits. This makes a huge difference in plushness both on, but especially off-road.

 

[zee monkey]

Shocks heat up with use, when they do the oil thins out (especially if it's old oil), thinner oil flows through the restriction passages faster and thus changes the shock's damping characteristics as it heats up and as you ride, not something you want. You want the shock to keep consistent regardless whether you just hopped on the bike or at the end of your riding session. A a reservoir type shock will contain a lot more fluid then a regular emulsion shock. More fluid takes longer to heat up, and also having the oil outside of the shock body (and inside an aluminum canister) will cool it much better.

But like you said for street/commuter use, this makes little difference to the average rider. Even at the track, I dont ever feel my shock's reservoir heating up to maybe +5*F more than ambient. I think where it makes the most difference is in off-road applications where the shock is really having a workout.

For road racing use, the advantage for a reservoir shock comes in at the valving size. On an emulsion shock the valving can only be so big because it has to fit within the shock body, which limits you to only low speed damping circuit. On a reservoir shock you move the valving outside the body, onto the canister, allowing you to make larger valves that have more impactful effects over damping changes and somewhat negate the oil thinning issue (though not completely). Also the canister allow for room to put in a high speed damping circuit that bypasses the low speed damping during harder hits. This makes a huge difference in plushness both on, but especially off-road.

So when you say the ride is more plush at what speeds are you going? Riding over a bump at 60 mph might be a plush ride with an emulsion type shock, but at 160 mph you get a much harder hit and say it’s not plush. i’m just saying speed is relative. Really I just want the back of my bike to ride like a Cadillac and I am just looking for really the best soft ride I can get without sacrificing too much on performance if I don’t have to. Nitron says for a few more dollars they can add the resovoir to my r1 shock.