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DeCoster's New Suspenders (1979) |
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Not yet the last word in fashion.
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►Suzuki's new motocross
front suspension raised a lot of eyebrows during this year's GP season, but it
didn't inspire any imitators. One look at the complicated system of links,
struts and shock absorbers developed by Valentino Ribi with the cooperation of
Ohlins dissuaded most everyone. Roger DeCoster even switched back to a
conventional telescopic fork near the season's end after adopting the Ribi
suspension as his own pet project.
But as DeCoster told the respected English publication Trials
and Motocross News, the switch was caused by a lack of development time rather
than any disappointment in the system itself. Indeed, the suspension had been
calibrated to reduce trail under compression just like a standard fork. There
was not enough time to produce the suspension's potential combination of
constant trail and adjustable anti-dive during the usual two-week interval
between races.
DeCoster
commented that the Ribi suspension worked noticeably better than a telescopic
fork and was less tiring on his arms. Only the weight of the system—aggravated
by the use of Ohlins dampers designed for rear suspension use—bothered him.
Other
motocross engineers may be diddling with suspension rates and punching larger
holes in cylinder barrels in the search for more speed, but DeCoster has his own
ideas about where the next reduction in lap times will come from. "It certainly
has the factory thinking about front suspension," DeCoster says, "and that is
good for everyone." —David Dewhurst■ |
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