Dear Neil,
If you have any specific questions for Rob please ask and I will gladly pass them on to him.
Regarding the longevity of the units I can offer the fact that I have used an AVO unit on the rear of my Rapide for a couple of years and thousands miles. (I can't be more specific about mileage as, for some reason, I failed to note down the mileage when I installed it. I average around 8,000 miles a year on the Rapide so I guess the unit has done 10-15,000 miles OK.)
My Rapide has Pettiford springs fitted and is mostly used two up. (No sidecar attached though.) The unit I have bodged on to the rear of my bike is the same base model that AVO have re-engineered for Rob to easily fit the Vincent rear end.
Continuing with the longevity thread, AVO offer a rebuild service and in the full spec drawing for their dampers list all the parts, seals, gas bag, valve, etc. I don't know how much a rebuild would cost, should it be needed, but the cost of the complete new unit is not prohibitive compared with other options available.
One useful bit of information that Rob picked up from AVO was that if you are using a Koni unit you should always make sure that the rubber bump stop inside the top shroud is in place and in good condition. If it isn't the valve mechanism in Koni piston can be damaged if it goes onto full bump and hits the bottom of the cylinder.
Hi Ed
Do you mind asking Rob some questions for me?
Dad is interested in this for the back of his Comet outfit which has Petterford springs, but Dad has managed to kill both a Koni and an IKON,
Cheers in advance
Neil