Hi I shall soon become a new owner of a Black Prince .... cannot wait. I only have a 29" inside leg and I would love to lower the seat height, I would have thought some Vincent owner out there has reduced the seat height .... I cannot be the only short legged owner! What would/will be the best way to lower it without affecting the handling ... shorter spring, softer spring, multi tension spring or can the spring mounting points be lowered etc. Does someone out there has the answer? No I do not want to wear platform boots or carry ladders etc.
SL: Series 'D' Enclosures Black Prince Seat Height
- Thread starter tom wilson
- Start date
I assume you lowered the stands by cutting a section out of the tubes. If so, by how much? If not, by what means?
Gary
Difficult one to answer as it varies but on the three I did I just made up little shoes on rod that goes inside the existing so you can juggle before light welding, on one we threaded so they are adjustable, it is only about 1/2" that we cut off at first.
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I am very pleased with my two AVO rear units one on my Comet and one on our twin racer The comet has a coil over on its Brampton as well but its not AVO (yet.) certainly its the best handling Comet (and I have had a few) I have ever ridden, and the twin has already proved itself.
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Interesting discussion. I moved many years ago from Series´C to Black Prince to get a taller bike which suits me better (long legs...).
I took my first short ride yesterday with the new AVO at the rear. It lowered the bike by about 1 1/4". I can now easily kick start it with my left foot on the ground and without the aid of a stand.
I believe I need to make some adjustments. It bottoms out on bumps a little too easily. I assume that can be corrected with the preload adjustment.
It also needs damping adjustments. After a bump, the rebound is not sufficiently damped which causes a second hop.
Does anyone here have suggestions about these issues? How much preload should I try first? It's rather cumbersome since it seems that I will have to remove the fuel tank, take a stab at the adjustment, replace the tank, test and so on. And how does one adjust the damping? The thing came with no instructions.
I have not decided yet whether I want to shorten the center stand. It's not too difficult to use it as is. Taking the bike off the stand is a little bothersome, especially if I do so while mounted. I'll give it some time to get used to it. Shortening the stand is pretty easy and not difficult to reverse if necessary.
Gary
I believe I need to make some adjustments. It bottoms out on bumps a little too easily. I assume that can be corrected with the preload adjustment.
It also needs damping adjustments. After a bump, the rebound is not sufficiently damped which causes a second hop.
Does anyone here have suggestions about these issues? How much preload should I try first? It's rather cumbersome since it seems that I will have to remove the fuel tank, take a stab at the adjustment, replace the tank, test and so on. And how does one adjust the damping? The thing came with no instructions.
I have not decided yet whether I want to shorten the center stand. It's not too difficult to use it as is. Taking the bike off the stand is a little bothersome, especially if I do so while mounted. I'll give it some time to get used to it. Shortening the stand is pretty easy and not difficult to reverse if necessary.
Gary
Gary, I have one of these coil over shocks fitted to my Series D Comet (replica), and although I did have to remove the seat and tank to initially fit the shock, you should not have to do any of that to change the preload or the damping settings, the preload should be accessible by lifting the seat up and using a C spanner (rather annoyingly sold separately) to adjust the threaded collar to compress the spring, the damping setting is just an Allen headed adjuster near the base of the unit, clockwise for more damping, anti clock for less.
I have to say it is a pretty fine balance to get it correct, I normally ride two up and in the end I requested a heavier spring and used it with very little preload, and I think with the damping on the max setting, works fine now, but can bottom out occasionally when working really hard, appalling roads etc. It is definitely superior to the standard Armstrong unit and also the Spax unit that came fitted to my bike, I would imagine the Works Performance one would have been a good one to have, sadly no longer available. We are lucky that AVO even bother, I doubt that it has even paid for itself yet, it probably never will.
I have to say it is a pretty fine balance to get it correct, I normally ride two up and in the end I requested a heavier spring and used it with very little preload, and I think with the damping on the max setting, works fine now, but can bottom out occasionally when working really hard, appalling roads etc. It is definitely superior to the standard Armstrong unit and also the Spax unit that came fitted to my bike, I would imagine the Works Performance one would have been a good one to have, sadly no longer available. We are lucky that AVO even bother, I doubt that it has even paid for itself yet, it probably never will.
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Hi Gary, the damping is adjusted with an Allen key applied to the adjustment screw at the bottom of the damper.
From memory, about 4 turns or 16 clicks total adjustment range. Don't force it!
Screwing it in stiffens the damping. I have not personally tested the D series units as I have a C, but you will probably find it is not excessively damped at maximum, so perhaps start there, then back off if required.
Ah, I see Peter is advising. Excellent!
From memory, about 4 turns or 16 clicks total adjustment range. Don't force it!
Screwing it in stiffens the damping. I have not personally tested the D series units as I have a C, but you will probably find it is not excessively damped at maximum, so perhaps start there, then back off if required.
Ah, I see Peter is advising. Excellent!
I'll give these adjustments a try. I may have a suitable C spanner. I'm still not sure I can get in there without removing the tank. The bike is a twin and it's pretty crowded in there but I'll give it a try.
Yes, the Thornton is pretty good but there's no facility for lowering the bike with it, so it will probably find its new home on the shelf with all those other used Vincent parts that will probably never be used but nevertheless refuse to leave the premises.
I'll report my findings.
Yes, the Thornton is pretty good but there's no facility for lowering the bike with it, so it will probably find its new home on the shelf with all those other used Vincent parts that will probably never be used but nevertheless refuse to leave the premises.
I'll report my findings.
UP-Date I have now ordered and paid for an AVO suspension unit (that was the hard part, ha ha). Hopefully my Prince will land in a couple of weeks, I shall measure the seat height before and after the AVO is fitted and report on here. Note: the rain will be guaranteed the day of my first planed ride but ...... who cares it is an enclosed 'D' ha ha. Thanks to all on the advice given.