SL: Series 'D' Enclosures Black Prince Seat Height

tom wilson

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
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.
 

timetraveller

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Gary I think that there is something wrong with you ideas about doing the adjustments. They are all near the lower end of the unit and nowhere near the top which is still not near the fuel tamk. The damping adjustment is a socket headed screw and the spring adjustment is with a ;C; spanner on the aluminium ring at the base of the spring. There is a plastic locking screw in the side of the aluminium ring which needs to be slackened first.
 

Gary Gittleson

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Norman,

I have to disagree. I think I can just see the damper adjuster at the base of the cylinder by peaking between the spring coils, but the spring preload adjuster is exactly as you describe but is located at the upper mounting end of the shock. Unless we are saying that I mounted it upside down? I just went by the diameter of the holes of the bushes. Maybe the bushes are interchangeable and were placed incorrectly by the factory. I'll have to check that. Of course, that means removing the shock altogether.
 

kerry

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Large adjuster at the bottom as is the small adjuster too. I have fitted 3 and they are excellent.
 

hadronuk

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Norman,

I have to disagree. I think I can just see the damper adjuster at the base of the cylinder by peaking between the spring coils, but the spring preload adjuster is exactly as you describe but is located at the upper mounting end of the shock. Unless we are saying that I mounted it upside down? I just went by the diameter of the holes of the bushes. Maybe the bushes are interchangeable and were placed incorrectly by the factory. I'll have to check that. Of course, that means removing the shock altogether.


Should look something like this Gary:

20181009_092742.jpg


Left hand end towards back wheel. According to my notes, the top pin is 1/2" diameter & the bottom pin 3/8" diameter.

HOWEVER
I seem to have no notes or pictures of the metal spacers, which as I recall are top hat shaped to keep them in place during fitting to the bike.
Apologies for my sketchy memory.
Perhaps a AVO D owner can advise details of these spacers?
 
Last edited:

Gary Gittleson

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Thanks for the picture, Hadronuk. Yes, I mounted it in reverse, following the pre-installed spacers or bushes.

Ah well, this is just practice, right? Some day we'll all be experts and won't need to do anything more than once.
 

hadronuk

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Just between you and me Gary, AVO are very nice people who have been extremely helpful,......but quality control is occasionally a little variable! We ended up developing a lot of different units for Vincents, all with slightly different fitting bushes. Units are produced in batches, so assembly may be given to someone new who has not done it before. So I am not very surprised your unit arrived with the spacer bushes assembled wrongly. Sorry!
 

vibrac

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
I am just about to take my rear coil over (today I hope) from the racer to the AVO counter to get a stronger spring and revalve the range (its at its stiffest maximum now) if possible in the time before the next race I will let you know how I get on
 

Gary Gittleson

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
I re-installed the damper yesterday. It went straight on in the reverse position after switching all the bushes. I checked the valve adjustment. It was one click in from the softest. I am going to try it at 15 clicks in. I did not change the preload yet, thinking that additional damping might be all I need. I realize that there's more damping on the rebound, but there's probably some on the compression stroke too. I'll let you know how it works later today.
 

timetraveller

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Others with the AVO damper on the rear of 'D's are better informed than I am but extrapolating from experience with the coil overs on the rear of 'B's and 'C's I think you will find that you now have too much damping. Good luck. Chris Launders made a very handy gadget to sort out the difference between spring and damper effects. He made a telescopic tube that would sit alongside the coil over unit and then put a cable tie round that telescopic unit. This allowed him to see how much of the travel the spring was allowing as opposed to the damper.
 
Top