Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Curnutt Shocks A New Approach To Suspension ~ By Rus s Dar nell . . ~ In the areas ot dirt r iding, like desert, scrambles, motocross, and enduros, suspension Is the keynote to traveling fast across rough terrain. In the old days of r igid fr a mes , the speeds were neces sarily slow compared to our present day ' s wlnlng arm equipped machines. There have been many Innovations In s uspen s ion in the last 10 to 15 years ; better telescopic for ks , neater fr ame geometry, s tronger ' hubs and wheels, and new designs In sh ock absorbers for the r ear. In the last category, there have been few dramatic changes In the design of dampening units for the rear ot motorcycl es for so me time. Shock absorber developme nt has hi t a plateau , and that brings us to the subject ot this tes t report: the Curnutt shoc k. This pair of experimental 8" travel rear shocks fitted to a 250 Husky gives the rear wheel the ClOund following ability of the fron t wheel. I The Cur nutt shock Is manufactured by - through the se horribly rough areas at a Charles Curnutt otTorrance,'Callfornla, higher rate ot speed without bein g pounded to death like the other r iders! We and It Is a huge departur e fr om a normal shock absorber. Chuck's unit Is dlt ferproved this to be true In successive raeent enough In principle and design to have es where we again checked my tim es to enabled the Inventor/manufacturer to those of top riders. obtain a patent (Pending) on nearly every The actual construction ot the Cur nutt piece that goes Into the assembly. shock Is excellent as only the best rnaAs you probably already know, after a terlals are used throughout. The dampenshor t time In the des er t or on a motoIng r od Is stainless steel, the main body, cross circuit your shocks will "sack out" and mounting eyes are all made ot 4130 or collapse, l! your springs are strong (chrome molly) steel. The dampening enough to take the beating, the damper s valves and spring clips are li ght alloy and the springs are cons tan t- r ate Items themselves will soon fall to function properly. What do you do when a normal that are guaranteed not to sack out or . shock wears out ? Throw It away and buy sag. Because ot the long travel ot the a new set, right ? That Is the old way ot Cur nutt _shocks, the spr ing rates are doing thin gs. The Curn utt shock has a extremely sott at 55 Ibs , Thi s Is the new approach. They "never" wear out. softest spring us ed on any shock availThe only par ts subject to wear are the able that I know ot, and It makes for a three s ealing componen ts : that Is , one very comfor table ride. Mos t shocks on seal at the top, and two O-rings used on the market now have cente r rods ot 1/ 4" the dampening valves. A set ot seals las t to 3/8" and are easy to bend In competia minimum ot six months, and the cos t non, The Curnutt units feature a stalnot the three r eplacement parts Is $1.00. less steel rod that Is a full 1/2" In As the units are ea sy to disassemble (a dia meter. complete set of inexpensive spec ial tools The whole principle ot the Cur nutt Is offered but not required for repair) _ shock Is different fr om either types. all work can be done In your owngarage. Other. shocks are des igned to give a: good dampening action to s mooth the rough out I can personally attest to the fact that the shocks are nearly unbreakable, as I r an to a ce r tain extent, and to pr ovide the rider with as much directional control one s et In Europe all year long without changing s eals, ' and without any trouble as possible, but they are lacldng becaus e whats oever . they only dampen at one speclt lc rate. The European circuit are gener ally The Cur nutt' s on the other hand, are demuch longer and rougher than our own s igned to provide multiple dam penin g s o tracks so suspension gets a tremendous that ALL types of bumps are compenwork out. All year long I saw other rldsated for. ers forced out ot the competition because The main Idea of the shock Is to keep ot a broken shock or collapsed spring, the rear wheel on the ground as much of and when you are riding for money or for the time as possible, for every second Wor ld Championship points this can be a that the wheelis bouncing It Is not drtvreal disaster . My wile timed me through Ing the ma chine for war d. The Curnutt's many sections on various courses to succeed In this aspect to the tune ot a hel p me Improve my lap ti mes. She also least 40% more rear-wheel-to-groundtimed som e ot the top riders to make a tim e, and thi s mean s 40% more traction. comparison through the same given sec This Increase Is greatiy notlcabie at the tions. She noted that my ti mes wer e start line, and especially exciting corquicker In some ot the very roughest ners where you can get the power on sections. I would love to have been able sooner I have found them to b t to attribute the faster times to only m y · e a grea riding ability, but I couldn 't. The fact of benefit In the mud In Europe also, where traction is severely limited. It was that my Curnutt shocks with their longer travel, better dampening, and Many people look at the price ot the extra strength, enabled me to force Curnutt shock and turn away, but I think e, £ o o It looksfairly simple when It' s knocked down. . Chuck C...nutt has patents pend ing on almost every piece used In the assembly. It Is more logical to buy one set ot shocks for $39.95 and use them for 2 or 3 years, than to buy four s ets per year at $25.00 a pair. l!, In reading this article, you get the Idea that I am prejudiced toward Curnutt shocks , you're right. I am. I have tried EVERY make of shock r could, and In my op1n1on, the Cur nutt 's outperform all the others by a significant margin. I am leaving shortly to return to Europe for ' another season of International motocross. I am already packed and ready to go, and one of the very first things the customs officials are going to see when they open one of my suitcase Is a pair ot bright, dazzling red motorcycle shocksl Wisconsin P ·asses L a n d m. a rk Legislat ion For the past year Wisconsin motorcyclists have been working with the State Legislature and Department of Natural Resources for the adoption ot a motorcycle outdoor recreation program. The Department ot Natural Resources assisted with the 1n1t1al writing of the bill. Mor e than 2() Assemblymen cosponso r ed the le gislation when It was Introduce d Into 'the lower house of the legislature. After so me minor revisions and amendments the bill, known as M.O.R.P . or 139-A passed with little difficulty• Although a companion bill had been Introduced into the upper house ot the Legislature It was decided that the Ass embly bill would be moved dir ec tly to the Senate thus avoiding unnecessary delays . Probably the most diffic ult task that faced pr oponents of M.O.R.P. was pullIng the bill out of committe e and on to the Senate floor for consideration. Compounding this problem was the myrld of' controversial legislation bein g cons ider ed by this ses s ion of the Legis la ture. In • the final week of the scheduled session M.O.R.P. was' brought out of committee and when voted on - was passed unanimously. All that's needed to make M.O.R.P. a reality Is the Governors' signature. Basic provisions are as follows . 1. A two dollar Increase In license fees (motor cycl e) . 2. Transfer ot this two dollars from the Dept. ot Transportation to the Dept. of Natural ·Resources. 3. The two dollars must be used for the establishment and operation of motorcycle recreation areas. 4. An advisory council composed ot a cr os s s ection of persons Inte r es ted In motorcycling will be appointed by the Natural Resources Board. The responsibility ot this Council w1ll be to guide the Dept. of Na tural Resourc es In the development of a motorcycle recreation program . An objection that has been expressed by many road riders Is that they, by . licensing their bikes, will be providing recreation areas for people who ride (213) 894-9218 IMI~~ WA R E WILSON MOTORS RN MOTORCYCll 5t.Ll5-51RVICI Inc. Air Fare C II Assoc. Trawe' S.rYlc.s . 213-122-5243 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO With proper guidance and administration this program can result In benefits to the entire universe of motorcyclists; road riders, dirt riders, club members, Independents, and anyone else that enjoys motorcycling and being with motorcyclis ts . MOTo-X ACCESSORIES , . lic•• Diy. & C,d. Dlst. CO. 1223 Ave. I Lancaster 500 BraHway St.. Vallejo, Cal. 94590 180 51 942-9624 AU orders shipped same day SO uth o f ~ordorr in Sepulveda , CaIil . 9000 SEPULVEDA BLVD. Magic Week in Hawaii $269 unlicensed machines. This Is a mrs• understanding that should be corrected immediately: 1: Motorcycle recreation areas can ac. commodate all cyclists. Picnics, club , .rallies, group camping, and a host ot • -other activities could potentially be provided on these areas. 2. Most "Operators of dirt bikes also own road machines or license their dirt bikes• • S. Separate faclllties can be developed for both road r iders and dirt riders. It Is r ea dily admitted that the off the road rider will probably mak e greater use of-these areas than the road rider. However, It Is unfair ·to claim that the road rider will be cheated or Ignored by this new pr ogram. After all, the dirt r ider who burns a mlnlmum ot 12 gallons of gas Is payi ng approximately two dollars In road taxes; for roads he's not using. Torque A NYMODEL. SUL.T~C:O ------ urSWEPT, TUNED UPANSION C HAMBEllS. COMPLETE .,TH , BUI IT-IN HEAT .SHIELD. BOLT ON - N ODlflU TlONS OM IlEQUltED. $39.95 T .N .T . RTE. 1, 12IB, McMINNVILLE, ORE. !lUI