Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125972
#3 Bilstein gas/o il r trav el ! 1 ,heat dissipati o n I DG'S NEW PIPE I tra vel I ..heat d issipat ion I , -L I ' nitrogen ... ( in oil . ' ~ ..L Girling . . . ' . I 'lhe 'Capied DDB THE DG TORQUER FOR HONDA CR125 Don 't be taken by counterfe it copies .. . get the original from DG ! ~ gas charged ike aGP machine some way of keeping the air in the shock separated from the oil to prevent foaming. This was done by designing a mo no t ub e shock with a floating seal bet ween the oil chamber and a ch amb er of pressur ized nitrogen gas (Diagram No.3). Nitrogen is used in a ll pressurized systems, ra ther than plain air, be cause it is a plen t iful, inexp ensive gas t hat d oe sn 't h ave th e co rrosive propert ies 0 f air. T he ad van tages of the Bils t ein gas/oil type of shock o ver th e regular twin tub e oil shock ' are obvious. With the gas separated from the oil , foaming rio longer occurs and damping remains constant. Heat dissipation is also better, to the point that the shock can easily withstand a 45 minute moto in Grand Prix competition, w ithout damage , while used in an LTR system. So fter spring rates can also be used because the pressurized nitrogen helps to push the shock open. Handling is even improved because the flo ating sea l can react quicker to small bumps and jolts th an a d ampin g piston, which has to force its way through oi l. The Bilstein sh ock has two minor disadvantages over regular twin tube shocks. The fir st is that the seal between the ni tr ogen and the oil can go bad , and once it does leak th e shock is no longer good. In most cases t ho ugh, reliability is good and y o u can expect a pair to last through a season of ro ugh competition. The o th er disadvan tage is that they are expen sive to manufacture , and a p air w ill cost yo u around $ 110. Wh en compared t o a set of tricked -out Ko nis though , they aren 't any more expensive and they do perform better. Team Bultaco is presentlyusing Bilstein shocks on their bikes . The rad ically simple gas-charged Girl ing Girling has always worked closely with Husqvarna and when Husky brought out their new cantilevered rear sus pe nsion GP b ike , Husky asked them to develop a new shock which would work even better t han the Bilstein , or at least be less expensive and a little more reliable. The resulting shock absorber which Girling built is almost too simple, too rel iab le , and w orks too well t o believe t hat no on e else had t h o ught of it soo ner . These are the shocks wh ich Hei kk i Mik kola used t o w in the World Ch ampionship and are now ava ilable on J the 1975 mo d el production CR Huskys . Not once did these new Girlings fail on the Gra nd Prix circuit , with Arne Kring using one set for 22 motos before they were routinely replaced. The new Girling is a gas -charged , monotube shock, using nitrogen as the gas which has been pressurized into th e shock oil (Diagram No.3) . T he effect is somewhat like carbonated water. By this ingenious way of pre -foaming the oil an d adjusting the d am p in g to sui t, da m p in g " will re main co nsta nt no mat t er how fast the shock is wor king. Sim ilar in constructi o n t o a Curnutt shock whi ch isn't gas charged , th e Girling h as several advantages o ver even th e Bilstein, Am ong the advantages ar e the lack of a floating seal which m ak es the Girlin g much more reliable . With a larg er o il ca pacity , he at dissip at ion is better. Also, b ecause there is n o floating sea l and separate gas cham ber, th e Girlirig's d amp ing ro d ca n be m ad e longer fo r a co m parab le sh ock length Bilstein, meaning t he Gir ling can b e mounted so it wo n 't have t o work as hard to give the same am oun t of rear wh e el travel. Th is me an s mo re reliab ility , and Husky eve n convinced Girling to ma ke the d am p in g rods t hic ker a n d stronger o n t he new gas-charged sh o cks . For 1975, Girlin g's total productio n of th e new gas-c harged sho ck s will go to Husqvarna. These shocks will be 12-3 / 4 inches lo ng to fi t Husky's.ccantilevered GP frame. Fo r tunately though , this is the right length fo r most b ike s with L TR and mod ified sta n dard suspensions . The only problem is tryin g to ' ge t a se t of these shocks, b ecause product ion will be lim it ed at fi s t, Other r lengths' will be available next y ea r fo r almost all b ikes , and they will be made more gen eral ly availab le. T he ni cest thing is that the gas -char ged Girlin gs won't be very expensive , selling fo r ab out $5 0 a pair. With the ava ilab ilit y of the gas/oil Bilsteins and the gas-charged Girlings , it's possib le fo r you to have a motocross bike t hat handles as well as any bike O Il the Grand Prix circ uit . What's even better is t he fact that they 'll j ust b ol t up to yo ur bike , an d th ey'll provid e the solution to th e LTR prob lem . T he fact th at they are even lighter' and more re li able then Honda and Yamaha's system, and less expensive , will make th ese the best shocks o n the market for the serious motocrosser , • The newest, most advanced Expansion Chamber on the -market. This p ipe is so fantastic othe rs are already copying it. Rugged 18g steel, we lded for maximum strength. The NEW TORQUER is a furt her development of the p ipe that DG introduced last year . ,.. but w ith even better performance. 1975 ilaak af 'lricks-81DD Hot off the press! DG's NEW CAT AL6G • Or der yours today! WORN BY CHAMPIONS KEN MAELY STEEL SHOES SINCE 1950 AM aely shoe has been worn and proven by all the National No.1 riders since 1952. Top riders of 6 countries are now wearing one. National No. ' aely Shoe for 20 years. It has been 10 Neil Keen has worn the same M hardfaced 4 times. Ask the rider whowears one. ' 14 " & 1." BOOTS $4&.00 STEEL SHOE $40.00 Plus co 0 & Postage OtherAetessories including seats, hubs, rims,disc brakes. . Route 2 Box 75B, 8530 Bedford M otor Way, Cor ona, CA 91720 To Order: Send boot or cardboard copy of sale Or: See Ken at your local race track Or: Can for appointment at shop - 714·735-0540 BUDDHA enterprises th e West's most aggressive dealer " T ry us - We can beat a n\, legiti ma t e d ea l" 10 :00 /5 :30 Closed Sund ay 8. Mo nday 10960 Hole Avenue, R ive"ide , CA 92505 714-689-3166 y~ ~ THE ~. INTERAMA WINNER MACHINES THAT WIN AT COMPETITIVE PRICES Coast Moto Cycle 2334 Newport Blvd . Costa Mesa, CA 92627 714-645-8008 Barstow to Vegas action photos Ph t05 t ak en 12 miles pa st Ba ker (Hallon Springs Rd J. 1st 500 b ikes photographed in B&W and Color. send us y o ur b ik e numb er and we will mail y ou a free sample phet o and order form fo r enl argement s. Ji m Steaffens. Pho tographer . 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