rear suspension linkage

[paul8899]

hello,

Im currently messing around with a mito and I am in need of some help with the rear swingarm/linkage. On the mito the rocker arm sits on the top of the swingarm,if I was to move the arm up (by fitting a different swingarm) would this alter the way the linkage works with the length of travel etc ?

I have made a rough set up of how the mounting point goes on the new arm and if I measure the amount of travel used , it is less if I don't use the rocker arm, is this normal or am I just wasting my time trying this. Also, would it be possible to get a shock made that could be used without a linkage ?

thanks,

frustrated in the shed

[RonniB]

Have you tried the tony foale software, it should be able to tell you what you want to know.

A direct action shock can be made, but it will need to have stroke just as long as the wheels desired travel, so it will be long and difficult to fit neatly.

For example, the shock on my bike is 310mm in overall lenght and has a stroke of 45mm, so if you like about 120mm of rear wheel travel, you are looking on a shock at approx 400mm lenght. But I know Nitron will do custom lenghts and fittings.

Ronni

[Kayla]

For example, the shock on my bike is 310mm in overall lenght and has a stroke of 45mm, so if you like about 120mm of rear wheel travel, you are looking on a shock at approx 400mm lenght. But I know Nitron will do custom lenghts and fittings.

Ronni

If the shock is mounted 1/4 of the way along the swingarm, then the shock's stroke will only need to be 1/4 (ish) of the desired wheel travel. KTM crossers have (or had) a directly mounted shock and the shocks on those don't have a 300mm stroke.

[cagimaha]

Common mod for the mito is to use an RGV250 rear shock and flip the linkage round. With a bit of playing there are actually a few different linkage ratios you can get out of the standard mito setup buy flipping the linkage front/back and top/bottom to suit different back shocks.

[paul8899]

Common mod for the mito is to use an RGV250 rear shock and flip the linkage round. With a bit of playing there are actually a few different linkage ratios you can get out of the standard mito setup buy flipping the linkage front/back and top/bottom to suit different back shocks.

I did think that the linkage was the wrong way round, I would of thought that the shorter half would be the bit that moved the shock cos it has less movement.

[cagimaha]

I've just been out to check and the standard setup has the linkage "V" shaped (as opposed to ^ shaped) and has the shorter section moving the shock. My setup has an RGV250 shock (VJ22 but they all fit just the later ones have more adjustability) with the linkage reversed so it's still "V" shaped but the longer section moves the shock. This provides a net increase in ride height even though the RGV shock is slightly shorter. Looking back at what I've just written I realise it doesn't really make too much sense , I'll see if I can get some photos...

[paul8899]

I've just been out to check and the standard setup has the linkage "V" shaped (as opposed to ^ shaped) and has the shorter section moving the shock. My setup has an RGV250 shock (VJ22 but they all fit just the later ones have more adjustability) with the linkage reversed so it's still "V" shaped but the longer section moves the shock. This provides a net increase in ride height even though the RGV shock is slightly shorter. Looking back at what I've just written I realise it doesn't really make too much sense , I'll see if I can get some photos...

aah, you mean that the rocker arm is turned 180' round ? some pictures would help though I need some pics so I can position the new mount on the arm ( which will hopefully be in the right place ) with the correct ride height.

I have scaled a few pictures of mitos and the distance between the swingarm pivet and wheel spindle is 4" , is this what you have ?

Can you also measure the distance from the bottom of the headstock to the front wheel spindle please ? , just so I have a rough idea on geometry, Thanks

[cagimaha]

The linkage in mine is 180 degrees round from standard but only because I have the RGV shock fitted. I'll get the pics and measurements sorted for you but just a word of warning, they will be different from standard because of the different forks/shock I'm using. Both of the suspension mods I've done have been done by plenty of other people and in my opinion it now handles almost perfectly. I'll get you the measurements and pics and then you can make your own mind up, I didn't realise until I parked it next to a standard mito how much taller it sits and how much stiffer the shocks/forks are though.

[paul8899]

The linkage in mine is 180 degrees round from standard but only because I have the RGV shock fitted. I'll get the pics and measurements sorted for you but just a word of warning, they will be different from standard because of the different forks/shock I'm using. Both of the suspension mods I've done have been done by plenty of other people and in my opinion it now handles almost perfectly. I'll get you the measurements and pics and then you can make your own mind up, I didn't realise until I parked it next to a standard mito how much taller it sits and how much stiffer the shocks/forks are though.

Thanks for that, its just so I can get some reference measurements. I don't want to go to all the trouble of getting the r6 arm to fit and then bugger it up if the mount is in the wrong place.

I was talking to the guy who has the yagiva that was in pb a while ago and I realised that the mito engine uses the swingarm spindle as a mount,looks like I'll have to do some more cutting out on the arm to fit the new engine mount. On a plus note we got some new 3d cad software at work yesterday so you can guess what I'm practising on and I "found" some stainless tube today, I reckon that theres just about enough to make a rear subframe