Yamaha Develops Chassis Vibration Damper

[Administrator]

Original Article:
Yamaha Develops Chassis Vibration Damper

Please discuss the Motorcycle.com article Yamaha Develops Chassis Vibration Damper in our Motorcycle Forums below. Use the reply button to let others know your comments or feedback on the article. Constructive criticism is always appreciated, along with your thoughts and personal opinions on the bikes and products we have tested.

[The_AirHawk]

I thought they already had something like this - called 'em "Chakra-absorabers" or "Shockers" or "Wetters" or "Dampers" or somthin' like that, didn't they?

[sarnali2]

Well there goes the female market.....It's back to Sporters ladies.....

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by The_AirHawk

I thought they already had something like this - called 'em "Chakra-absorabers" or "Shockers" or "Wetters" or "Dampers" or somthin' like that, didn't they?

It seems like a way to exploit tuned flex while controlling the rebounding of the flex. Kinda clever, in concept at least. I'll believe it more when I see it in MotoGP.

[pplassm]

Ah, but it's not performance related. It's a COMFORT accessory, so it will never see racing use, will it?

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by pplassm

Ah, but it's not performance related. It's a COMFORT accessory, so it will never see racing use, will it?

Now it's about comfort and a scooter, but from hearing the concept defined, I could imagine its application in racing.

For decades now, GP engineers have been experimenting with a certain amount of flex in frames because a suspension can't do much to absorb bumps when a bike is at a 50-degree lean angle - the forces are in a different alignment than the suspension is at when leaned over. In a performance application, this could allow a frame to be tuned for flexing while being able to absorb the sudden rebound from the bending metal chassis.

There seems to be a dearth of new ways to build a chassis for a racebike, but this might allow some real innovation. We'll see.

[Morbo the Destroyer]

This is really interesting, but I'm trying to visualize how it works. If the flex is along the perimeter beams of the frame, then it seems you'd have one along each side, longitudinally. But if the flex is between the "fork" that the frame beams creates, there would be one horizontally between the beams.

This is cool stuff. Harley riders have needed this for years!

[Buzglyd]

Originally Posted by Morbo the Destroyer

This is really interesting, but I'm trying to visualize how it works. If the flex is along the perimeter beams of the frame, then it seems you'd have one along each side, longitudinally. But if the flex is between the "fork" that the frame beams creates, there would be one horizontally between the beams.

This is cool stuff. Harley riders have needed this for years!

A 50 degree lean angle on a Harley is called "layin' her down."

[Administrator]

Here's a picture of the Yamaha Performance Damper for automobiles that the Power Beam is based on.

IMG_9018 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


-MO news monkey

[The_AirHawk]

Originally Posted by Administrator

Here's a picture of the Yamaha Performance Damper for automobiles that the Power Beam is based on.

IMG_9018 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


-MO news monkey

WRC/ Pro-Rally fan, news monkey? The Wife and I do a bit of Control Worker Volunteering on the side.

Nothin' like gettin' pelted with rocks from Block or Pastrana as they scream by you at a hunnert-plus on some backroad in the middle of the sticks! (well, other than mebbe gettin' pelted by bits of molten-rubber by a pre-MotoGP-Haydn just off the carousel at PPIR!)

One can infer from this pic that the new damper will likely be mounted transversely. Makes sense, with a machine leaned-over hard and what was once "horizontal" is now a substantial-way toward "vertical".