Shock Absorber Bump Stops

[Bainzy]

On my Spitfire's front shocks, there isn't much travel before the body of the shock absorber hits the rubber bump stop. When I had the front end a bit lower down (these are Gaz with adjustable spring seat btw), they were just hitting the stops all the time and the ride became really harsh.

Could these bump stops perhaps be interchanged with slightly smaller ones? Has anyone else noticed this issue? They're about an inch thick at least so reduce quite a bit of shock travel if you're setting the spring seats lower.

[starman]

1381 wrote:

On my Spitfire's front shocks, there isn't much travel before the body of the shock absorber hits the rubber bump stop. When I had the front end a bit lower down (these are Gaz with adjustable spring seat btw), they were just hitting the stops all the time and the ride became really harsh.

Could these bump stops perhaps be interchanged with slightly smaller ones? Has anyone else noticed this issue? They're about an inch thick at least so reduce quite a bit of shock travel if you're setting the spring seats lower.

Unfortunately that's an issue with the GAZ front dampers--their bodies are rather long so that when you use them in a lowered setup you end up with inadequate bump travel.

You can try trimming or replacing the existing rubber bump stop, but that will only buy you a little.  The motion at the wheel you gain is about twice the amount you trim off the bump stop, due to the geometrical effect of the suspension.  An expensive alternative is to go with different dampers that have a shorter body and thus will permit more bump travel.  I have some suggestions--let me know if you want-

-Paul

[Bainzy]

Thanks Paul, glad it's not just me then. I think I'll be okay sticking with them as I can live with a slightly increased right height - I think it actually looks a little better visually and there's less bump steer now (never got round to shimming the rack).