SHOWA made their European expo debut at EICMA this year and showed a range of new suspension options and technologies.
Highlights of the product launch were its ‘Balance Free Front Fork’, which the company says uses world-first technology consisting of a "balance-free structure with an inline piston unit, and a ‘Dual Bending Valve Front Fork’, employing a dual-bending valve structure".
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| Showa’s Balance Free Front fork has been designed to cure the issue of conventional dampers suffering from pressure balance fluctuation |
The Balance Free Front fork and matching BFRC lite (Balance Free Rear Cushion - lite) rear shock have been designed to cure the issue of conventional dampers suffering pressure balance fluctuation via the use of a new hydraulic circuit.
Showa has paid attention to the outside of the cylinder of the damping force generation mechanism on the compression and rebound sides to enable smooth and optimum oil flows. The company says that the resulting improvement in damping force responsiveness enables outstanding traction and absorption properties.
Showa’s Dual Bending Valve is claimed to achieve a performance level equivalent to that of a fork cartridge, which enables the company to offer innovative technology at a competitive price. It uses original technology developed by Showa (a claimed world-first) to provide linear damping characteristics in accordance with the stroke speed, while at the same time offering a weight reduction of 250g per unit compared to a conventional cartridge structure.
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| Showa claims its Dual Bending Valve fork technology is lighter than equivalent fork cartridges |
Further new products include the ‘SFF-BP lite’ (Separate Function front Fork with lite design Big Piston). It is a high-performance inverted front fork from the company’s Southeast Asian production facility, which makes it possible to offer the product at a competitive price. Fitting the damping force generation mechanism into one fork leg reduces the number of parts and the complexity of the design.
The ‘SFF’ (Separate Function front Fork) has been created for light motorcycles and small commuter models with engine displacement of 150cc or smaller.
SFF has a structure, with its spring reaction and damping force generation in tubes on either side, that reduces the number of parts and complexity. Using only one spring is said to reduce by half the sliding resistance with the inner tube, improving responsiveness and ride comfort.
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| The BFRC lite (Balance Free Rear Cushion - lite) rear shock is designed to complement Showa’s Balance Free Front fork |
SHOWA EUROPE
Martorellas, SPAIN
Tel: +34 93 565 6852
www.showa1.com
