Ever see a chopper with a leaf spring rear end? (XS650)

ChopperCharles

Active Member
I was digging through old photos, and found this bike from my 2012 trip to Charleston, SC. I've never seen anything quite like it, and except for the fact it's an XS650, I really dig it! I love unique chops, and this is visually stunning (at least to me). I wonder how it handles...


Charles.
 

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To me it looks "Hodge Podge" with the modern forks.
I would've followed the theme up front with a leaf sprung fork.
Something like this...
MontgomeryMotorcycleCo_18-770x512.jpg
 
charles the geometry of the rear hoop and the leaf spring does not allow the swing arm to move

its a hardtail very unusually done

you can compress the leaf spring in direct compression it would have to break to compress

but its neat
 
Isn't the spring mounted to te frame? If so, it will move but without any form of damping (other than leaf friction) it would be very ....interesting?
 
Spring is mounted to the frame, not the swingarm. If you look, you can see the spring mounted to a piece of metal that takes a sharp turn towards the front of the bike. The leaf itself is attached to that piece of metal, and to the upper mount above the fender. It was definitely not a hard tail, it appears to be an operational suspension.


Charles.
 
Also, if you look at the two photos that show the spring up close, you can see a bolt that is contacting that bent area. I'm wondering if that bolt is to adjust the ride height. It's not really doing anything else, sitting there...

Charles.
 
it will apply way more compression than forward arc

the arc of travel is way off
 
Yep, it's weird enough to get talked about. Pretty sure the operating rods will break as suspension operation is going to try and bend them. Should have had pivots on swing arm so they can change position as suspension moves. As is, suspension movement is trying to straighten spring (push upwards) rather than 'bend' it as in normal operation (I know I didn't explain that very well :-[ )
One thing that is very noticeable, the cheap pods are distorted because they cant flow enough so get 'compressed' by atmospheric pressure
 
Indian and a couple of others used leaf spring rear suspension around 1912 - 1914.
The springs were basically parallel to the ground, like the quarter elliptic car springs of the day. Google 1914 Indian and you'll probably see a photo.
I don't have a clue as to how well (or not) the spring on the bike in your photos works or how it is damped.
Indian also used leaf springs for the front suspension. My Dad's '39 Indian four had a trailing link leaf spring girder fork and except for limited wheel travel and the fact that the friction shock provided the same damping on compression and rebound (not your optimum set up), worked well enough for all that.
Pat
 
pacomotorstuff said:
Indian and a couple of others used leaf spring rear suspension around 1912 - 1914.
The springs were basically parallel to the ground, like the quarter elliptic car springs of the day. Google 1914 Indian and you'll probably see a photo.
I don't have a clue as to how well (or not) the spring on the bike in your photos works or how it is damped.
Indian also used leaf springs for the front suspension. My Dad's '39 Indian four had a trailing link leaf spring girder fork and except for limited wheel travel and the fact that the friction shock provided the same damping on compression and rebound (not your optimum set up), worked well enough for all that.
Pat

There ya go Pat.
 

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Surprisingly, Kawasaki tested leaf spring on it's MX bike (I forget when, 15~20 yrs ago?)
It put hell of a strain on frame though and several bikes broke in two (it is possible to go too far 'lghtening' the frame)
 
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