HP Velotechnik trikes - Manual (Page 77)

73
Handling instructions
Front suspension elements
Adjusting and maintenance on the front
suspension of Scorpion fs, Scorpion fs 26
/Enduro /S-Pedelec, Scorpion plus 20
and Scorpion plus 26
Danger! While adjusting the
front suspension, never load the tricycle,
e.g. by resting on the seat or loading the
racks when your hands or tools are close
to the suspension struts. Your hands may
be bruised when the suspension com-
presses.
Full suspended tricycles of HP V
ELOTECHNIK
are equipped with a suspended front axle. It is
designed as a so called McPherson strut. That
means, the left (or right) suspension strut's
upper end is supported in the frame while it is
linked to a single wishbone on its bottom end.
The front wheel is directly attached to the
suspension strut, which is the knuckle at the
same time.
Inside the suspension strut a steel spring is
combined with MCU-elastomers. The front
suspension is damped by friction between
stanchion tube and a circular elastomer band
situated between the bushings as well as by
friction inside the elastomers.
To decrease body roll in during fast cornering
and to provide high comfort at the same time,
the front axle is equipped with a stabilizer bar.
This bar is linked elastically with both
wishbones and the main frame. As the stabi-
lizer bar works as a torsional spring, it sup-
ports the outside wheel's suspension while
cornering.
For maximum comfort, 30% of the suspension
travel should be used when you sit on your
tricycle in a normal driving position (the same
is valid for the rear suspension). For the Scor-
pion fs 26 front suspension, this means 20 mm
of travel (so called "sag").
Your tricycle has reached a sag of 20 mm
when the upper edge of the knuckle which
you can feel underneath the shock boot coin-
cides with the lower edge of the head tubes
of the main frame. You can fine tune this sag
according to your weight and your additional
luggage by adjusting the preload of the springs.
To change the spring rate in a wider range,
you can replace the steel spring or inter-
change elastomers and spacers inside the sus-
pension struts. For further instructions, please
see the chapter "Adjusting the suspension" on
page 65
To adjust the preload of the front suspension,
unscrew the strut end cap using a hex key size
5. Now the preload adjuster is visible, which
can be turned by a hex key size 5, too.
Turn the preload adjuster counter clockwise
to decrease preload, turn it clockwise to in-
crease preload. The maximum depth is lim-
ited, so stop turning when resistance rises
suddenly. After adjusting, place the cap on the
strut and tighten it gently (1-2Nm).
Hex head screw for adjustment of the pre-load for the
spring inside the knuckle