Introducing: Your rear suspension: Difference between revisions

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====Parts====

This view is from the left side of the bike, so the front is at the left side of the picture, and the rear at the right.

This view is from the left side of the bike, so the front is at the left side of the picture and the rear at the right.

* The thing that looks like a shock absorber is, ummm... a shock absorber. Its main job is to keep your rear tire on the road (the fork springs do the same thing up front). When a bump forces the tire up, the shock sends it back down. This is a delicate balancing act. ~~Too~~ much ~~downward force and the ride becomes harsh;~~ too little and the ride ~~is too soft, making handling poor and bottoming out the shock~~.

* The thing that looks like a shock absorber is, ummm... a shock absorber. Its main job is to keep your rear tire on the road (the fork springs do the same thing up front). When a bump forces the tire up, the shock sends it back down. This is a delicate balancing act. If the wheel moves too much, or too little, it won't have proper contact with the ground and traction will suffer. Both are bad, but thankfully there's a fairly wide margin of "good enough", although it does get more narrow the faster you ride.

* The black piece with everything connected to it is the frame. This is what nearly everything on your motorcycle is connected to. It supports the forks, the engine, the seat, and, of course, the rear suspension.

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* The long, rectangular thing attached to the frame is the swingarm. The Ninja 250 has a double-sided swingarm, so there is one piece on each side of the rear wheel. The wheel attaches to the swingarm via the slot at the rear. The [[Servicing the swingarm|swingarm pivot]] is where the swingarm attaches to the frame.

* The ~~elbow-shaped piece at~~ the ~~bottom is the [[Uni Trak Shock Linkage Lubrication|Uni Trak~~ shock linkage~~]] ('rocker arm'). This is~~ the ~~part that connects~~ the ~~frame~~, tie rods (dogbones~~) and rear shock together~~.

* The diagonal bits running from the shock linkage to the swingarm, making an indirect connection between the shock and the wheel, are the tie-rods, or 'dogbones'. There is one on each side.

* The ~~last~~ piece is the ~~diagonal bit running from the~~ shock linkage to the ~~swingarm~~, ~~making an indirect connection between the shock and the wheel. These are the~~ tie-rods~~, or '~~dogbones'. ~~There~~ is ~~one on each side~~.

* The elbow-shaped piece at the bottom is the [[Uni Trak Shock Linkage Lubrication|Uni Trak shock linkage]] ('rocker arm'). This is the part that connects the frame, tie rods (dogbones) and rear shock together. The rocker arm is there so the rear shock will have more travel before transferring any bumps to the frame (which is bad). This provides for better handling and comfort.

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 ====Parts====
-This view is from the left side of the bike, so the front is at the left side of the picture, and the rear at the right.
+This view is from the left side of the bike, so the front is at the left side of the picture and the rear at the right.
-* The thing that looks like a shock absorber is, ummm... a shock absorber. Its main job is to keep your rear tire on the road (the fork springs do the same thing up front). When a bump forces the tire up, the shock sends it back down. This is a delicate balancing act. Too much downward force and the ride becomes harsh; too little and the ride is too soft, making handling poor and bottoming out the shock.
+* The thing that looks like a shock absorber is, ummm... a shock absorber. Its main job is to keep your rear tire on the road (the fork springs do the same thing up front). When a bump forces the tire up, the shock sends it back down. This is a delicate balancing act. If the wheel moves too much, or too little, it won't have proper contact with the ground and traction will suffer.  Both are bad, but thankfully there's a fairly wide margin of "good enough", although it does get more narrow the faster you ride.
 * The black piece with everything connected to it is the frame. This is what nearly everything on your motorcycle is connected to. It supports the forks, the engine, the seat, and, of course, the rear suspension.
@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 * The long, rectangular thing attached to the frame is the swingarm. The Ninja 250 has a double-sided swingarm, so there is one piece on each side of the rear wheel. The wheel attaches to the swingarm via the slot at the rear. The [[Servicing the swingarm|swingarm pivot]] is where the swingarm attaches to the frame.
-* The elbow-shaped piece at the bottom is the [[Uni Trak Shock Linkage Lubrication|Uni Trak shock linkage]] ('rocker arm'). This is the part that connects the frame, tie rods (dogbones) and rear shock together.
+* The diagonal bits running from the shock linkage to the swingarm, making an indirect connection between the shock and the wheel, are the tie-rods, or 'dogbones'. There is one on each side.
-* The last piece is the diagonal bit running from the shock linkage to the swingarm, making an indirect connection between the shock and the wheel. These are the tie-rods, or 'dogbones'. There is one on each side.
+* The elbow-shaped piece at the bottom is the [[Uni Trak Shock Linkage Lubrication|Uni Trak shock linkage]] ('rocker arm'). This is the part that connects the frame, tie rods (dogbones) and rear shock together. The rocker arm is there so the rear shock will have more travel before transferring any bumps to the frame (which is bad). This provides for better handling and comfort.