To make a long storie short, i am talking to a friend who is thinking of buying a 2002 RM switch. I seem to remember hearing about breakage in the linkage/swingarm area and wanted to know if u guys had any recolection of this ( i will show him it after some replies...) and yes i tried a search and got one thing about a broken RM7 but that is it.
Broken Rockey Mountain Switch?
- Thread starter Red Bull
- Start date
the switch doesnt have the thrustlink suspension its got a 4 bar fsr style andi dont beleive theyve had any probs w/ it. the problem w/ the thrustlink is it puts alotta pressure on a lil dogbone in the suspension when it compresses and it breaks
they were fine problem was with 01/02 slayer and element chainstays at disc tabs
The '02 Switch was the old style I think which had a super high leverage ratio and was therefore prone to blowing shocks. They redesigned it in '03 or '04...
just a general question about leverage ratios, what's in the normal range, and what's considered to be lower/higher than normal?
thanks
thanks
The accepted "normal" is 3:1. Shocks are generally designed for that ratio. Lower is obviously anything under that, a lot of bikes run slightly higher ratios, anything above about 3.5:1 IMO is getting a bit risky. I believe some of the real old Rocky Mountains used to use 4:1 (didn't the RM6 use a 1.5" stroke shock?), and that's pretty f'd up.Superdeft said:
But yeah, do a search, there's a lot of info on it. Might be pretty hard to find though, because it's mentioned quite often.
Don't recall hearing about the '02s having breakage problems. I owned one for a year. Okay bike but there are many better options, the high leverage ratio makes for a harsh ride. I moved up to a Bullit and it just killed the Rocky.
Also, it is not an FSR. It's a single pivot with a linkage actuated shock.
Also, it is not an FSR. It's a single pivot with a linkage actuated shock.
There are at least two things to consider when analyzing a leverage ratio. Higher leverage ratios make a shock work harder and therefore the shock is more prone to not only blowing but also needing more routine maintenance. Higher leverage ratios also decrease the quality or feel of the travel. In bikes, 3:1 and lower is acceptable but many new bikes are using more appropriate ratios sometimes as low as 2:1. For instance my new Enduro uses a 2.5" stroke shock to achieve 6" inches of travel. This comes to a 2.4:1 leverage ratio. For off-road automotive applications nothing higher than 2:1 is acceptable and often 1:1 is used.
I think the older Switch was close to 4:1 in the long-travel setting.
I think the older Switch was close to 4:1 in the long-travel setting.
Red Bull said:
You waited less than 20 minutes and then posted again? :nuts:
And no I dont believe the switches had any breakage problems.