Blog 4 - Suspension demonstration videos
by Al HalfakerIn the last three blog entries, I told you who I am (see Blog 1 - Birth of the permanent bump test track), what I'm doing (see Blog 2 - Bump Course Design) and what I'm trying to show you (see Blog 3 - Independent vs. coupled suspensions). In this entry, I'll be delivering on my promise and actually show you why TeamFAST's suspension design is the best in the industry.
Below are freeze frame pictures with detailed explanations below each picture explaining the mechanical difference between the two types of suspensions and why they perform so differently over the 11.5” bump. (Click pictures to enlarge)
Freeze frame images
| Coupled M-20 Airwave Suspension w/ 121" track | Independent Ski Doo suspension 121" track |
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| Suspension centered at peak of 11.5" | |
 Stop action picture of the M-20 airwave suspension at the peak of the 11.5" bump. The front trailign arm and rear trailing arm compress together. When compressed together, the front and rear air springs need less resistance because they work toegther. This allows the M-20 to use very soft riding front and rear air springs. Note that the slide rail is parallel to the ground at the peak. |
 Stop action of 2010 GXS Ski Doo with stock suspension at the peak of the 11.5" bump. The front trailing arm that is not coupled to the rear sissor arm has not released pent up rebound compression at peak. The rebound compression release is left to the rear spring through the scissor arm which is about 16" behind the seated rider. The rebound force is centered so far behind the driver that it will cause the rear of the snowmobile to be flipped up in the air over the bump. |
| Moment of touch down off 11.5” bump | |
 The RX-1's Airwave suspension comes down almost parallel to the ground of the bump. The air ride suspension is full extended and ready to compress up to 14" at the rear bumper. The front and rear soft air shocks will be working together to cushion the coming compression. The video (below) shows only about 10" of compression is used on landing. |
 The GXS comes down nose first off the bump. The compression rebound with the independent suspension ends up being centered at the rear scissor arm when riding over this type of bump. This is what causes the machine and rider to flip forwqard into a rough landing. |
A few more words about Shock Absorbers
Shock absorbers are an intricate suspension part providing a softer more controlled ride on every type of suspension. Shock absorbers are designed to resist movement in both directions. If shock absorbers are two soft the suspension will bob up and down on the trail and bottom out easily. If they are too stiff you will have a hard stiff riding machine. From here engineers work to design a shock absorbers for suspensions that help provide a soft ride over smaller bumps and add more resistance over major bumps to increase the ride quality and still keep the snowmobile from bottoming out. It has been a developing science for many years.The video speed has been slowed down to ¼ speed to make it easier for you to see how the various suspensions perform. The videos of the M-20 Airwave suspension in action on the 2005 Yamaha RX-1 with M-20 airwave suspension for 121” track and the 2006 Apex with M-20 airwave suspension for 136” track show a very superior ride over all bumps with very soft landings. The superior ride quality is the result of the coupling design of the M-20 suspension designed by TeamFast, break through air spring design, and superior shock absorber design.
Note: All of these videos are available in High Definition. I recommend turning the resolution up to 720 and opening the videos in fullscreen.
| 20 mph in slow motion - ¼ speed over three bumps | |
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2010 GXS Ski Doo 121" track with OEM suspension versus 2005 Yamaha RX-1 with M-20 airwave suspension traveling at 20 mph in slow motion over three bumps on TeamFast test track. Independent design rear suspension can not handle these bumps. GXS Ski Doo with 121" track flips over 5.75 " bump and 11.5" bump and nose dives even more into the ground at 20 mph. Look closely at the video. When the slide rail is centered at the peak of both larger bumps the front spring shows no sign of releasing compression. The rear spring connected to rear scissor arm which is far behind the driver ends up being responsible for releasing compression. As a result the driver is flipped up and forward over the 5.75" bump and even more over the 11.5" bump.
The M-20 airwave suspension on 2005 RX-1 with 121" track handles 5.57" bump and 11.5" bump very nicely. M-20 air wave has a coupled suspension. The front air spring attached to front arm and rear air spring attached to rear arm work together to release compression rebound. Look closely at the video. When the M-20 is centered on the 5.75" bump and the 11.5" bump the interdependent suspension snaps parallel to the ground as both air springs are working equally to release rebound compression. The center of rebound force is centered between front and rear arms attachments to slide rails. The driver's body is positioned behind the center of rebound force which ads the driver from being bucked forward when riding over these bumps. Driver lands softly with 14" of air spring suspension at back bumper and a well designed rear shock absorber to control the compression rate. |
2010 GXS Ski Doo with 137" track on OEM suspension versus 2005 RX-1 with M-20 airwave suspension traveling at 20 mph in slow motion over three bumps on TeamFast bump test track. Independent design rear suspension can not handle these bumps. GXS Ski Doo with 137" track flips over 5.75 " bump and 11.5" bump and nose dives even more into the ground at 20 mph. Look closely at the video. When the slide rail is centered at the peak of both larger bumps the front spring shows no sign of releasing compression. The rear spring connected to rear scissor arm ends up being responsible for releasing compression. The center of rebound release is located far behind the driver. The end result is nose diving over the last two bumps.
The M-20 airwave suspension on 2005 RX-1 with 121" track handles 5.57" bump and 11.5" bump very nicely. M-20 air wave has a coupled suspension. The front air spring attached to front arm and rear air spring attached to rear arm work together to release compression rebound. Look closely at the video. When the M-20 is centered on the 5.75" bump and the 11.5" bump the interdependent suspension snaps parallel to the ground as both air springs are working equally to release rebound compression. The center of rebound force is centered between front and rear arms attachments to slide rails. The driver's body is positioned behind the center of rebound force which ads the driver from being bucked forward when riding over these bumps. Driver lands softly with 14" of air spring suspension at back bumper and a well designed rear shock absorber to control the compression rate. |
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2010 GXS Ski Doo with 137” track OEM suspension versus 2005 RX-1 with M-20 airwave suspension traveling at 30 mph in slow motion over three bumps on TeamFast test track. Independent design rear suspension can not handle these bumps. GXS Ski Doo with 137" track flips over 5.75 " bump and 11.5" bump and nose dives even more into the ground at 30 mph. Look closely at the video. When the slide rail is centered at the peak of both larger bumps the front spring shows no sign of releasing compression. The rear spring connected to rear scissor arm ends up being responsible for releasing compression. The center of rebound release is there for located far behind the driver. As a result the driver is flipped forward and up even more than at 20 mph.
The M-20 airwave suspension on 2005 RX-1 handles 5.57" bump and 11.5" bump very nicely. M-20 air wave has a coupled suspension. The front air spring attached to front arm and rear air spring attached to rear arm work together to release compression rebound. Look closely at the video. When the M-20 is centered on the 5.75" bump and the 11.5" bump. The interdependent suspension snaps parallel to the ground as booth air springs are working equally to release rebound compression. The center of rebound force is centered between front and rear arms attachments to slide rail. Driver's body is positioned behind the center of rebound force which keeps the driver being bucked forward when riding over these bumps. Driver lands softly with 14" of air spring suspension at back bumper. |
2006 Apex with OEM suspension with 121" track versus 2005 RX-1 with M-20 airwave suspension with 121" track traveling at 20 mph in slow motion over three bumps on TeamFast test track. Independent design rear suspension can not handle these bumps. 2006 Apex with OEM suspension and 121" track flips driver up and forward over 5.75 " bump and 11.5" bump. Look closely at the video. When the slide rail is centered at the peak of both larger bumps the front spring shows no sign of releasing compression. The rear spring is very stiff connected to rear scissor arm on this particular Apex. The rear spring compression release is quick and abrupt. The center of rebound release is located under the driver. As a result the drive is flipped up and forward violently as he rides over bumps at 20.
The M-20 airwave suspension on 2005 RX-1 with 121" track handles 5.57" bump and 11.5" bump very nicely. M-20 air wave has a coupled suspension. The front air spring attached to front arm and rear air spring attached to rear arm work together to release compression rebound. Look closely at the video. When the M-20 is centered on the 5.75" bump and the 11.5" bump the interdependent suspension snaps parallel to the ground as both air springs are working equally to release rebound compression. The center of rebound force is centered between front and rear arms attachments to slide rails. The driver's body is positioned behind the center of rebound force which ads the driver from being bucked forward when riding over these bumps. Driver lands softly with 14" of air spring suspension at back bumper and a well designed rear shock absorber to control the compression rate. |
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2000 Polaris Indy with OEM suspension versus 2005 RX-1 with M-20 airwave suspension traveling at 20 mph in slow motion over three bumps on TeamFast bump test track. Independent design rear suspension can not handle these bumps. 2000 Polaris Indy with OEM suspension and 121" track flips driver up and forward over 5.75 " bump and 11.5" bump. Look closely at the video. When the slide rail is centered at the peak on both larger bumps the front spring shows no sign of releasing compression. The center of compression release is delegated to the rear arm spring located under the driver. As a result the drive is flipped up and forward as he rides over bumps. The 2000 Polaris Indy suspension has 7.5”" of travel at rear bumper. It is no match for modern suspensions and provides a rough ride over test bumps. Test driver did not want to test this older Polaris at 30 mph over test bumps with modern snowmobiles in later tests.
The M-20 airwave suspension on 2005 RX-1 with 121" track handles 5.57" bump and 11.5" bump very nicely. M-20 air wave has a coupled suspension. The front air spring attached to front arm and rear air spring attached to rear arm work together to release compression rebound. Look closely at the video. When the M-20 is centered on the 5.75" bump and the 11.5" bump the interdependent suspension snaps parallel to the ground as both air springs are working equally to release rebound compression. The center of rebound force is centered between front and rear arms attachments to slide rails. The driver's body is positioned behind the center of rebound force which ads the driver from being bucked forward when riding over these bumps. Driver lands softly with 14" of air spring suspension at back bumper and a well designed rear shock absorber to control the compression rate. |
1997 Yamaha V Max with 121" track and OEM suspension versus 2005 RX-1 with M-20 airwave suspension traveling at 20 mph in slow motion over three bumps on TeamFast bump test track. Independent design rear suspension can not handle these bumps. 1997 Yamaha V Max with OEM suspension and 121" track flips driver up and forward over 5.75 " bump and 11.5" bump. Look closely at the video. When the slide rail is centered at the peak on both larger bumps the front spring shows no sign of releasing compression. The center of compression release is delegated to the rear arm spring located under the driver. As a result the drive is flipped up and forward as he rides over bumps. The 1997 Yamaha V Max suspension has 7" of travel at rear bumper. It is no match for modern suspensions and provides a rough ride over test bumps. Test driver did not want to test this older Yamaha at 30 mph over test bumps with modern snowmobiles in later tests.
The M-20 airwave suspension on 2005 RX-1 with 121" track handles 5.57" bump and 11.5" bump very nicely. M-20 air wave has a coupled suspension. The front air spring attached to front arm and rear air spring attached to rear arm work together to release compression rebound. Look closely at the video. When the M-20 is centered on the 5.75" bump and the 11.5" bump the interdependent suspension snaps parallel to the ground as both air springs are working equally to release rebound compression. The center of rebound force is centered between front and rear arms attachments to slide rails. The driver's body is positioned behind the center of rebound force which ads the driver from being bucked forward when riding over these bumps. Driver lands softly with 14" of air spring suspension at back bumper and a well designed rear shock absorber to control the compression rate. |
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1987 Polaris with OEM suspension versus 2005 RX-1 with M-20 airwave suspension traveling at 20 mph in slow motion over three bumps on TeamFast bump test track. Independent design rear suspension can not handle these bumps. 1987 Polaris with OEM suspension and 121" track flips driver up and forward over 5.75 " bump and 11.5" bump. Look closely at the video. When the slide rail is centered at the peak on both larger bumps the front spring shows no sign of releasing compression. The center of compression release is delegated to the rear arm spring located under the driver. As a result the driver is flipped up and forward as he rides over bumps. The 1987 Polaris Indy suspension has 6.5" of travel at rear bumper. It is no match for modern suspensions and provides a rough ride over test bumps. Test driver did not want to test this older Polaris at 30 mph over test bumps with modern snowmobiles in later tests.
The M-20 airwave suspension on 2005 RX-1 with 121" track handles 5.57" bump and 11.5" bump very nicely. M-20 air wave has a coupled suspension. The front air spring attached to front arm and rear air spring attached to rear arm work together to release compression rebound. Look closely at the video. When the M-20 is centered on the 5.75" bump and the 11.5" bump the interdependent suspension snaps parallel to the ground as both air springs are working equally to release rebound compression. The center of rebound force is centered between front and rear arms attachments to slide rails. The driver's body is positioned behind the center of rebound force which ads the driver from being bucked forward when riding over these bumps. Driver lands softly with 14" of air spring suspension at back bumper and a well designed rear shock absorber to control the compression rate. |
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| 30 mph in slow motion - ¼ speed over three bumps | |
After viewing all the bump test track videos, you have seen with your own eyes how much better the M-20 Airwave suspension performs over different size bumps. Now think about compounding that extra energy the rider receives into an all day trip. This can make the difference between feeling sore and fatigued at the end of the day and being ready for more.
02-07-2011
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Cool videos!!
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