Owner’s Manual

Product Name: Mono-Shock - Base Version

Product Code: ZG-ST1

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit

Zedling Suspension Pvt. Ltd.

www.zedlingsuspension.com

First published January 2017

All rights are reserved. No part of this publication can be

reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior
written permission of zedling suspension pvt. Ltd.

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations from Zedling Suspension team & Thank You for

purchasing ZG-ST1 advanced Mono-Shock from Zedling
Suspension.

We recommend you read this manual thoroughly before making

any adjustments & using your shocks.

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit

ZG-ST is a family of mono tube, Mono-shock absorber with
adjustable spring preload, serviceable design & upgrades viz.,
hydraulic preload adjustment, rebound & compression damping
adjustment that can be applied to the base version.

Zedling Suspension is the first to introduce this technology with

custom design support for motorsports application in India & is
poised for the game changing evolution.

ZG-ST1 offers advanced monotube mono-shock with advanced

double acting piston, pyramid valve structure, high pressure
Nitrogen gas pressurized, float piston, aluminum alloy body,
completely serviceable design, ride height adjustment &
infinitesimal spring pre-load adjustment.

The advanced monotube construction is designed

formotorsports application viz., High speed track racing, Off road
Moto-Cross, Endurance race/rally & touring. Single tube ensures
excellent heat dissipation & damping stability at extreme
conditions of motorsports.

The damper body is made of high strength aluminum alloy 6082

& heat treated to achieve the properties. The material ensures
excellent heat dissipation which is necessary for damping
stability at extreme motor sports application.

The double acting piston is an advanced design with pyramid

type valve structure which ensures accurate low, medium & high
damping control.

The mono-shock is pressurized with Nitrogen (N2) gas which is

filled inside the damper body with utmost care & advanced

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit

technology set up. This nitrogen gas is separated from oil with a
float piston which ensures no formation of emulsion & excellent
damping response during high speed cornering. The pressure
inside ZG-ST1 is in the range of 20-30 Bar. Under no
circumstance shall you heat/tamper the gas nozzle/puncture the
damper body as this can be very risky.

ZG-ST1 comes with helical spring with high strength SAE 9254
material & heat treated for long durability life.

ZG-ST1 is completely serviceable & each part inside the damper

can be serviced, repaired & replaced by our authorized team.
The serviceable design makes it feasible for the rider to tune the
damping forces as per the application & need by our specialist
team which makes sure to meet the customer’s performance
target. Also the completely serviceable design makes it possible
to service the mono-shock at regular intervals & replace wear &
tear parts. Also it makes it possible to extend the life of the
mono-shock till the life of structural parts. This makes it highly
economical over a period of time.

The ride height adjustment feature provides length adjustment

to the tune of 30 to 40 mm of rider seat height. This makes it
feasible for the rider to adjust the motorcycle handling
performance & ergonomics to suit the application.

The spring pre-load can be adjusted up to 10 mm which is very

useful to adjust the motorcycle sag with different rider weights
& depending on the application.

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit

DESIGN & MANUFACTURING QUALITY
ZG-ST1 advanced mono-shock is completely designed by Zedling
Suspension team which is highly passionate about Automotive
Suspension Engineering, dedicated & experienced in this
domain. The manufacturing of all components is done by our
strong supplier base which includes companies from India,
Japan, Europe & China. All parts coming into our products are
strictly controlled for design specifications & 100% inspected for
all parameters. The assembly of ZG-ST1 is carried out by Zedling
Suspension team using advanced set up & ensured for customer
requirements. ZG-ST1 is tested for performance & durability at
Zedling Suspension facility.

PERFORMANCE CURVES
To give a flavor of this mono-shock performance it is interesting
to understand the damping force vs Velocity curve. This
performance curve is the most important performance
characteristic.

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit

Shock Absorbers are velocity sensitive devices which produce
forces corresponding to the vehicle’s wheel movement. This
characteristic influences how quickly the bike settles & absorbs
the kinetic energy of wheel movement. This force is produced by
the resistance to the movement of oil through the piston valve
structure. The design of these forces depends on the mass of the
vehicle, mass of the wheel, type, stiffness of tire, stiffness of
spring, speed of the vehicle & the type of road irregularity.

The damping force produced during rebound movement of

wheel is called rebound damping force & force produced during
compression of wheel is called compression damping force.

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit

The energy absorbed by the shock absorber is equal to the
energy under the above curve. This energy is then converted
into heat & dissipated from the damper body to environment.

The force produced at low speeds is achieved by the bleed in

valves. Bleed occurs through any orifice which does not change
in size during operation. This adjustment in bleed i.e., changes in
flow area the rate at which the damping force increases. High
speed damping is achieved by the flow through pre-loaded valve
which is affected when the pressure is adequate enough to lift
the valve.

Another important performance characteristic is the damper lag

which is the time delay in generation of damping force & is
represented by the loss in energy absorption. This affects the
performance at high frequency road inputs & is very critical for
better vehicle control at high speeds.

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit

BASIC OPERATION

The ZG-ST1 mono-shock has excellent interchangeability of

parts. The inside can be divided into three chambers: the
compression chamber, rebound chamber & gas chamber.

The piston separates the compression & rebound chambers and

contains oil.

The gas chamber contains nitrogen (N2) & is kept separate from
oil by float piston.

At static condition the pressure in all chambers is equal & under

recommended pressure. When the shock absorber moves, the
piston move through the oil & oil has to travel through the
restrictions of the valves & cause pressure differential on either
side of piston. The gas pressure is kept higher than the
maximum system operating pressure.

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit

When the shock absorber gets compressed the piston rod
volume enters the damper body which causes the gas chamber
to reduce in size & increase in pressure.

The initial pressure & final pressure after piston rod compression
is defined by

P1V1^(1.4) = P2V2^(1.4)

P1=Initial Pressure

P2= Final pressure

V1=Gas volume initial

V2=Gas volume final

When the shock absorber extends the piston rod moves out of
the damper body. This causes volume inside the different
chambers to change. The compression chamber & gas chamber
increase in size.

ADJUSTMENTS
ZG-ST1 shock absorbers are ride height adjustable & spring pre-
load adjustable.

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit

Ride height adjustment:

This feature enables the rider to adjust the handling of the bike
& ergonomics. ZG-ST1 allows an adjustment of up to 30-40 mm
of pillion seat height.

Handling adjustment:

a. Increasing the ride height in ZG-ST1 will reduce the castor

angle of the bike & make the vehicle easy to turn & quick to
maneuver.

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit

b. Reducing the ride height in ZG-ST1 will increase the castor
angle of the bike & make the vehicle stable at high speeds &
will add to the steering effort to turn the bike.

Ergonomics adjustment:

Increasing or reducing the ride height in ZG-ST1 will increase or

reduce the rider as well as pillion seat height to achieve the best
comfort level to the rider & easily adjusted based on the rider’s
need.

Step 1: Remove the shock absorber from the vehicle.

Step 2: Mount the shock absorber on a vice firmly holding the

damper body from rotating.

Step 3: Hold the ‘adjusting lock nut’ with 32’’ spanner & hold the
‘Extension mounting’ with a 27” spanner.

Step 4: Rotate the ‘Extension mounting’ anticlockwise to loosen

the threaded joint.

Step 5: Adjust the ‘Extension mounting’ anticlockwise to

increase the ride height & clockwise to reduce the ride height to
the desired position.

Step 6: While increasing the ride height ensure to maintain

minimum 12 mm male threads inside the ‘Extension mounting’

Step 7: Tighten the ‘Extension mounting’ clockwise using 27”

spanner by holding the ‘Adjusting lock nut’ using 32” spanner &
provide torque of 3.5 Kg-m minimum.

Step 8: Assemble the shock absorber in the vehicle.

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit

Spring pre-load adjustment:

ZG-ST1 offers infinitesimal spring pre-load adjustment. This

allows the rider to adjust the preload in monoshock spring in
order to adjust the rear suspension sag. Zedling team
recommends 25~27% sag (from free condition of wheel i.e.,
wheel in air) for best handling performance & high speed
applications & 28~31% sag (from free condition of wheel i.e.,
wheel in air for best ride performance & offroad, commuting
applications.

This spring pre-load adjustment in ZG-ST1 also adjusts the bike

handling & road adhesion. Contact our specialist team for any
advice based on your specific requirement.

Special tool

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit

Step 1: You can either do this adjustment without removing the
monoshock from the bike or by removing if the accessibility to
the adjuster mechanism is not present in your bike.

Step 2: Hold the mono-shock in a vice (if removed from vehicle)

such that it does not rotate.

Step 3: Use the special adjusting tool to hold the ‘adjuster collar’
by applying force in opposite direction & rotate the ‘adjuster
lock’ using the special tool to break the lock between the two.

Step 4: Now move the ‘adjuster collar’ on damper body threads

either towards the spring to increase the pre-load or away from
the spring to reduce the pre-load on spring.

Step 5: Ensure minimum three threads below the ‘adjuster lock’

& above the ‘adjuster collar’ for safety.

Step 6: Now hold the ‘adjuster collar’ using the special tool by
applying force in opposite direction & rotate the ‘adjuster lock’
to tighten both against each other.

MAINTENANCE
Appropriate care & maintenance will ensure your Zedling ZG-ST1
advanced mono-shock unit is durable & performs to the same
level throughout its life.

Exact service intervals cannot be predicted because of the

variation in environmental conditions & severity of working
conditions.

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit

Zedling recommends that you inspect the mono-shock ZG-ST1
regularly. Ensure that dirt/mud do not get accumulated for
longer time around the piston rod seal as this can damage the
piston rod. Keep the mono-shock dry & clean which will help you
identify oil leaks if any. Periodically inspect the mounting rubber
silent blocks for crack/distortion. Do not tamper the gas filling
nozzle or heat/puncture the damper body under any
circumstance.

After a period of time the oil inside the shock absorber will
degrade. This is due to wear of the damper body which
generates microscopic small particles of aluminum which gets
suspended in oil. The piston ring & rubber O rings also gets wear
due to continuous working. This causes the performance
deterioration of the shock absorber. If not serviced at right time,
this can accelerate the wear of internal parts & major damage to
other internal parts.

Zedling recommends servicing of ZG-ST1 mono-shock unit every

10,000 Kms of road riding & every 10 Hours of track time. During
the service by Zedling authorized personnel, all wear & tear
components are replaced like oil seals, dust seals, O rings, Piston
band, Oil etc. This makes the ZG-ST1 perform again to its design
level & extend the life longer.

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit

Your Zedling Mono-shock unit ZG-ST1 was supplied by:

Zedling team continuously develops better products & reserved the right to make
changes to specifications. The illustration contained in this manual depicts generic
designs. The information in this manual can be given as guidance only.

Zedling Suspension Owners Manual: ZG-ST1, Mono-Shock Unit