TheHaflinger.com

Went to fix the new shock absorbers today and was surprised to find that when I compress the shocks by hand they stay compressed whereby the old ones slowly return to their maximum length. Have I been supplied with duds?

Cheers

Doug Hart

Hi Doug,
The original Haflinger shock absorbers were dual valve type so they dampened in both directions of shock stroke. Thus the dual valve design will maintain a neutral position provided the valve rate is balanced for both directions. Shock absorbers from an early VW Beetle are commonly used as replacements as they are an exact fit but they are only single valve design. A single valve shock will want to stay in the position it is compressed to. The force of the suspension spring pulls it back.
Cheers,
Steve

Thanks Steve,

So if I have understood you correctly these are the typical replacement used and are ok to with?

Doug

Hi Doug,
They should be fine but the Haflinger won't handle quite as well as it originally did on "wash board" and uneven roads as the suspension will tend to allow more wheel hop. In the long term you'll want to keep attention to early wear in the swing axles' fulcrum pins and bushings if you travel a lot of these types of road.
Cheers,
Steve

Can anyone let me know of any brands/models of dual valve shocks that will fit the Haflinger. I have checked with Haflinger Technic but John says his are single valves.

Cheers

Doug

I wonder if Hagon's make some? They are capable of making various for motorbikes.

John

I have the Haflinger Technik shocks on my Haflinger and now covered about 3000km both onroad and offroad and they do work well. When checking out shocks before I got the ones I have I took a shock into my suspension dealer and he matched it to a very expensive Koni shock from the dimensions listed in his Koni book so that is a possible option - they were very expensive.

Garry

Can anyone let me know of any brands/models of dual valve shocks that will fit the Haflinger.

Hi Doug,
The original shocks were made by Sachs. These are still available under the Sachs brand name as well as by their Boge brand name (same part re-branded). The attached PDF file gives detail for both brand names. I often see these original shocks listed on eBay.de and they are available from Robert Prokschi and likely Autoquariat as well.
I had onetime seen Bilstein shocks for Haflingers being sold by one of the Austrian Haflinger parts dealers but can't remember who it was now.
Many manufacturers have cross-reference tables for competitor part numbers so you can check some out through their European based websites to see what is available.
Cheers,
Steve