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Development Rider Yasutaka Nakata / Posted: July 15, 2019

A production project started by volunteers of CB125T users nationwide.

16 years after the end of production of CB125T in 2003

Newly born CB125T (JC06) rear suspension

Introducing the development process, commitment, and the message put into the creator.

I aimed for

"Suspension that novice riders find fun to run as usual"

* "Please tell us about the product concept."

The first bike I bought after getting my license was the CB125T, and I aimed for a suspension that would make such high school and college beginner riders run as usual and feel fun.

At first, it was a little more maniac route, and that's what I like to drive on the pass, so I planned to make it a little more specialized in driving.

* "Did you originally plan to make it for your own use?"

That's the reason. I once got a new genuine rear suspension and replaced it, but I run more than 10,000km a year, so I didn't have it for two years. By all means, the rear feels uncomfortable at the corners, or it feels like it's swelling.

By doing so, the genuine rear suspension was discontinued, and the CB125T is famous for having no external parts, so there was no substitute rear suspension.

It was YSS (the agency) who raised his hand when he searched for a suspension manufacturer that President Hinata could make.

* "Did you decide to make it right away?"

Yeah. However, I didn't feel like "let's sell it as a product" suddenly. I was at the stage of making a sample from now on, and the price and specifications had not been decided.

The project started with a few users

* "When did you decide to sell?"

At first, you talked to people on the same bike on SNS. When I asked, "I'm thinking of making a rear suspension, but who wants it?", Many people showed more interest than I expected.

* "So what's the go-ahead?"

Rather, I heard from me, "At this stage, so many people are interested in it. How about it? Do you want to commercialize it?"

I usually produce companies and people at work, but the pattern like "I made only the product first without knowing whether it will sell or whether there is demand" is the most unsuccessful. is.

I have witnessed such cases so much that I hate them. That's why I first investigated whether there was demand and handed the judgment material to the manufacturers.

Motorcycles are my hobby, but when it comes to making products, it's already a business, so I can't bother the manufacturers and President Hinata who cooperated with me.

* "What was your feeling when it was decided to commercialize it?"

I thought, "It's getting bigger than I expected."

 However, as long as I decided to do it, I wanted to make the best possible product, and I wanted to make it a product that would please me. If no one had raised his hand at that time, Riasas might not have been in the sun.

Test run of 6,726km, comparable to a mad scientist

* "How did the development proceed?"

First, I decided what kind of user the product would be for.

Even the same CB125T user has different usage and running styles depending on the person. I don't think there are many people like me who register for light motorcycles and run on highways or on mountain passes.

If you want to make a personal rear suspension, you can make it according to yourself, but when it comes to commercialization, that is not the case.

We aimed for a rear suspension that can be used normally for city driving and touring, and a rear suspension that is close to a genuine product in terms of positioning.

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The first prototype rear suspension. The part that interfered with the installation is being scraped.

* The product version has been improved so it can be installed without processing.

* "What kind of test did you do?"

First of all, it is installation. Isn't it strange that it needs to be processed even though it is a car model-specific product? It is assumed that it can be installed by bolt-on.

Next, we will perform an actual driving test.

As I said, the rider's weight, riding skills, area of ​​residence and road environment, intended use, and bike conditions are all different.

Therefore, I ran the distance while assuming as many situations as possible. Do not run with 10kg of luggage or change the way you ride so that you do not run according to your own habits and tastes.

That's why we try innumerable patterns one by one. The minimum line is 2 hours in one test run.

Especially in winter, the damper oil is cold, so even if you run a little, it will not be a test. It also serves as a durability test for the product. For a long time, even on a heavy rainy day in the middle of winter, I ran for more than 8 hours a day while freezing.

On the contrary, in midsummer, the temperature of the damper oil rises when running continuously, so I intentionally ran for a long time.

I thought, "It's quite difficult to ride a motorcycle as a job." Because I dare to run without avoiding road gaps that I would normally avoid for testing.

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The roads on which you drive are not always clean. It can even pass through rough roads and gaps. In addition to driving in bad weather, we also carry out driving tests on unpaved roads, with 10 kg of luggage, and in the high speed range using highways. (The photo is one of the places where the driving test was actually conducted)

Even beginners can enjoy it as an introduction

Rear suspension

* "You did a careful test. How are the test results reflected in the commercialization?"

There were quite a few voices from young riders saying, "I'm still a beginner, so I may not understand even if I change the suspension."

As a result of discussions with President Hinata, he said, "If so, I would like young riders to know that if you replace the suspension, the bike will change so much."

With that in mind, rather than making a high-performance suspension with various adjustment functions, it is better to make it as simple as possible and offer it at an affordable price, which will widen the threshold or lower the hurdle.

High performance and high performance make it impossible for high school and college students to buy, but it doesn't matter whether it's cheap or bad.

 

Moreover, you can enjoy sporty driving while ensuring a spacious area where you can enjoy driving as usual. Of course, return riders like me and those who used to be crunchy runners can enjoy it. In that sense, I had a hard time balancing the whole thing.

It's a strange story, but a few years later, a few decades later, the rider said, "The first time I became particular about the rear suspension was when I ran with the YSS CB125T suspension. I think it would be great if it could be an opportunity for people to think so.

 I think that all riders have their own habits. I have habits and tastes. Some people like to run in leisurely corners, while others like to run a little aggressively. However, if I judge only by my taste and a ruler like a habit and commercialize it, I thought that when another rider got on it, "that?" Would occur.

After all, it is a product used by an unspecified number of people, so the direction that only some people can enjoy under specific conditions is different this time. I was conscious of making it universal as much as possible.

It was very important to see who would enjoy running in any situation. In a sense, I think the suspension has a wide range of defense like the genuine suspension.

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Mr. Tamura (blue) and Mr. Teru (green) who cooperated as monitors

The feature of this project is that it collects the voices of users directly and feeds them back to the development.

Ingenuity for riders to enjoy as much as possible

* "Is there anything else you have devised?"

As a new attempt, we not only sell the suspension, but also have a photo installation manual so that you can install it yourself, and an easy-to-understand basic knowledge manual for adjusting the suspension yourself. Also, a video.

Don't be afraid to misunderstand, I think that in the future, it is the seller's responsibility not only to sell parts but also to tell users how to use them.

No matter how high-performance parts are, it is humans who bring out the potential.

I think young riders will move away from the bike if the seller doesn't support it as much as possible.

It sounds great to raise young riders, but President Hinata said, "I want to make sure that riders who are interested in motorcycles can continue to ride motorcycles in the future." I will also provide and support.

This time, the first thing we can do is have fun through the suspension. You don't need any specialized knowledge to drive on public roads, so if you understand only the basics, you can adjust and play by yourself. It is an attempt to support it.

* "Lastly, please give a message to users."

As a creator, I intend to do everything I can. After that, how do you feel when the rider actually runs on the road that he always runs as usual? I think that's what it means.

I hope that you will take this opportunity to learn more about the fun of suspensions and motorcycles so that you can continue your motorcycle life for a long time. Thank you very much.

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Mr. Inui's CB125T modified (142cc) that ran 13,000km with the YSS rear suspension installed. The durability test is still ongoing, but there is no problem at all. The CB125T Kai Prolink has been fully bearinged by President Hinata.

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過酷な走行テストを実施したリアサスペンションを分解し、検証をおこないました。

耐久テストレポート

https://inuiyasutaka.net/bikeblog/10082022/

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