G3-S SHOCK TYPES

Most of this text is from Race Tech's Motorcycle Suspension Bible. To bring you up to speed, fork
design has already been covered. This means this section does not require much explanation. There are
6 major oil damper shock absorbers in use today and many new and/or subtle variations on these types.
Shock Types:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Twin-Tube
Emulsion
IFP (Internal Floating Piston - Internal Reservoir DeCarbon, No Compression Adjust)
Remote Reservoir (Includes Hi and Lo-Speed Compression Adjust)
Piggyback (Includes Hi and Lo-Speed Compression Adjust)
Through-Shaft

Twin-Tube Shocks
This type of shock is the most popular style on the planet by a long shot (see figure 3.33). If you look
closely you can see it looks very similar to a standard cartridge fork, with the shock shaft the equivalent of
the damping rod. On the end of the shock shaft is a rebound piston with a check valve on the top side.
There is a base valve (compression valve) at the bottom of the cartridge with a check valve on the top
side. Outside the cartridge is a compressible air space to deal with the displacement of the shock shaft.
These shocks must be mounted in the orientation shown and cannot be inverted.

There are subtle variations, like the addition of a Freon bag inside the outer chamber instead of letting the
air contact the oil directly. Contrary to what you might think, the use of Freon as a gas has nothing to do
with cooling the shock. This variation had limited improvement.
There are also designs that feature a floating piston ring that seals on the outer diameter of the cartridge
tube and the inner diameter of the shock body, allowing the shock to be pressurized through an opening
in the seal head. This is done in an effort to control cavitation and allows the shock to be mounted in any
direction.
These are not generally considered to be "high-performance".

Emulsion Shocks
Emulsion shocks are single tube shocks that have no reservoir and are not quite full of oil because they
require an air space to deal with the displacement of the shock shaft. They must be mounted in the

orientation shown, with the body up and the shock shaft down. The compression valving stack is on the
bottom of the piston while the rebound stack is on the other side.

These shocks are generally pressurized to raise the temperature and lower the pressure at which
cavitation occurs within the suspension fluid itself. As you might imagine, the potential for cavitation and
foaming is realthe idea behind the design is that once it foams up, it will become consistent. Emulsion
shocks can actually work quite well but are not considered to be a high-performance design.

DeCarbon Reservoir Shocks

If we were to separate the oil from the nitrogen with a floating piston in the main shock body, we would
have a basic DeCarbon reservoir shock. I group remote reservoirs, piggybacks, bladders, and diaphragm
reservoirs into this group. All are high-performance designs.

When the French scientist Dr. Christian Bourcier DeCarbon invented this design, he used a floating
reservoir piston in the main shock body, but all the styles mentioned are variations of this theme.
Externally DeCarbons original design looks like an emulsion shock but internally its quite different.
By separating the oil from the air space then pressurizing this space with nitrogen, we can reduce or
eliminate cavitation. Remember that the amount of nitrogen pressure required is directly related to the
amount of compression damping requiredthis was discussed in the pressurized fork section. Nitrogen is
used in this design because its dry, inexpensive, inert, and easily acquired in high-pressure bottles, but it
is not the only gas that can be used.
One of the problems with the original DeCarbon (Internal Floating Piston or IFP) design for many
motorcycle applications was that, because the floating piston was in the main shock tube, the shock was
considerably longer than a twin-tube or emulsion shock. A solution to this was attaching a remote
reservoir with a hose. Now this idea has evolved into an integral (piggyback) reservoir built into the
body. The integral design not only simplified the design but it has the added benefit of a very short heat
path to the added surface area of the reservoir body keeping the oil cooler.

NOTE: These are the three types of G3-S Shocks available. IFP - Internal
Floating Piston, Remote Reservoir, and Piggyback.
The IFP does not have external compression adjustment.
Remote Reservoir has Lo and Hi-Speed Compression adjustment.
Piggyback Reservoir is the preferred design and has Lo and HiSpeed Compression adjustment.

Through-Shaft Shocks
A simple version of a through-shaft design is a linear steering damper, with compression valving on one
side of the piston and rebound on the other. The shock is completely filled with oil. Generally speaking,
there is no compressible air space required because the shock shaft volume going in is equal to the
volume going out. However, it is preferable to have a compressible space to allow for expansion of the oil
with temperature. This basic design is used in Race Tech G3-ST Softail Shocks.

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