Alloy Art’s Self-Adjusting Air Ride System – First Look
Here at HOT BIKE, we strive to stay on top of the most innovative parts to hit the American V-Twin industry, so we’re bringing you a new tech piece entitled “First Look.” With this series, we will search out the newest parts and get you the inside scoop on what they are and how they work. Then we will follow up in a future issue by actually installing the part(s), explaining the install process, and giving an evaluation.
The progression of air ride suspension technology, as applied to motorcycles, has enabled enthusiasts to enjoy their rides through improved comfort and handling, quick adjustability, and most importantly for some, the ability to lay their bike to the rails when they arrive at the bar. “Hittin’ the switches” (the raising and lowering of an air ride system by pressing a button or switch) can be cool and impress your friends at the local bike night, but when it comes time to really ride, oftentimes you’ll find people fidgeting with their system increasing and decreasing air pressure trying to find the perfect ride height. There’s also the pesky task of figuring out where to hide or mount the adjustment switches.
But what if there was an air ride system that would automatically set up to a pre-determined ride height once you jumped on the bike? No adjusting, no fidgeting, no switches to mess with, just riding. Guess what, we found one through Alloy Art.
You’ve heard the acronym KISS (keep it simple stupid) right? Well that’s what Alloy Art’s new A.L.L. (Automatic Load Leveling, $1,850.95) system for baggers is all about. It removes the thought process when it comes to airing up your ride. The unit helps prevent operator error of over- or under-inflation of the air ride system and the distraction of adjusting a manual switch while riding.
Once installed on a bike, the A.L.L. system is designed to maintain Alloy Art’s pre-determined, static ride height. The ride height sits from 1/2-inch to 1-1/2-inches lower than stock (depending on model) and maintains that height no matter if the bike is loaded or unloaded. It accomplishes this with an onboard compressor and leveling sensor. The leveling sensor is what determines the ride height and is designed to rest parallel to the ground. With the ignition switch on, if the sensor arm is not parallel to the ground for more than 25-30 seconds, the sensor knows the bike has either been loaded or unloaded and is not sitting at the established ride height. It will automatically increase or decrease air pressure in the air bags to get back to the static ride height.
This means you can just hop on the bike, turn on the ignition switch, wait for the compressor to air the rear back up to the correct ride height, and go-no fussing with air bag switches or ride height adjustment.