SMOOTH RIDER HELP

Andy Reichert's
PROTO:87 STORES
and
ACCURATE TRACK EMPORIUM
www.proto87.com . . . (805) 481-4625

Awesome, New, HO Modeling Technologies for the 21st Century!
Breathtaking new Realism for Regular HO, N and also Proto:87!
Track, Switches, Wheels, Trucks, Couplers and even Smoother Riding Suspension

HOME

PRODUCT SECTION INDEX

TRUCK SPARE PARTS

MOTORS, MECHANISMS AND SUSPENSION

"HELPFUL STUFF"
HELP PAGE INDEX

View Order Form

SMOOOTH RIDER WORKING SUSPENSION SYSTEM HELP PAGE

NOTE: ALL THE PARTS ON THIS PAGE ARE IDEAL AND SUITABLE FOR REGULAR HO and OO as well as PROTO:87 and P4 USE.

IN PRACTICE, THE SMOOOTH RIDER SUSPENSION SYSTEM IS INVISIBLE, NON-INTRUSIVE AND SIMPLICITY ITSELF TO APPLY

The SMOOOTH Rider Suspension System is designed to significantly improve both the track holding and prototypical operating movement and appearance of all HO cars of any HO wheel standard. In particular, it dramatically helps the track holding of cars with rigid framed trucks, and especially those with finer flanges or proto:scale wheels.

The SMOOOTH Rider Suspension System consists of a pair of precision preformed, extremely thin, metal circular plates with tiny scientific balance knife-edge central ridges, that are fitted to the underside of the car body, against the truck king pin bosses. The trucks are removed, the washers glued in place and the trucks re-attached. It's that simple!

SHOWN IN CLOSE UP ABOVE, THESE TINY THIN SMOOOTH RIDER PLATES ARE ON 1/4" DIA. ARE ONLY 0.010" THICK AND RAISE THE CAR HEIGHT BY LESS THAN ONE SCALE INCH!

So there is no need to adjust couplers and there is no apparent visual difference even to the most accurate of scale models.

APPLICATION

It is recommended you read these instructions all the way through first, before starting the conversion

First remove the trucks to expose the truck pivot bosses.

Next glue a washer centrally on each boss, but align the ridges of one washer along the car and the ridges of the other washer across the car as shown. Make sure only the thinnest possible layer of glue is used and the washer is glued down perfectly flat.

aligned along aligned across

Once the glue has fully cured or set hard, the trucks can be re-attached.

Tighten the truck mounting screws down gently and then back them off about 1/2 turn, until and so that trucks tip freely and fully across the washer ridges. Now the car is ready for re-use.

Apart from greatly improved track holding, SMOOOTH RIDER TM 3 POINT TRUCK SUSPENSION UNITS will reduce the amount and rate of unprototypical fast shocks and vibrations caused by uneven track and running over bumpy switches/frogs. They will increase the tendency for cars to be more stable and run more smoothly on flat trackwork and sway and roll more slowly and more prototypically around curves and less flat track.