Patent ID: 8037982

Claim:
A vehicle comprising: a vehicle frame; and a hydraulic shock absorber including: a fluid chamber defined by a cylinder, a piston rod, and a piston including an aperture arranged to receive pressure from a high-pressure gas; a cushion rubber interposed between the piston rod and at least one of the vehicle frame and a wheel side member; and a spring disposed in the cylinder; wherein the spring includes a sufficient length to be compressed when the vehicle is in a standard vehicle height condition, wherein the standard vehicle height condition is defined by the vehicle being stopped or operated under steady state conditions in which the vehicle is not accelerating, decelerating, or turning; the spring urges the piston in a direction that the piston rod is drawn into the cylinder, the spring includes a first coil spring located on a radially inner side and a second coil spring located on a radially outer side, and the first and second coil springs have different winding directions from each other; and the first and second coil springs are arranged such that a combined elastic reaction force under the standard vehicle height condition is generally equal to a pushing force generated by a difference in surface areas between two sides of the piston.