Patent ID: 7641028

Claim:
An integrated and self-contained suspension unit for a vehicle comprising: a gas spring unit comprising a rigid gas cylinder having at least one open end and an inner surface; a damper assembly comprising: a damping cylinder containing damping fluid and having a damping rate, the damping cylinder having first and second damping cylinder ends, wherein the first end of the damping fluid cylinder is telescopically housed within the gas cylinder; a seal head, the seal head at least partially associated with the damping cylinder; a sliding seal secured to an outer portion of the seal head and slidably engageable with the inner surface of the gas cylinder and creating a variable-volume sealed gas chamber within the gas cylinder; a quantity of gas contained within the sealed gas chamber; a partition within the gas cylinder and dividing the gas chamber into a first gas chamber and a second gas chamber; a flow port within the gas cylinder and capable of providing gas flow communication from the first gas chamber to the second gas chamber; an externally-adjustable valve mechanism associated with the flow port and having at least an open position and a closed position, wherein in the closed position gas flow communication from the first gas chamber to the second gas chamber is prevented; a manual adjuster located on an exterior portion of the integrated suspension unit, the adjuster permitting selective manual adjustment of the valve mechanism between the open position and the closed position in an on-the-fly manner during operation of the vehicle; wherein: a) when the valve mechanism is in the open position, the first and second gas chambers are in gas flow communication and contribute to a first discrete gas spring rate that is a function of at least the combined volume of the first and second gas chambers; and b) when the valve mechanism is in the closed position and the pressure in the second gas chamber does not exceed a predetermined value, the first and second gas chambers are not in gas flow communication and contribute to a second discrete gas spring rate that is not a function of the volume of the second chamber; a first eyelet for attaching the integrated and self-contained suspension assembly to one of the sprung or un-sprung masses of the two-wheeled vehicle; and a second eyelet for attaching the integrated and self-contained suspension assembly to the other of the sprung or un-sprung masses of the two-wheeled vehicle; and wherein substantially the entire integrated and self-contained suspension assembly is positioned between the first and second eyelets.