Geoff Cooper
Jetboaters Admiral
- Messages
- 1,124
- Reaction score
- 1,256
- Points
- 262
- Location
- Thailand
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2006
- Boat Model
- AR
- Boat Length
- 23
I have a friend in Koh Samui who always contacts me when there is something wrong with his Boat he has a 2008 AR 230 but he works abroad, He asks me to order new rear locker dampers for his Boat as they're next to useless, I check the prices here as i know that being the only dealer in Thailand they're going to be an arm and a leg, I was right so i decided to go a different route and have some made, He had sent me his old damper as a sample so off i went to do my homework, I found that they are a different size to the 2006 model although they can be used on the earlier version but you need to move the top mounting bracket about 1 inch to make a satisfactory mod or cut to size and run a Die down the shaft to make it the same, They are rated at 15 N which is the Nitrogen content and pressure, I decided to go to 30 N as it would dampen better and last longer so after contacting a few manufacturers i found the smallest quantity they would make for me was 10 so i decided to go ahead and have them made as they worked out at less than half the price of a one from the so called agent over here and no 3 month wait and have to pay postage from Singapore, They were made and delivered in 5 days, A few photos to show you the situation, I hope you like and find it useful.
You can see the difference in length between his new one and my old one
That's the length of my old one
This is the length of the new ones for the 2008 model
You can see how much the bracket has to be moved to allow the newer version to be used on the 2006 model, I did the mod and later cut the new shafts and run a die down them so if they ever have to be replaced again if i decide to sell the Boat the new owner wont get confused, The bracket was returned to original position.
This is the new damper with the bracket mod in place it works perfect
You can see the original plastic end on the damper on the right hand side of this Photo, I had the new ones made with a Phosphor bronze insert as i didn't like the idea of screwing hardened steel into plastic with only a short thread so it made it a much better fit with no flex an the plastic end cap.
As you can see i have plenty of spare dampers, I didn't realize what a difference it made now you very gently push it to close as before if you just let it go it just fell shut, If any of the members need to replace any of there rear hatch dampers i will gladly donate them FOC if they want to pay the postage from Thailand, I don't know how much they cost to buy in the States but there not cheap here.
You can see the difference in length between his new one and my old one
That's the length of my old one
This is the length of the new ones for the 2008 model
You can see how much the bracket has to be moved to allow the newer version to be used on the 2006 model, I did the mod and later cut the new shafts and run a die down them so if they ever have to be replaced again if i decide to sell the Boat the new owner wont get confused, The bracket was returned to original position.
This is the new damper with the bracket mod in place it works perfect
You can see the original plastic end on the damper on the right hand side of this Photo, I had the new ones made with a Phosphor bronze insert as i didn't like the idea of screwing hardened steel into plastic with only a short thread so it made it a much better fit with no flex an the plastic end cap.
As you can see i have plenty of spare dampers, I didn't realize what a difference it made now you very gently push it to close as before if you just let it go it just fell shut, If any of the members need to replace any of there rear hatch dampers i will gladly donate them FOC if they want to pay the postage from Thailand, I don't know how much they cost to buy in the States but there not cheap here.
