This Showa Balance Free fork is a good illustration of what goes on inside your forks. It’s simple… When the bike travels over an uneven surface, an amount of oil inside gets pushed through valves to provide resistance. The more uneven a surface, more oil needs to be pushed through the valve.
A smaller valve (more compression and rebound) provides lots of resistance resulting in slower damping (good for smoother roads or racing), while larger valving (less compression and rebound) lets more oil flow and the suspension reacts faster.
The next stage along the enlightenment path is the component upgrade. Usually a shock. I’d recommend not overcapitalising here. There’s not a lot of point putting $4,000 worth of suspension into $6,000 motorcycle (unless you really want to). Most manufacturers do entry-level shocks sprung and valved to suit a rider’s weight. Prices range from $800 to $1200. Combined with quality oil and correct spring preload in the forks, this set-up will come close enough in performance to the premium offerings. As a bonus, when the time comes to move on, you can possibly keep the shock for your next bike or sell it separately, and usually get back 40 per cent of what you paid for it! Bang for your buck, this approach is the top of the bell curve. Gold platting? If you really want to go for it, there are some pretty tasty options. Several European manufacturers make some beautifully engineered parts; offering state of the art performance and lightest possible weight. I’m talking suspension porn here. However,
even in this rarefied atmosphere, there are budget choices. For example: manufacturers often make fork inserts (replacing the internals, but keeping the outside shell), as well as complete fork assemblies. The inserts offer 95% of the performance, for half the price. That’s hard to go past. Shocks get lighter, perform better, have more adjustment, and features as the price climbs. If you’re at this level, you probably have your own suspension Guru, and ideally, a lot of personal knowledge means you’re starting to become one. Keep in mind that from here, getting closer to optimum performance requires serious knowledge from someone.Who can help? Any good bike mechanic should be able to improve your suspension’s performance. However, when it comes to suspension, expectations need to be managed. Like so many things in life, you can’t have champagne with a beer budget. Continued > cycletorque.com.au OCTOBER 2017 I 55