BEEFING UP YOUR SUSPENSION TECH
WHAT SETUP IS RIGHT FOR YOU? WORDS: JORDAN MASTAGNI PHOTOS: JORDAN MASTAGNI, ÖHLINS USA
H
igh-tech suspension is all the rage these days. Riders are
says the first thing you need to ask yourself is: What is your riding
paying top dollar for remote-reservoir rear shocks or front
scenario? Are you riding solo? Are you riding solo with a ton of gear/
fork cartridge kits instead of dropping a dime on a set of
luggage? Are you more of a two-up rider? Do you and your passenger
chrome wheels. But are they taking advantage of all the tunable
travel frequently with a lot of gear? Should you be riding a bike at all
benefits of these tricked out suspension components? Or is their
or should you be visiting Dr. Now? Your suspension choices should
purchase based on current market trends? Either way, we wanted
be dictated by these criteria. And more importantly, this information
to take some time to provide a bit more of the basics on how
determines how you’ll fine-tune your new equipment. “If the rider is
suspension works, and how to fine-tune your setup based on your
300 pounds and the passenger is 100 pounds versus the rider being
riding scenario. You paid good money for that new shock or fork
200 pounds with a 150-pound passenger, that makes a difference,”
setup, you might as well take advantage of dialing it in properly!
Joey says. After that, Joey will recommend some options and which
We called up our old pal and suspension expert at Öhlins USA,
adjustments to make from there.
Joey Subrizi, for his advice. Joey is an ex-road racer that has been
The other crucial component to making suspension work best is to
working with Öhlins USA for over 13 years. He knows suspension.
set it up for your riding style. “Is it being used for more performance
And he knows how to make it work, no matter the scenario. We
type riding or more for comfort?” Joey asks. “If you’re heavy and you
asked him some questions to hopefully help you understand things
ride a majority of the time two-up and your passenger is also heavy,
a bit more clearly, and to make the overall suspension topic a little
and you ride with everything on the bike, including the kitchen sink,
less intimidating.
then I’m definitely going to recommend the hose mount reservoir
When you’re ready to take the suspension purchase plunge, Joey 56 HOTBIKE.COM
shocks (HD 044) because not only are they rebound adjustable, com-
