Grip, confidence: It's down to suspension

We talk to BSB riders about what it means to have good suspension and we run you through the internals of a front fork

Posted: 8 June 2012
by Ben Cope


Suspension isn't a black art, but despite having oodles of adjustment on our bikes, we hardly touch it. Perhaps that's because we don't fully understand it and don't want to get it wrong.

If that sounds like you, you're not the only one. We spent the day with suspension experts K-Tech, who's suspension products and knowledge have set TT lap records and claimed countless podiums in BSB and around the world.

Last season we talked to some of the British Superbike riders who use K-Tech's suspension. Off the record, a few of them admitted they didn't know much about how suspension works but they did know about feel and they're experts at interpreting everything the bike is doing and describing what they're feeling.

Luckily for the riders, they're surrounded by people who are experts at interpreting their feedback and making the changes they need to the bike and its suspension.

In this video we talk to some of the BSB riders about what it means to have good suspension, how they know when they're at the edge and how they like their setup.

We also talk to K-Tech's Ken Summerton who runs us through a top-level British Superbike front fork, which is very similar in construction to a standard road bike's forks, just built with higher-quality components with a higher level of adjustment. Ken explains each part of the fork and what role it plays in giving riders not only grip, but the confidence to trust the front end.

Grip and confidence: have you got it?

Previous article
MT-09 or FZ-09: you decide
Next article
Five unlimited budget trackday bikes


 
TwitterStumbleUponFacebookDiggRedditGoogle


Discuss this story

Thank you!!! More of this please!

Posted: 10/06/2012 at 20:22

Listen to what John McGuiness and the others said though, you have to find the limits by occasionally falling off. I don't think that's very practical advice for road riders.

Of course good suspension makes a difference to confidence, kind of obvious if you think about it - along with not having knackered tyres and other important stuff.

Posted: 11/06/2012 at 12:01

Talkback: Grip, confidence: It's down to suspension