WHAT THE TECH: REAR SUSPENSION

It's hard to oversell the significance of your bike's rear shock. Here's what you should know about it...

- BIG MAC

Suspension: it’s not the first time we’ve looked at it and it won’t be the last, because plays such an important role in a bike’s overall dynamics. For this instalment of What The Tech?, we are looking at rear suspension – and not just the rear shock absorber itself, as there are other factors that fall under the all-umbrella cover of rear suspension, and there are factors that can affect it... swingarm length, swingarm pivot position, linkage, the type of shock absorber, and even how gearing and where the position of the front sprocket can affect how the rear of a bike behaves.

Of all the performance upgrades available today, suspension is probably the most effective. It’s certainly the best-value upgrade to your bike if all you do is just take some time to set it up because that’s free. At the most extreme end of the scale of investment, replacing a standard shock absorber for a premium aftermarket one will still cost less than a full exhaust system, yet suspension adjustment or upgrade is generally avoided. This is possibly due to the air of witchcraft that comes with it, which is not unreasonable.

When you take ownership of a bike, brand new or used, you must assume that the suspension isn’t working as well as it can. In the case of a used bike, it’s just good practice to assume that the previous owner(s) have ballsed it up, and even if the bike has never had its adjusters touched, they will by definition still be on standard settings, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.