TEST

Originally the purpose of suspension was to cushion the rider - and when two-up, the pillion - from the imperfections of the road surface. Whilst this is obviously important, there are - for the sporting rider - other, very important reasons for needing their suspension to be as effective as possible. Consider this: for your bike to work best, you want your tyres to be in contact with the track, or road surface for as much time as possible. In fact, preferably all the time! Then they’re going to grip, have the opportunity to put down as much power as possible and also give your steering a chance to function correctly. And let’s not forget braking; if the tyres are not in contact, then none of these things are possible.

You want your bike to work just as well going on a long downhill straight as an uphill, tightening left-hand bend. And it’s got to cater for your weight, which will be moving around whilst it does it. Add in the fact that the weight of the bike will also be shifting from front to back and from side to side and you end up with quite a complex physical problem! How do you get it to handle as consistently as possible? How do you isolate the bike and rider from surface irregularities - whilst still giving the rider feedback? And bluntly, how do you get the bloody thing to go faster without falling off? Somehow, it’s all got to mesh together. And that is down to the suspension - the link between you and the track!

Now, there is a bit of 'chicken-and-egg' about this. If you ride smoothly and move your weight around smoothly, then that will help the suspension to work better. But, suspension that works really well will also help you to ride more consistently and above all, is likely to give you confidence as the bike will feel better. At worst, you’re going to enjoy riding the bike more and, at best, you’re going to be going round a track a damn sight quicker!