Why Ténéré suspension upgrade could change your riding life
Time to invest in suspension upgrades for the T7
If you’ll excuse me being gauche, I’d like to talk about money. Price is a long way from the only thing the Ténéré 700 has going for it, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that it’s £2800 cheaper than a KTM 890 Adventure and £2555 cheaper than the cheapest off-road Triumph Tiger 900 (the 850 Sport has cast wheels so it doesn’t count). Any bike that attacks the lower end of the price scale like this will have to make a sacrifice to the gods of quality somewhere and – as with the T7’s road-going cousin the MT-07 – suspension is the chosen lamb. The Ténéré’s stock set-up is soft and underdamped and this adds up to a pogo stick effect that can be felt both on and off road. You can particularly feel it when you come to complete stop and the bike then rocks back and forth between the fork and shock before settling. Slow moving traffic can invoke seasickness. The softness of the shock can also mean that it is sitting in the wrong part of its stroke and a sudden bump will ejector-seat you out of the saddle if you don’t see it coming.
Luckily, the good folk at K-tech Suspension have a solution and it doesn’t cost as much as you might think. “The basic architecture of the stock suspension is good so all we really needed to do was sort the damping,” explains Michael Hancock from K-tech. “That means a new piston kit and some better oil and that’s it.” K-tech can also re-spring the units to a rider’s weight if desired.
The difference in ride quality on and off road is instantly noticeable. On the road, the improved damping makes the bike feel poised under braking, upping confidence as you tip in. What’s more, a newfound stability in the bends means the bike no longer ties itself in knots over mid-corner bumps and it holds a line better than before.
Off road, the bike handles lumps and bumps far better and also delivers more consistent rear grip as the weight of the bike is bouncing around less.
The fork piston kit costs £282 and the version for the shock is £59.94. So, for a little over £340 plus labour you can transform your suspension. If you want to go further and change the springs, too, the front set and the rear cost £85 each.
Head to www.ktechsuspension. com to find out more.