WHY UPGRADE YOUR SUSPENSION?

It’s a valid question, but there are lots of good reasons to ditch a bike’s stock items in favour of some properly sprung goodness. For starters, your bike’s items might be more restrictive than a chastity belt, maybe allowing for a few tweaks to preload levels, but naff all in the damping department. Assuming you are the ideal weight and size of rider the bike’s units were designed to suit, you might be happy with that… but there’s every chance you won’t be. Heaven forbid if you decide to take someone pillion on your bike, or to give it a good thrashing on a trackday. To do either, such antics would necessitate added support to better suit the condition and make your bike, well… safe. You won’t be able to do that unless you go down the aftermarket suspension route, because you can’t adjust what you don’t have.

In another scenario, maybe your bike has compression and rebound damping adjustability, as well as preload. Happy days! Well, sort of. Bikes are built to budget. The higher the budget, the higher the spec, which is why we often see premium sportsbike options flaunting blingy electronically adjustable suspension, or premium brand race-spec fixtures, but at the other end of the scale, the adjustability and function of some suspension can leave you wondering why you’ve even bothered twiddling a thing. The crudeness of some set ups is beyond belief and the finesse on tap is equivalent to opening a jar of jam with boxing gloves on – it’s just not pretty, the end result of which can mean that you’re left frustrated, uncomfortable and unable to dial in a set up which actually works for you. So what are your options? Well, you’ve got a few. The most basic suspension upgrade revolves around a piston and damping re-valve. Don’t expect this to set your world on fire, but through bettering the stock items in your base model suspension, for starters you’re likely to improve adjustability, and there’s likely to be more feel on tap. If you’re solely a road rider who’s after a bit more range and improved feel, this is a good option. If, on the other hand, you’re more inclined to go hard at it on track, you’re sure to appreciate the goodness of a cartridge kit and performance shock. These items take suspension capabilities to the next level, allowing for enhanced feel, greater adjustability and tractability you can depend on over much greater time frames. As a gauge, you’ll be looking to fork out in the region on £2-3k for this kind of set up (dependant on the cartridge size and capabilities, there are both budget and premium offerings), but the pinnacle of suspension lies within the sealed cartridge realms, delivering a Moto-GP-esque experience, with finite adjustability, cornering prowess and confidence that you otherwise wouldn’t believe existed. Mupo produces a sealed oil unit cartridge, the CSP30, which categorically compartmentalises the oil element of the unit from the spring and other components. It’s not a cheap set up, but the goods on offer would revolutionise your riding experience. Being honest, they’d be wasted on a pure road bike, but if track riding is your tipple and lap times are king, there’s no better upgrade.