One of the many things about motorcycles that I do not fully understand is motorcycle suspension. I understand that the springs absorb the bumps in the road to make the ride more comfortable and that the shock absorbers dampen out the oscillations of the springs and stop them from continuing to “boing.” I understand that different thicknesses and strength of springs are required depending on the weight of the bike and of its rider/passenger. Springs can be adjusted to increase or decrease the height of a bike and different types of suspension are required for different types of bikes and different purposes.
I further understand that adjusting the suspension to place more of the bike’s mass over the front forks is generally considered to be better for handling, especially high speed handling. And I suppose there are lots of other bits about the subject that I know that I have never really considered in any great detail.
The hows and whys of suspension have been brought into focus recently for me by a couple of separate but connected events.
It reared its head just a little while ago as I retold the story of “The Yellow Submarine.” The yellow VFR800 looked lovely and seemed quite OK around town, but it had an evil side when it was pointed at any sort of challenging road. The first thing I noticed was an “uncertainty” that had not been the case with my previous bike. It just felt “vague” and not connected to the road. This was the cause of much head scratching but it became even more apparent when the bike showed a tendency to run wide on right hand sweeping corners. I even adjusted my riding style, reasoning that it was something that I had done. But the problem persisted.
I was glad that, amongst my many riding mates, there were some racers and some ex-racers so I was more than pleased when these knowledgeable people started tinkering with the hope of improving matters. One such 600 supersport racer even went with me on a ride up on the Old Road and volunteered to swap bikes when we got to The Slab so he could feel for himself what I had been feeling. His comments at the end when we swapped back again were not polite (as recorded the other day) but the exercise at least confirmed what I had been saying all along about its odd habits. So, despite being examined and fiddled with by a number of experts, the overall improvement was negligible. As I recorded the other day, it was only after I had sold the thing that the next owner, a very experienced VFR expert, diagnosed a set of bent front forks.
It might be tempting to ask why my team of “experts” had been unable to diagnose this major fault, but, to be fair, it’s not necessarily something for which you would look when faced with the situation. I remain grateful for their efforts nonetheless.
Some time more recently I was privileged to attend a MotoDNA day at Eastern Creek as a helper. I say privileged because it’s not often that you can work with World Superbike, MotoGp and local road racing star riders and luminaries in a small group situation. I wished I had ridden my bike because it turned out there was an over-supply of marshals and my services were not required. So I got the opportunity to “sit in” with some of the classes and at least absorb some of the theory lessons. The “Suspension” clinic with Peter Goddard, a rider and person who I have always respected, was definitely time well spent. To begin with he told the class that most riders over-think suspension (he won me over straight away). “Most of you spend way too much time worrying about static ride height, sag and spring and suspension rates,” he said. He went on to explain something that I had always instinctively known but hadn’t put into words in quite the way he did.
“Handling is all about what the front end is doing,” Oh, yes. Here was a former GP and WSBK rider who pushed his bike harder than probably anybody in the paddock that day. “Get your front suspension right and the back end will follow.” In the garage next door talking to another class was the man who PROVED that on the track probably more than any rider in the modern era, Mr Squiggle himself, Gary McCoy. Indeed it is true to say that the majority of Australian riders of the modern era have shown that, as long as you know what the front end is doing, you’re pretty much OK.
I thought about that and tried to think how many GP riders crash because of something that wasn’t right about the rear of the bike and I couldn’t really think of any (short of catastrophic failures, of course). What the front end is doing IS the key to good handling (at least it seems to be in my limited experience). Yes, the front and the rear are connected and their various responses are part of the whole equation, but the front end is the key. Get it right and you are pretty close to being right. I had the opportunity to touch base with Peter at Warren Willing’s funeral recently and I was able to thank him personally for his insights.
So, am I going to go out to that garage and start measuring sag and ride height? Am I going to start fiddling with the front forks? Actually, no, I’m not. Have I ever adjusted the suspension on my current VFR? No, I haven’t. But aren’t you worried that it isn’t set right? No, I am not. Why aren’t I worried? Because I have yet to get myself into a situation on the road where I could feel that my suspension isn’t doing its job properly. If that situation were to arise, I will do so, but, at the moment, it’s working just fine and I have no intention of poking the bear.
“But wouldn’t you feel better if you knew your suspension was properly adjusted?” No, because, it is working properly so therefore it must be adjusted properly. Any “advantage” would be in my head only and I am content now.
Horses for courses, of course. If you are planning on going warp speed on the road or at a track day, by all means indulge in the black art of suspension. But, if you’re not and it’s working fine, leave it alone and just enjoy the ride. (I should add that, it is implicit that the suspension be properly maintained, thank you, MW)
I’ll leave the final word to a riding buddy of mine, a former “B” grade road racer and recent owner of a Fireblade. When asked if he adjusted his suspension for different conditions, touring, scratching, etc, he said, “No, I just ride the thing.” Given that he is capable of out-riding any rider that I know, I think that, for most of us, he might just be right.