Motorcyclebiz Rear Suspension Revalve

I’m usually one to just get on a bike and ride. I’m about 75 kilos so most bikes are set up for that weight as far as springs are concerned. This time things weren’t quite right and Clive at MotorcycleBiz suggested a revalve as many a 450MT rear shock has come through his door for a tune.

After removing the spring Clive tested the dampening on his shock dyno and you could hear the cavitation. This occurs when rapid suspension movement or low internal pressure causes the damper oil to locally vaporize, forming microscopic gas bubbles. Clive dismantled the shock, trued the surface of the shock piston then reshimed the shock. The shock goes back on the dyno and on the laptop you can immediately see the improvement in low and high speed dampening. My shock had too much hi-speed rebound so that was reduced by 20% and he increased the compression dampening rebound by 100%.

Matched with new clicker settings on the front forks it completely transformed the bike and now I feel a lot more confident on the bike. You could spend thousands on aftermarket shocks and front fork revalve and tuning down to the enth degree but for the majority of us that money is wasted on the average rider.

On our Finke ride the handling was more predictable and when my rear wheel did hit a hidden rock it didn’t throw me over the bars.

Suspension tuning is a dark art but Clive knows his stuff. If you’re buying a new bike a visit to Clive is essential. Clives recommendation is that you see him after you’ve bling your ride so he knows what weight he’s working with.

RRP Starting from $350 depending on work and parts needed.

www.motorcyclebiz.com.au

---

---

Many of the products, prices, suppliers and their details that appear on this website may no longer be accurate. Readers are urged to check product or brand web sites for latest prices and specifications.