one noticeable thing. The spring-
cartridge fork is much easier to push
up and down when you are sitting still
on the bike, and this translates to a
smoother initial part of the stroke
when you are riding.
But just like any fork you are
governed by the internal settings
which include valving, oil and spring
rates. Suzuki has decided on .50 rate
springs and, combined with the
standard valving, the fork worked well
on the track and complemented the
rest of the bike.
SHOCK
The BFRC shock had a firm but stable
feel. Being the first rider to do any laps
on this bike it was reasonably stiff to
start with and needed some bedding
in. And being 88kg I was probably just
the right guy for the job....
Westartedwith40mmofstaticsag
which gave me a 104mm ride height. I
normally run at least 42mm and
around 106 to 108mm of ride height if I
can but the Suzuki crew on hand
wanted me to try slightly less so we
gave it a go.
With only 40mm of static sag I found
the back to be sitting too high and
slightly out of balance to the front,
which was working nicely. I stuck it
for a few laps but just couldn’t come to
terms with the high feeling in the rear.
Once we got the static sag down to
42mm and the ride height to 106mm
the bike felt perfectly balanced and
tracked well. The BFRC seems to take
slightly longer to bed in but once I’d
done a fair bit of time on it I found that
its biggest strength was how it
absorbed big hits. There were a couple
of jumps at Ride Park where you could
really charge into the face and this
shockheldupreallywell!Being 88kg I was probably
just the right guy for the job
http://www.adbmag.com.au SEPTEMBER 2017 | 55You can manage without S-HAC
but it’s easier to fluff your starts