TALKING SUSPENSION: AN IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION OF MAKING YOUR MOTORCYCLE RIGHT FOR YOU

Guest:  Hal Massey, an engineer and ADV rider.

Episode Summary:
Join us as we unravel the complexities of electronic suspension systems in modern adventure motorcycles with our guest, engineer and rider Hal, who brings his fresh experience with a Triumph Tiger 900 into the mix. We will explore how the evolution of suspension technology has led us from traditional manual setups to sophisticated computer-controlled systems that offer a variety of settings, even through intuitive pictorial interfaces. We examine how these advancements have impacted both novice and seasoned riders, and I share my own transition from manual to electronic suspension, including insights into aftermarket versus factory-installed options.

Full Transcript:

0:00:15 - Bret Tkacs
Welcome back to Around the Wheel podcast. My name is Bret Tkacs. Today is one of my passion subjects. We're going to be talking about suspension, and not just suspension. We're going to be talking about electronic suspension and how that interacts, whether it's better or worse, and I'm going to let the details of that be left to Hal, who is our guest today talking about that.

With that said, if you've never listened to one of these podcasts, this podcast is about riders who have questions. That's it. I don't try to bring on a bunch of experts. I'm not trying to bring anybody on that is really over the top. I just want regular riders, and occasionally I get emails that I just find fascinating and I'm very interested in responding. But rather than responding to that email and only having that person get the answer or go through the discussion to find a solution or an understanding, instead we record it right here on Around the Wheel.

With that said, this is a non-funded podcast. The only thing that Christina and I do is we use funding from Patreon, those that support us on Patreon, to host this podcast. We do no advertising. We do nothing else on it, so that you can just take in the content that we're offering here today and, with that said, I want to introduce Hal. Hal sent me an email asking about some suspension questions, and that's what we're going to be talking about. So, Hal, why don't you pose that question to our listeners and let's have a talk!

0:01:44 - Hal Massey
Yeah, so thanks, Bret. I have been watching as much adventure videos that I could possibly get my hands on and I gravitated towards Bret's material because he tends to have a scientific bent to the things he does. He's likely to pull out charts and graphs and justify things. That appeals to me. I have an engineering background. My particular questions started when I bought a new Triumph Tiger 900. And it has - I'm not even sure exactly what to call it, but it has - to me, my mind - it's got computer controlled rear suspension and that was my first run in with anything like that. I am suddenly presented with pictures. I'm setting up my suspension by selecting pictures on a screen. I started riding when I was 12 years old.

I was blessed to grow up in the Southern California dirt bike scene in the decade of the seventies, which was awesome, and of course you know we were introduced to things like preload and compression and spring rates and you know it really threw me and to this day, right up to this current minute, I am still trying to figure out how the settings on my screens, you know, relate to something that's quantifiable and measurable on the suspension on my bike. That's how I got here and I figured you were a great resource, because I'm never going to own five different adventure bikes. I'm retired now. Yeah, I could use some help figuring this out.

0:03:20 - Bret Tkacs
I think this is becoming more and more a topic for riders. Electronic suspension used to be just for high-end brands, expensive brands. I think BMW may have been the first for adventure bikes with their ESA they called it,...