Suspension is probably the most misunderstood aspect of motorcycle performance. This book, by America’s premier suspension specialist, makes the art and science of suspension tuning accessible to professional and backyard motorcycle mechanics alike. Based on Paul Thede’s wildly popular Race Tech Suspension Seminars, this step-by-step guide shows anyone how to make their bike, or their kids, handle like pros.
Thede gives a clear account of the three forces of suspension that you must understand to make accurate assessments of your suspension’s condition. He outlines testing procedures that will help you gauge how well you’re improving your suspension, along with your riding. And, if you’re inclined to perfect your bike’s handling, he even explains the black art of chassis geometry. Finally, step-by-step photos of suspension disassembly and assembly help you rebuild your forks and shocks for optimum performance.
The book even provides detailed troubleshooting guides for dirt, street, and supermoto–promising a solution to virtually any handling problem.
I was a bit shocked when I read this book and saw the scope of its contents. Even more shocking, it was written in a way that I could comprehend. I’ve spent tweny-plus years trying to figure out motorcycle suspensions, and now, thanks to this book, I finally get it. But perhaps most shocking of all was the negative review below, which was more of a personal attack on co-author Lee Parks than it was a useful review. I’ve met Mr. Parks–I took his Total Control riding course and found it extremely useful. Granted, Mr. Parks may not be the easiest person to like and he can come off as slightly abrasive at times, but he clearly knows his business, and he’s a top-notch writer, which shows in every page of this book.
For anyone interested in understanding how motorcycle suspension works, this book is awesome. Explanation are very clear. The book also has a well documented part with lots of pictures about suspension servicing.
You definitely should read it before doing anything on your motorcycle suspension. This is really a bible!
fantastic book full of pictures, examples, stories and applications. It’s a pleasure to read and open your mind on what goes on inside those shafts and thru those shims. Definetely a must to have.
Race Tech’s Motorcycle Suspension Bible by Thede and Parks was a joy to read and useful as a reference. MC suspension has always bugged me as to how exactly it works and more importantly how to get it to work on the various motorcycles that I owned and have owned. The book really explains how forces in suspension work in theory and is able to translate this info to how to adjust and or modify suspension. The trouble shooting and test chapter was especially useful for me to get my sport touring bike adjusted for my weight and riding style–the owners manual offered no help at all. The section on how to take apart forks and add aftermarket parts is easy to understand and has lots of great pictures that show what is inside. With the help of this book I will attempt to change springs and valveing on my son’s WR250F Yamaha. I did not want to try to do this job before, having the book as a reference and guide will make the job possible for me to do instead of taking the bike to the dealer. Highly recommended!!!!
This book is Fantastic.
If you are looking to understand the inner workings & theories on motorcycle suspension I do not think you will find a better book. Having just a little mechanical knowledge and an inclination to liking mechanical/technical subjects you will find it easy to comprehend. If you have no mechanical aptitude, nor basic motorcycle riding experience, obviously you should pass on this.
At first glance the books contents may seem overwhelming. But if you read carefully, and make sure you comprehend the concepts BEFORE you turn to the next page (I re-read some pages a few times and studied the diagrams closely) you will find that by the end you have a wealth of knowledge and understanding on the subject.
Suspension tuning it seems is kind of a “black art”. The right tools, years of experience, experimentation, and knowledge are needed to be a good suspension tuner. If you are looking for a good start to doing any suspension work yourself this book gives you a big leg up on the subject. If you’re looking to have someone else do suspension work for you this book is invaluable as you will be well versed in understanding what YOU are looking for, and you will be better prepared to speak the “language” of the subject, as well as judge a good tuner from a “tinkerer”.
This book explained all the little details that I was not sure about. I can now rebuild an tune my suspension with confidence
I am impressed with this book it explains suspension components in plain English so you can get your head around it and begin to adjust and set up bike with little or no drama.
Excellent read. A must have for anyone attempting to adjust the suspension on his or anyone else’s motorcycle.
The read can be a bit heady at first, the author after all is a mechanical engineer. And these types have a tendency to tell you how to build a watch after you’ve asked them for the time, but if you stick with it, there is a wealth of info on the topic of Motorcycle suspension and how to properly adjust it.
There are a few mathimatical equations, (remeber he’s an engineer) but these can be ignored if all you want to do is get to the meat and potatoes of the topic.
Well worth the Amazon price and I have not regretted it’s purchase.
This book goes through all the high points of suspension tuning. No math, very limited physics, you just kind of have to believe it. But all in all a good read, clears up any misconceptions that you may have about setting up your bike.
Worth the money. Very practical.
If you want really understand the hows and whys of suspension this is a great book.
If it was possible to gain real world experience by reading, this would be one of the books that would be able
to transcend reality and make it happen.
Excellent read and a great reference to have on hand.
The book covers the basics through the advanced topics well.
Lots of good pictures, diagrams, and illustrations. These reduce the anxiety factor a lot.
After the theory there is a large section on actual tear down of different forks and shocks.
Step by step photos. Covers dampening rod forks, inverted cartridge forks, emulsion shocks, reservoir shocks, progressive shocks, and more.
If you are redesigning or doing major chassis modifications on a street bike you will also want
Tony Foale’s “Motorcycle Handling and Chassis Design the Art and the Science” to compliment this book.
Good riding to you.