Race Tech's Motorcycle Suspension Bible (Motorbooks Workshop)

I have yet to finish this book (I will... eventually) but I purchased this book at the same time I purchased "Sportbike Suspension Tuning" from Andrew Trevitt. I started reading both in parallel but after just 20 or so pages I stopped reading this one. My problem is that I am at a loss as to the purpose of this book. On the surface of it, it sounds like they want to teach a noob about motorcycle suspension. But then you, as the reader, make the mistake of actually opening the book. Because once you turn the first page or two they are well beyond any noob in their usage of terms and expressions. In short, you have to be experienced in motorcycle suspension terminology to follow them, and if you are, then why do you need a book that purports to teach about suspension? It's not that they don;t cover the basics, they do - but they do so using terminology that leaves me behind. On the other hand, so far, my progress with the Trevitt book has been one where I feel my hand is being held as we go forward and I am getting everything explained to me along the way. Once I finish the Trevitt book and have at least some foundational understanding of suspension and the terms involved, THEN I will come back to this book and see what else it can offer me. It's quite possible (unknown) that in the end I'll consider this book to be THE source for future reference - but it is definitely not the best source for someone new to all of these concepts. There may be even better sources, but I fully recommend Trevitt's book (found here on the store) for someone just starting out.

A good for beginners and intermediate suspension enthusiasts.
But
nothing on ktm's latest WP forks.
No where references details such as torque settings (shock or fork valve) which will find no where what the right torque is.

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 a godsend for racers and serious riders who want to not only understand what their suspension is doing, but be able adjust and reconfigure it to suit the conditions, the track and/or the rider. Before reading this, I was pretty much a complete novice to suspension (I'd only read Sportbike Suspension Tuning by Andrew Trevit, which really only touches on how your suspension works). I'm not a mechanic, but I am handy with a spanner - after some internet research, I was fine to set my static sag, and adjust the Cartridge Emulators on my CBR400 race bike, but I have previously baulked at stuff like taking the forks off the bike. Now, having read this and doing a little tinkering with the stock equipment on my GSX-R 600 road bike, I'm itching to get some new springs and Gold Valves and take my forks apart to set the suspension up for me.

The authors obviously know their stuff, but more importantly (for us), they know how to clearly deliver that knowledge to their audience. Some of the concepts may take you a couple of reads to fully get it, but everything here is well within the grasp of the basically mechanically minded. I did a track day recently, at a circuit where the surface is very rough. Using the knowledge I've gained from this book, I was able to adjust the front and rear suspension on my K8 GSX-R 600 to take it from a frightening bucking bronco to a reasonably planted and stable ride (the surface at Baskerville is very, very bumpy). I am more than confident that once I've installed some new springs and valves (again, with the knowledge I've picked up from this book), I can turn this bike into as smooth a ride as anyone can at this track.

I like that not only are how and why to make adjustments explained, but also what they do and why they work (i.e. - until I read it here, I had no idea that the reason we set sag is to allow sufficient travel for 65% of your suspension to compress over bumps and under braking, and the remaining 35% to fall into holes).

The only real criticism I have is that some of the diagrams are 2, 3 or 4 pages away from what you're reading. It's a minor issue, but a little annoying and confusing to have to flick to page 123 for a diagram of the information on page 120.

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.

There is no doubt that Paul Thede is to suspension what Massimo Tamburini and Pierre Terblanche are to motorcycle design or Erik Buell is to everything motorcycle. Race Tech is widely recognized as a leader in suspension technology.

Would have been wonderful if Thede had chosen a co-author who could actually convey his knowledge in a coherent manner. The first 105 pages try to address how suspension works, but I have seen all the same information presented in less than an hour to a class of suspension neophytes by a person selling Race Tech emulators. The rest of the book is pretty color pictures and an appendix.

My suggestion for those who want to know how suspension works, how it interacts with the geometry of a bike, is to get Sportbike Suspension Tuning by Andrew Trevitt and/or Suspension for Mortals by Max McAllister. Both are packed full of easy to understand, in-depth information on motorcycle suspension.