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TESTIMONIALS
"Since new, I've been lukewarm on my KTM 525
suspension. It seems reasonably competent in many situations, but is
very harsh on small, chattery stuff, and goes through the travel too
fast in larger, low speed compression type situations.
I could see that stock was too soft. So, shortly after buying the bike,
I went to .46 kg/mm fork springs, and a 8.4kg/mm shock spring, which
have proven about right IMO.
I experimented with rising rate springs, but after trying a few
different ones (7.1-9.0, PDS2, etc) it seemed like they all offered an
improvement in plushness and bottoming control, at the expense of a big
kick on hard hits. My theory is that the rebound setting appropriate for
the spring rate where the coil is on 80% of hits, is insufficient on the
few larger hits that get into the harder part of the coil. In any case,
I did not feel the progressive springs were worth the tradeoff of a
bucking bike on big hits. You'll get as many opinions on this topic as
the number of people you ask...
Way back in October (I think it was), I got to ride Jonah Street's Dakar
525 at the Dumont test, complete with Super Plush Suspension, revision
482,067 (they've done a LOT of testing). Saying I was ginger is a huge
understatement- can you imagine how I'd feel if I wadded THAT bike up?
In any case, even at half speed, the suspension seemed amazing. Partly
this was because I was getting off the 950, which is a bit of a pig to
say the least in those conditions, but partly it seemed like he was
really onto something with his setup. To be honest, it seemed so good I
thought I must be missing something- it was night and day better, so I
filed the experience under “my judgment must be off.”
In November, I got to spend some time on a Precision Concepts reworked
525. After riding it in sand whoops, I was ready to send mine in- I even
got as far as making an appointment. But then, I rode the same bike in
rocks in Baja, and it was apparent that the stock stuff was better in
that situation. The PC stuff was harsh in midsized hits and made it hard
for me to get a feel for traction. I cancelled the appointment at PC.
Finally, in March, I had a little extra dosh begging to be disposed of
in the usual way, and I was taking the 525 offline for a few weeks to
put new valves in it. So, I called James
Siddall
at Super Plush and we discussed setup. James was Honda Superbike's
suspension guy as a day job, so he's analytical and precise in how he
discusses suspension, which is a nice departure from the usual
suspension BS. I asked if he could make my timeline. Sure thing, says
he, and so off it went.
True to his word, he turned it around exactly as promised (this has not
been my experience with all suspension vendors) and it came back as
promised. There was a slight misunderstanding about price, but the total
cost was $575 including forks and a complete re-machining of the
shock/needle assembly, which I think is very reasonable.
I was not mistaken in October. This stuff works absolutely freaking
amazing. I had it set up for the desert, and it shines in those
conditions.
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It's very plush and comfortable, especially at higher speeds. All
the little stuff that used to jar my spine is now a non-issue, and
slightly bigger stuff gives input (as it should) but keeps the
bike stable.
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It's much more controlled on big hits. It bottoms, but it does so
gracefully, and doesn't EVER kick the bike.
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If I hit something way too hard, the suspension lets the wheel
move and keeps everything stable, where before the suspension
would lock up and the bike would get kicked.
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All the mid-stroke harshness that I disliked with Precision
Concepts, is sorted on this setup. It's firm but not harsh, where
the PC stuff felt tied up.
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The chassis feels planted in far more situations now, allowing me
to get on the throttle where before I was waiting for things to
settle out before feeding throttle.
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