Suspension upgrade: where to begin?

Hi all,

I live in the Netherlands and my '07 SD has done 25K km (15.500 miles) without any suspension service so far.
I've setup my suspension myself for mostly fast road and track use and I think I did this pretty well. I weigh in around 85-90kg with my gear on so I'd say the standard 9.5N/mm should be about right but the bike does feels a bit 'hard' and a little bumpy at times even though the compression and rebound are balanced both front and rear, front/rear is balanced and I do use the full range of motion at the front. When I'm riding the bike closer to my limit the ride does begin to feel a little smoother without losing stability.
I'd like to know if there are riders here who've had similar experiences and what they've done to improve handling. I wondered if heavier springs would allow me to run with a less damping or if new fork oil could be enough to improve the handling.

I would consider getting a revalve front and rear.

Is that worth it with stock shock or should I really go for a SDR shock first?

I don't know enough about suspension to say "click here" " couple of clicks there" but the suspension is 5+ year old unit, don't thing I have met anyone yet who has had a revalve and not noticed a dramatic difference.

Revalve with make it more compliant/plush, sdr shock nah just get what you have working as well as you can.

if its broke ,fix it , if not just ride it , click here click there , run it long short blah blah , just ride it

With my thoughts I'm kind of in between your 2 posts. My suspension is 6 years old so I thought it could use some new oil to make it work like it should and my question on this part is: will I notice any difference? If I would notice any difference this means the forks will be loose anyway so the follow-up question is if there's a small step forward (money-wise) like revalving the unit that makes a much bigger difference?

If the oil doesn't need replacement yet, I won't touch it (if not broken, don't try to fix it) but if it does need replacement I'd like to know how much more revalving costs so I can figure out whether I'd like to spend money on it now or save some more for the upgrade.

Rider skill, tyres, suspension the three things that make you fast.

Fork oil soon degrades from speaking to Colin from 100% suspension.

I don't think it would be night and day different but certainly more noticeable, probably looking at about £500 not sure what suspension guys you have your side of the water? Get a quote and weigh up odds.

We have a custom Ohlins TTX Mk-II shock coming out for this application in about a month or so...


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Hello Jermo,

I have a 07 superduke since nearly new, alway found the front end harse on bumpy roads, which made it hard push it around the twisty bits. i'm 105kg in my kit, I had my forks revalved and serviced last november at FTR suspension in Bury st edmunds, they do a discount on their work in november, still cost £185.00 with postage back to me, i payed postage to them.
I found steering damper a must for fast road riding ! I had a 950 Adventure before mu superduke for 3 years, i could ride faster on back roads i knew with that bike, than i could do on the Duke. i regretted the change for a long time and was tempted to go back to a 990 adventure R.

But the revalve made you want to keep the SD?

Tyres and suspension are the 2 areas you should never skimp on. It's what keeps you upright and on the line you want. At 6 years that oil will be ruined. Fork oil is hygroscopic so will be full of water now. I changed mine after 2 years and it was brown, filthy watery crap that came out. I had my forks revalved by MCT and it transformed the front end. Standard WP is good but it isn't great. I'll get my shock done as well when I can afford it. Treat yourself, get the fork and shock done and a setup. You won't regret it and it will be money well spent.

My forks are coming up for 7 years old and never been opened.

The ride is getting quite exciting now.

How do you recognize old oil without opening the forks? A friend told me that if the oil is still good the ride should feel hard when the suspension is cold and should work better and like you've set it up when warm.

Oil performs better when warm. Thing is I'd imagine the oil will perform better when its warm even with water in it. A suspension guy could probably tell straight away. I think you'd need a bike with fresh oil, same settings as your bike then try pumping the suspension on both and you'd feel a big difference.

Pete is you ever get yours done get some pics of what comes out.