While springs kits don’t have the sex appeal of high-end aftermarket shocks, they can offer serious benefits for many riders and should not be overlooked. We’ve come up with five reasons you should consider the benefits of spring kits:
1.) Having the right springs for your weight (with riding gear and luggage) can make a huge improvement to the handling of your motorcycle. Most stock motorcycles are sprung for a rider that weighs only 170 pounds (with riding gear on) and carries only 15 pounds of luggage (including installed accessories.) The reality is that most of us exceed this amount and are riding around ‘under-sprung,’ which can negatively impact the ride quality, steering and the ability to handle bumps in the road.
2.) Progressively stiffer through the travel. Touratech Spring kits replace the OEM straight-rate springs which are inherently a compromise. In contrast to the stock springs, progressive springs are plush and comfortable in the top of the stroke easily absorbing small bumps, but getting progressively stiffer as your bike moves through the travel. This provides you with better bottoming resistance for big bumps and provides more support when you add luggage or ride with a passenger. It also reduces brake dive which increases control and confidence.
3.) Tame your tall bike. Touratech cures one of the most common problems with tall adventure motorcycles by offering lowering spring kits. We can drop the height of the bike, putting your feet closer to the ground by simply replacing the stock springs with a lowering spring kit. About half of our spring kit customers tell us that lowering their bike was the primary consideration when making this upgrade. That being said, the lowering spring kits still offer all of the benefits of standard progressive spring kits.
4.) Oil Included with Fork Springs. Touratech spring kits include synthetic fork oil that is designed for performance. Our oil weight is selected for ideal damping and optimum lubrication for your forks. We recommend a custom oil-height that we’ve found offers ideal performance with the progressive spring on the particular model of bike. Touratech kits provide everything needed to improve the feel of your forks.
5.) Big bang for the buck. Progressive spring kits make a giant improvement for a small investment, compared to the cost of a complete suspension replacement. Don’t get us wrong, having the more pre-load, better damping and adjustability that comes with aftermarket shocks is the way to go if you can spend the dough. But if you want to be mindful of the wallet, a spring kit fixes a major problem for a minimal investment. Spring kits can reduce brake dive, correct the attitude of the bike, restore ground clearance, improve steering angle, change bike height, and provide the rider with a more confident feeling.