Trail Rider Magazine

April 2014 23 up rocky hills that I wouldn't have touched on the KTM. Clearly, something had to be done. Kevin put me in touch with Warren Healey at Enduro Spec, advising me to get the forks and shock resprung and revalved for my size, weight and ability. In re- sponse to my inquiry, Warren sent me a long list of questions – height, weight, preferred riding conditions, and also some unexpected ones like whether I pre- ferred going through rock gardens sitting down or standing up. He mailed me a big cardboard box; I dragged the KTM into the kitchen and filled up the box with its suspension. This puts us in early November. When the suspension got to Col- orado, Warren installed SKF low-friction seals, new bushings, new valves, softer fork springs (the old ones were crazy stiff, he reported, which didn't surprise me), and a new progressive spring in the rear. Alas, my plans to do an immediate before-and-after ride at Bruce's track had to be put on hold, because before the suspension got back to Vermont, it snowed six inches. Remaining optimistic, I re- installed the shock and forks (Warren advised me to leave 10 mm showing above the triple clamps for sharper turning), set the sag, put on my studded tires—and then it snowed a foot. Finally, a January thaw melted enough snow for me to do a test ride at my little woods track. The difference in the suspension was immediately noticeable. Even in the snow, the front felt less likely to wash in the corners and the bike felt more nimble and balanced. A later snow ride – my lesson with Jim Senecal – let me test is on a wider course at higher speeds. The suspension in its previous state had been comfortable in third gear and up, and I had been a little concerned that "couching it out" for low speeds and rough terrain might compromise its performance in faster conditions. It didn't. This was corroborated by my experi- ence at the PSTR short course event in Wareham, MA a few weeks ago – the sus- pension performed brilliantly in the fast, choppy woods sections and only the most severe overenthusiasm in the motocross track managed to bottom it out. Even then, I am thankful to it for not launching me into the stratosphere on the rebound! If I had thought of it I would have messed with the clickers between motos, as there is plenty of room for adjustment in either direction. The only remaining test was the most important, as far as I'm concerned – whether the suspension could handle low-speed rock gardens. I got to test it in plenty of them at the NETRA Spring Challenge in Freetown, MA. The rocks in Freetown aren't that big, but for 80% of the race, they just don't end. The bike took this constant abuse in stride. The suspension soaked up whatever the trail threw at it without deflecting or jolting, no matter how slowly I went. This was an enormous relief. I think it's a good indicator that, coming out of the race, my main gripe was with my clutch, not my forks – the suspension was soft enough to let me crawl along in comfort to the point where, instead of constantly crash- ing, I stalled the bike 30 times. That's an improvement, trust me. Since the han- dlebars weren't jerking me around anymore, I didn't feel compelled to death grip and got through the whole race without my arms or hands cramping up. I hacked half an hour off each of my laps compared to last year, and not all of that was due to an improvement in my riding. For a newb like me, well-tuned suspen- sion is the difference between staying vertical in rough terrain or ricocheting into a tree, the difference between being tired at the end of a hare scramble or being ready to cry after half a lap, and the difference between a rocky section being ten minutes of annoyance or 15 minutes of mortal terror. So big thanks to War- ren and Enduro Spec for my second-place finish in the Women's class at the Spring Challenge! …Second out of three, but hey, you gotta start somewhere. In most cases, suspension modificaons are the best in- vestment you can make. This holds true for begingers and experts alike.

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