The Upside Down Suspensions (USD) at the front wheel of supersports bikes used to be a novel scene once but now with the introduction of bikes like KTM Dukes and other budget performance bikes in India it is become common to locate an elegant looking inverted shock absorbers at the front wheel of a bike. KTM has in-cashed the premium ora of its World renowned WP Suspensions introduced in Duke 200 and Duke 390 bikes in India by prominently highlighting this feature of their products. To my wonder what is so special about these Inverted Shock absorbers? I always ask this question to my self. I am sure most of you would also wonder the same, Lets try to understand the difference between the regular "Telescopic Shock Absorbers" and the Upside Down Suspensions.
As we all know the regular Telescopic Shock ups are consisted with two prominent parts, the one which is directly attached with the "Yoke" or the "Triple Clamp" of the handle are called "Fork Tubes"- they are merely tubes of hardened steel inserted into the "Sliders" the one which is connected to the spindle of the wheel directly is actually THE Shock Absorber (containing spring and hydraulic fluid). Now the Inverted Shock Absorbers have the entire system in reverse order, the "Fork Tubes are connected with the spindle of the wheel and the "Sliders" or the "Damping Unit" is connected to the Yoke or the Triple Clamp of the Handle.
Now coming to the main point what makes a difference in fitting a Shock Absorber either inverted or the other way? Why the USDs are considered modern and what makes it special?Reasons that made the Upside Down Suspensions better:
- By fixing the Slider which is comparatively heavier at the top to the body of the bike makes the Handling considerably better making the bike more balanced and planted.
- By putting the lighter weight component at the bottom it helps reducing the unsprung weight suspended to the bike.
- The heavier Slider with bigger diameter attached to the body adds strength to the over all front portion of the bike.
As every good thing comes with some or the other drawbacks making the USDs no other exception.
Drawbacks of the Upside Down Suspensions:
- The cost of the USDs are comparatively higher as serious modifications are required to fit the system, to name one of those is the Yoke, the entire Yoke assemble needs to be designed in such a way to fit Slider of extra large diameter.
- Putting up the Damping unit inverted has a serious hazard in case of leak of the Oil seal. If the Oil seal gets leaked, due to the gravity the oil will spill over quickly and more dangerously there is a chance of spilling it directly over the Disc brake assembly making it vulnerable to the undue catastrophe.
But regular maintenance of the bike can easily prevent any such chances and moreover the advantage of the technological advancement in the form of the Upside Down Suspensions are more then its drawbacks. So folks enjoy riding your bikes to their limits relishing the advantage of the modern age Technology of Upside Down Suspensions which is made available to the masses by the companies like KTMs is our country.
Ride safe and Ride hard and please do share your comments on this.
By: Farhan Kashif