FORK WORKS: DAL SOGGIO SPHERE CARTRIDGE KIT BY N2DIRT

The Dal Soggio Sphere hydraulic cartridge is a sealed and pressurized cartridge replacement that claims to offer better feel and bump absorption than your stock forks internals. When SoCal tuner Brian Bolding of N2Dirt Suspension (N2D) approached us about testing the Dal Soggio Sphere cartridge kit on our WP AER air forks, we were thrilled.

Replacing fork internals has become very common in recent years, as disgruntled air-fork owners began converting their air forks back to coil-spring forks. The MXA test crew has tried several of these transplants and liked most of them, and virtually every suspension shop offers them.

The Dal Soggio air-to-spring cartridge kit that we tested on our 2018 KTM 450SXF came as a complete unit with two cartridges (with the oil) and a special bottoming cone. Installation requires removing the fork lugs, installing the bottoming cones, slipping in the cartridges, adding the springs, setting the spring preload circlips and adding fork oil (365cc to 400cc) to the outer chamber. The Dal Soggio cartridge kit uses bladders for a suppler feel, has 38 clicks of compression and the spring preload is adjustable by 50mm (in 5mm increments via circlip).

We started with a brand-new 2018 KTM 450SXF and three test riders (two Pros and one Vet), and swapped back and forth between the stock AER air forks and the Dal Soggio Sphere-equipped forks. The test riders would ride, make adjustments and ride some more. At the end of the day, we sat down with each test rider to get his opinion.

Our Veteran test rider said the Dal Soggio kit was “fantastic” compared to the stock KTM 450SXF AER forks. He felt that it stayed higher in its stroke, tracked through the corners better and absorbed all of the little spikes that drive air forks crazy. He was super enthused about how well the coil-spring kit handled flat landings, which had been his nemesis earlier in the day.

The second MXA test rider we interviewed is famous for being super picky about every detail of a bike’s suspension. He can spend eight hours testing clicker combinations and never be satisfied. He came back from his first test session and said the Dal Soggio forks were “super plush,” and he also said they were “fantastic”—the same word that our Vet test rider used, even though we never let test riders talk to each other between sessions. He said that the Dal Soggio setup “felt connected to the ground compared to the WP air forks,” and he thought that the bottoming resistance was exceptional. He did complain about packing on jump landings and a hard spot in the mid-stroke in the whoops, all of which we ironed out with clicker settings.

The third MXA test rider typically runs his forks “Supercross-stiff.” He should have been the biggest critic, but he loved the Dal Soggio kit. No complaints, just a couple of clicker adjustments between sessions and he was a happy camper.

Every MXA test rider raved about the Dal Soggio air-to-spring kit and the way it tracked the ground on the KTM 450SXF. It was among the best fork mods we’ve ever tested. What does it cost? The complete Sphere kit, including cartridges, fork springs, oil,  bottoming cones and installation at N2D, retails for $2006.The complete Dal Soggio Sphere air-to-spring cartridge kit is available to modify Showa SFF-TAC, Kayaba PSF and WP AER forks (and WP 4CS and Xplor forks). For more info, contact N2D at (661) 252-0269 or on  the web at www.n2dirt.net.