THIS MUCH WE KNOW! MXA’S GUIDE TO SHOCK LINKAGE LENGTHS
One of the simplest and most common tuning tips is swapping out shock linkages. Going to a longer link not only moves the starting point of the shock travel higher into the rising-rate stroke, but it also lowers the rear of the bike. The combined effect is a bike that sits lower, especially when you raise the forks in sync with the lower rear end, and stays higher in its shock stroke. This is an especially good mod for riders on the cusp of having to go to the next stiffest spring rate (or for bikes that wallow under acceleration).
SIX YEARS’ WORTH OF LINK ARM LENGTHS
The link is only one part of a bell-crank-style system. On systems that utilize the same bell crank, different link lengths can be used to tune the suspension, but not on bikes with different overall ratios.
| HONDA CRF250 2009 132.0mm 2010 144.0mm 2011 144.0mm 2012 143.0mm 2013 143.0mm 2014 143.0mm HONDA CRF450 KAWASAKI KX250F KAWASAKI KX450F KTM (ALL) |
SUZUKI RM-Z250 2009 132.5mm 2010 132.5mm 2011 132.5mm 2012 132.5mm 2013 132.5mm 2014 132.5mm SUZUKI RM-Z450 YAMAHA YZ250F YAMAHA YZ450F |
