Motorcycle Terms Explained: Adjustable Fork

Usually offered in premium motorcycles, here's how adjustable forks work and their advantages over non-adjustable forks in general

In adjustable front suspension for motorcycles, the riders can adjust the damping for compression and rebound. The adjustable front suspension is usually offered with an upside-down telescopic front fork in new-generation motorcycles.

Compression damping is the rate at which the front fork compresses. If the compression damping is high, the front fork will compress slower over undulations or a bump. This slower compression results in the transferring of impact to the chassis, eventually making the ride stiffer but better for stability at higher speeds and corners. On the other hand, if the compression damping is low, the fork will compress faster, making the ride softer. However, a very low compression damping can also result in bottoming out of suspension.

The rate at which the front fork expands and retracts to its original position after the motorcycle crosses an obstacle or bump is called rebound damping. If the rebound damping is low, the front fork expands and helps the front wheel attain contact with the surface quickly. However, if the rebound damping is high, the wheel will take time to gain traction with the surface. While too low rebound damping can make the ride bouncy, too high rebound damping can result in poor handling.

 Preload adjustment lets the rider pre-compress the fork, so it takes more/less load to compress the fork. If you increase preload, the front end feels stiffer, and softer when you decrease it. Generally it's helpful to increase the preload in case you're carrying more load on the bike as this will prevent the fork from bottoming out when hitting a large bump.

Adjustable forks are generally based on upside-down forks and are usually seen in premium sports bikes, adventure tourers and cruisers. This allows the rider to control the ride quality and handling of the motorcycle depending on the surface he rides on. While motorcycles belonging to 500cc and above are now coming with adjustable forks as standard, some of the 300-500cc motorcycles are also offering some form of adjustability for their front fork.