A look into MotoGP™ suspension: Tech Talk with Simon Crafar 

Fantastic Simon! Finally we have someone who can explain the complexities of tuning and the related outcomes and requirements. Magic. Your input to the MotoGP this year has been phenomenal, love it.

That was awesome. Please keep doing these. Simon is real knowledgeable and gives good tips

This is so amazing. Haven't seen such a passionate explanation ever. How cool is that? :) Can't wait for the new TechTalk.

the way Simon talks it´s amazing! well done

New Zealander , long time hero of mine. Lucky enough to meet him at Auckland Hampton downs track ( my profile pic ) . Absolute humble nice guy. Learning so much bike craft from him .

That was by far the best suspension talk I’ve ever seen. Learned more from Simon in one video than probably all the other ones I’ve watched combined. I’m a right brained caveman. More Chimp than human but I think I actually get it now. Thank you 🙏 MotoGP!

Contents of this video in a nutshell, please feel free to correct me in the replies: 1. You can use springs with different stiffness on left and right front forks to achieve the front spring rate you want, because they are rigidly connected in parallel; 2. You assume that changing the preload won't affect the spring rate. You change the preload to alter the range of travel your suspension stays in, mainly avoiding bottoming out (the rigid parts hitting each other and invalidating the springs) under COMPRESSION (both front and rear). Bottoming out sucks because they make your tyres the only spring you get, offering basically no damping and a terrible feeling, which you don't want. 3. Top-out springs are used to prevent the springs from overextending and invalidating themselves the other way, under REBOUND. 4. You can tune the preload by spinning a nut (in the front) or rotating a ring (in the rear). The rear shock preload ring now goes pneumatic so you can compress the spring first, easily turn the ring and release the spring back to the position you want. 5. Air gaps are used to increase the effective spring rate as the load increases. 6. You can change the rear linkage geometry to cope with different axis positions (due to changes of the sprocket/final ratio) based on how you want to correlate your wheel travel with your rear spring rate etc.

Possibly the best MotoGP tech explainer EVER. Been riding and racing for decades and still learn something new ever time he does a vid.

Thats some complicated stuff right there

The strong sense of passion comes off through the camera!

Anyone who is a track day rider needs to watch each TechTalk twenty times. Great information and he walk viewers through it very well.

The best explanation about suspension that I've ever seen! Good job! Keep it coming!👍

Greatest TechTalk on springs I have ever seen! Can‘t wait for insights on damping...

I learn something... you make my day Simon

Please keep doing these tech videos. It's very cool to see in great detail what we normally cannot!

Simon I was at Donnington Park in 1998 and watched your 500cc win, unforgettable! Cheers for your insights here

This is just awesome!!! Thank you so much Simon and motogp for the tech talks!!! Keep bringing them!!!!

I'm this glad this video came in my recommendations. Will watch other previous videos too. Thank you sir & thank you MotoGP for such awesome explanation!

I've been looking everywhere for a description like this. The actual effect and feel of changing suspension settings for race bikes. The closest I could get was a manufacturers document describing the extreme settings. I'm so glad I came across this video. Now to find the damping, that would be worth its weight in gold.

The physics is just the language of reality. A lot of people are speaking about it, very few understand what it really is.

Love all these Tech Talks, no matter the subject. As an avid motorcycle rider, ex amateur racer, and current track day enthusiast I can never get enough motorcycle knowledge. Keep em coming!

Having watched his youtube channel motovudu... i am not new to his tech talks.. they are certainly eye openers... and the great thing is he gives out these insider secrets which everyone else in the world of racing are closed mouth about. Thats what makes him special... a true man of knowledge

the top out spring and the 'geometric' linkeage - dear gods, so damn hard for the outsiders to know about such things. Simon you rock mate, motoGP channel kicks ass by showing us these things

great video. I used to really not enjoy Simon, especially when he first started, but he's really come into his own and I truly appreciate the insights of a professional rider

These are FANTASTIC videos!! Thank you sooo much for putting these together! I LOVE this technical detail about how the different components work on these bikes! More please!! :D

Top out spring wow thats so cool. Never would have thought

Great job Simon. Really simple to understand how important it is to set these correctly to ride fast.

More of these please. Well done Simon.

Love the way Simon explains things, understands that not all people are tech talk jargon savvy. speaks in plan English for all to understand in real world terms that everybody can relate too. 🍻👍🏻✊🏻

All that without an edit and minimal mistakes in that heat. What a pro Simon is. Still don't understand why pre-loading doesn't simply make the spring stiffer, but I'll get it one day ;)

A very passionate and detailed clip, all in one take. Well done, Mr Crafar.

Excellent! We need more tech talks like this!

Thank you Sir! My english is weak but I understood everything cause it's so well explained! Damn that's a proper use of 10 minutes!

Brilliant information. Thank you!

Awesome!!!! Please give us more of this content!

Great job Simon....!

Simon, nice explanation

Great job of explaining a complicated subject. Thanks Simon!

Wow this was absolutely entertaining to listen to. Please do more of this Simon!

These TechTalks add another dimension to my understanding and enjoyement of MotoGP. Thank You Simon.

Wow this guys voice use to drive me crazy. but I must say ,I love listening to him because he knows his shit ,can ride like the wind and is great at explaining complicated stuff that we normally don’t get to hear .keep up the good work mate we love you

Thanks for the explanation; this helps me to better understand what I am doing to my bike. Keep the tech talks coming! Great job Simon. 🙌🏻

As someone who's an active track dayer,this is life saving explanation right there,very underrated! The amount of knowledge in this one video regarding how to adjust the preload and damping will make night and day difference for someone who makes use of it! Thanks a ton for this video and please make more of these that would be useful for production bikes as well!

Great video. Now I understand the principle of how the shocks work in a bike. It is a constant harmonious relationship between the rider and the mechanics and the engineers to achieve the best race results. More power to your videos.

Excellent vid Simon. That top out spring so simple but so clever! Thanks again

Well done!!! Please do more videos like this. Understanding my bike and how it works makes me a better rider.

Wonderful explanation. Still very complex and alot to take in but brilliantly demystifying.

That was great!!

Simon! You're amazing! I would love to have these TechTalks coming out!

Great video! I'm so intrigued

Thanks for the quick tip Simón

Amazing!!! Your explanations are all of good! Gongratulations for dedicate time! Nice.👏👏👏👏👏

This was brilliant ! You're awesome at explaining these things... THANK YOU

Awesome tutorial Simon thank you 👍

Very nice video with Simon! More of this for free please!

This is simply one of the best videos on youtube.

Nice work mate , very interesting stuff right there

I needed this so bad. Thank you

absolutely amazing! the purpose of these maniac machines being open to public!

This is a great initiative!

Excellent! Very good explanation!

Great explanation mate!

It was an interesting and useful explanation. Thank you Simon !

Super. More like these please. Thanks

awesome. thank you.

Good knowledge & Very technical

I really really really love your TechTalk Simon!

Love his explanation!

That pneumatic preload is baller!

When Simon describes what the bike is doing, it is clear he has been there himself. I couldn’t have chosen a better person for the job. Everything extra he does to help you understand all add up

Super super awesome explanation!

Very enjoyable videos and very satisfying

GREAT! Bravo 👏🏻

fascinating stuff - genuinely new information here and I've been around and riding bikes for decades.

Thank you Simon!!!👍🏻

Well done Simon, enjoyed the tech talk very much. 👍🏻

Awesome job simon,keep it up!

Great 👍 information...thanks

Just wow, thanks!

Wonderful content!!

Very good. More please.

Awsome knowledge

Thats the best description of under steer ive ever heard "like when you push dads car too hard" 😂😂😂😂😂

This is the best video on suspension I've ever seen

Simon is worth his weight in gold! He is the second best thing in MotoGP, with racing itself being #1

This guy knows his isht. Absolutely love the level of detail here and his the pit lane broadcasts. Bravo.

Not only is Simon a smart cookie he also back in the day was a fantastic rider.... Cracking video..

Excellent video!

I am so proud you chose Aprilia. I chose an Aprilia RSV4 RF LE#14 2018. Keep up the great work Simon... Cheers!

Really good info! I also just enjoy listening to Simon. He could be talking about how to tie your shoe laces and I'd watch that.

👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 nice information

Excellent

Great, Fantastic, this video is done at Chang's/ Thailand

Thank you Simon

The amount of tech in those suspension is incredible.

great vid. where's the previous video he refers to at the start? can't find it in your techtalk playlist or even videopass

Thanks Simon!

Great stuff!

This was incredible.

He geeked out! I got enthused!