Is $10,000 A-Kit Suspension Worth It? 

Good suspension helps keeps you out of the hospital while making you confident/faster.

I'm an old slow rider, I've put a Showa A kit on 2 different bikes and it was worth it all, I bought them used though and recovered the money when I sold them. I did have to get both set up for my slowness, which took 3 tries on the first set.

Would a better test be with a control bike with upgraded stock suspension. Then compare the two bikes to get a feeling if $10,000. is better than revalved suspension.

I just bought a bike with not quite a kit suspension but it’s nowhere near modified stock either and I can definitely say that as an A rider off-road and a C rider when I ride moto kit suspension makes a HUGE difference. It’s all in setup. You can have really great stock stuff and terrible kit suspension. Or vice versa. The reality of this is is that you should learn and understand what your bike is doing and how to affect it. Especially as a privateer because you can get HUGE advantages through suspension setup. Lots of people either have no idea how to tune it and just ride it as it is from their suspension guy or they pay big bucks for a guy to come out for track testing. If you’ve dialed the stock suspension and are still looking for more then A kit is far and above worth it. The only way you can truly know is to learn to tweak your suspension yourself at the track. Otherwise your just paying for someone’s opinion.

I bought AMA supercross rider, Chris Blose's Factory A kit back in 2012. No one in UK knew how to tune REAL A kit. Sent it back to Pro-circuit for revalve and tuning. I would say it was well worth the 4k i paid for forks and shock. The ability to hold the throttle on while cornering without it stepping out was amazing. It was as though the bike was on rails. I could ride much faster lap times than before. Also the added bonus of turning up at tracks with True A kit is just cool 😎. nowadays the suspension is worth more still than the bike . 😂 .

From my personal experience with riding “factory” suspension, one of the things I wanted to mention is that for a rider it is hard to judge suspension with a different riders bike, because if you are a slower/faster rider the suspension has to be different from the riders bike you are riding, because every rider has their own speed and their own suspension setup. Like for me, i have rode with my dads bike witch has totally different suspension setup and it is really bad because that suspension isnt setup for me and the way i attack bumps and corners , and it would definetally be the same if my dad rode with my suspension. In conclusion the suspension doesn’t have to be “factory” for it to be the best for you, because the way you adjust it is the most important.

Getting the gold valves/revalving for your shock from race tech is definitely worth it. But the forks not so much. As long as you have the correct spring rate and sag settings that's good enough for 99% of us.

Stapes Suspension is amazing, shout out to Klint Stapes. He and his family are great and have an awesome caliber mx track. I grew up riding with him and his brothers, so cool to see him pursue his dreams in the moto industry.

Around 2005 - 2006 I rode Ryan Abrigo's SX bike , in AX. I was a decent INT and out weighed him by about 40lbs. He was faster , I was heavier. I spent a good 10 minutes on his bike on an AX track , and I literally got off that bike , like I felt I was cheating. It soaked up everything! I already had pro whoop speed , and that bike in 10 mins brought me to a new level. I am , and always will be a huge A-kit advocate if you can afford it , and put the time in to set it up correctly. Side note : It felt awesome the harder I pushed , but when I went on a cruiser lap , it was not comfortable.

You guys are fortunate having such a nice track to ride on! Way back in 1984 I rode a cap bike that had an actual works Kayaba shock on it and I couldn't even feel the bumps compared to what I had...

I love the humor you all have, the water bottle mic is gold

Thanks for the video !!! I bought used bikes with great suspension(maybe 4k worth of upgrades). I'm not fast but I love the plush ride, and progressive bottoming that never seems to bottom(safety for sure), I've had to make spring changes, I've bought springs from the tunner(Stillwell and Dick's), they made sure I had the right springs, and clicker settings, and even got shims for a small change from Dick's, service after the sale from a previous owners buy, stand UP!!

From what I noticed, it has a lot about the bike's stock from the beginning. I had my CR250 done and it helped. Especially when I could feel one click making a difference. Our CRF 15, 16, 17 was always not feeling right. The '19.....Two clicks on the front and one on the rear from factory was the most confident feeling bike I've felt. Have left it that way and it's a very confident bike....which is what you're trying to buy anyway. 10k on top of a 10k bike is hard to do if not racing and sponsored imo. If you're still learning, no way, because your riding style will change making your suspension needing changing. 1500-2k?....yes

My laptime deductions/predictions yesterday were validated by this video 🤣 Thanks!

Suspension is where all my money goes, I haven't upgraded any other part for my last 2 bikes.

stapes suspension is awesome my friend has clint do his suspension too.

Loved this video .. growing up in the 70’s and 80’s on dirt bikes then changing over to super bikes you learn most things from factory are really really good just not much custom abilities . 90% of all riders will never come close to the actual limit of ability your bike has , when I got into super bikes and the speeds that you can ride comfortably on the track or street can definitely kill you thats when customization being able to change the bike to how you like really starts to matter .. 10,000 grand is a lot of money for most especially if it’s not going to make you much faster but then on Thursday night bike night in your local town you have guys showing up on the newest super bike from Say Ducati and not only does he change everything but he will throw on a ohlins top of the line suspension kit that cost 10-15 grand because it looks cool lol when people say money doesn’t buy happiness it’s because they never had any lol money definitely makes you happy when you can buy anything and customize it

I used yo work the AMA supercross as a flagger an then just as a floating safety worker as the one who goes on the track an helps when guys were stuck under their bike or hurt..the best part of it was the seeing the factory bike like Mcgrath honda going thru a 100 yards of whoops the motor so different sound just tuned perfect....RRRRRRRRRRRRRR...once i got racing i reallized how important suspension was....the big trick was i got this pros bike thst was built an tuned for rock hard gatorback the nite before the national....an they got it so good it like a works bike the hard i hit big nasty stuff the more i enjoyed riding.. trick is if u dont know that kinda suspension action exist an dont ride really knarly national pro events u mite not need it but if ur all in an have the may i suggest the forks an a nice chardonay

I have Stapes a-kit on my yz315. It's so good! Plus Klint is a good dude!!

The work my local RG3 suspension guys did with their smart valves and other tweaks transformed my CRF450. My friends say riding it is like cheating so they also had to spend $$ on suspension. Good suspension allows everyone to ride faster and safer so it's beneficial just like the Moto Academy. If you can afford to get your suspension done for you i think it's a must. A Kit simply has low friction coatings on everything to remove sticktion, Larger valves to prevent pack with shim stack to match the rider, finer tuning with more clicks. The only down side it's also stiffer with the bigger diameter fork tubes so for a slow person could be more harsh due to less flex.

I do have complete Öhlins TTX Suspension on three of my bikes. It was about 4000 Euros for each bike plus some time with a suspension professional. The difference to a modified stock suspension is not huge but i love the Öhlins stuff...

suspension is like a tool. buy the best you can afford and enjoy. saving yourself from one crash could pay for it..

In europe you can buy kyb factory kit shock And Forks from technical touch And it cost about 5300€ Ithink its pretty good deal.

Learning how to set up your bike CORRECTLY for your weight, style and terrain is the best way to start. Once you know what your doing then you can make an educated decision about upgrading.

I have ridden with both at my level as a Vet rider stock suspension set up for you is fine . Race-Tech dose a great job and was very happy with mine . The A kit is for a fast Pro Rider he will benefit from it with the long moto's . A vet rider with the A kit installed on his bike rode mine were about the same weight and he liked the Race-Tech better . I liked the A kit yes it works but not at 10,000 .

When I watch AJ and I love his technique I always feel like he's a bit mechanical because his technique is so good almost too stiff or something compared to the upper few echelon. Love the channel though.

Im currently looking to get my suspension done for my Cr250. It’s completely stock. any reccomendations?

I got to buy EMX250 rider's old bike with KYB A-kit and it is incredibly good even for slow vet rider. Like AJ said, you can drive through the bumps. I would describe it very "forgiving". Not sure I would invest 10k$ though.

Didn't watch the video yet but here's my .02. the pros would lap most of us even if we had the best suspension and they was on a stock bike. 🤣🤔

Right. First money you spend is on a good rear tire (Alta), right?🤨

luv my stock suspension on my 22 kx250x that cost 8g's. ride with a guy who has A kit on his 10 grand gasgas with recluse and other crap. Still rides the same.

I’d like to see something like a 5k suspension vs 10k suspension. Something like coatings and revalve or cartridge kit vs full a-kit replacement setup

Little late to the party, but this video is 100% right. I always watch pingree test bikes and every time he rides one with kit suspension, he always remarks that you need to be going fast for it to actually work. when you ride it slow and arent charging it feels super stiff and not worth the price tag. a novice rider likely wouldnt even like it because they aren't riding at speeds suited for it. a novice rider is better off spending 10k on lessons and coaching and then they may be fast enough to appreciate the suspension

difference between conevalve/öhlins vs a-kit? is it worth the extra$$

I was shocked when I rode my 1st "mono shock" yamaha in the 70's. You could buy half a dozen bikes back then for 10K.

Yes if race pro i havent heard a lot about mods on the stock modern day 4 strokes

I’m thinking of upgrading from xplor 48 to the wp 6500 closed cartridge kit. But I wonder if I should get my rear shock done by racetech

For young guys, they're paying for comfort-at-speed and really it comes back to ROI-- if you think you've got what it takes to be a pro and make your money back on it, then maybe that $10k isn't that risky an investment. For older riders with lingering aches and pains, I think its more worthwhile spending because the ROI is more seat time. I'd pay near 10k if i knew i wouldn't have to miss another ride day over ortho issues

What chin mounts do you guys use for the gopros?

Video with Nique! Greets from Germany

Only use it if your fast enough too. Otherwise set the sag and adjust the clickers. When the lap times are worse your clickers should be all the way out lol

So where does Some Factory connections suspension come in definately made my bike come around not A kit but took a 2019 suzuki and made it work great still on bfrc shock

It’s funny how pro riders don’t know anything about suspension. Ricky Carmichael was shocked to learn that McGrath never adjusted his suspension.

What safety for vet riders who have cash.....maybe save a few crashes? I had an ohlins ttx kit and it was better than revalve by PC, FC for sure And if it's tuned.......gotta think it would be better in every area.......the cost vet guys can afford.....

Very late to the party, If the option to purchase a used set of A-Kit forks comes up, for a good price, I would do it all day (and have). I have raced on suspension that literally had no oil left before as well as freshly rebuilt and adjusted stock suspension, so I understand the difference between good and bad. On my 2004 rm250 with full Showa A-kit suspension, the difference was night and day, I can throw that thing into the worst situations and it soaks everything up. I am an intermediate rider at best, and still definitely notice the difference. I loaned the bike back to the person I bought it from (a pro motocross racer), and he had never ridden it with A-kit, he immediately wanted it back, and went out and switched his pro race bike to one with A-kit suspension. Am I glad I bought some used A-kit forks when I found them, hell yes, would I dump 10k into them if I didn't have unlimited money laying around, probably not.

I can list 10 companies right now that make products comparable (actually comparable, not matter what the price tag says) to A-Kit suspension for THOUSANDS LESS than that. Also, if you don't know anything other than gold valves, don't get gold valves. You don't even know what it does or if it's actually beneficial for your riding style. Do your research, contact competent suspension tuners, if they suggest gold valves immediately, immediately hang up the damn phone. they don't know what they're doing and they're just trying to make money off of you. A competent tuner can turn your stock suspension into something competitive 99% of the time. Suspension isn't a fashion statement, it's hydraulics and thermodynamics. take your suspension to someone who understands hydraulics and thermodynamics and they'll be able to make your suspension something worth being on top of without having to pay to put "gold" anodized pistons in your forks and shock that may or may not be the solution. in short, if you want your suspension to work but also you want a red shock spring and kashima coated fork tubes, you're wasting your hard earned money on things that do not matter. ok im done

The average weekend warrior isn’t fast enough to benefit from that suspension.

What’s b kit now ? 1500 ?

Bruh thats a whole ass KTM 300 payment 😭😭😭

That dirt looks like my home track loamy black moist soil...10 grand for suspension...u know u will appreciate it the first timeu hit a 2 an half footkicker bump going into a turn an ur forks just suck it up an ur arms dont move ur just thinking about another gear....

Schöne Sache Nique! Grüße aus Culitzsch 😄

I just wanna slam holes really fast. My account is now minus 10k... Thanks AJ!!!

Is DT also doing online trainings for you in German?

I’d like to se what if Cam or other amateur tries it and what he has to say about it

Somebody not hating on air-forks? Am i dreaming? hahaha

Best yarns yet haha

Not for me. I got my forks and shock revalved with the gold valve system, and heavier springs. Works for me.

A quality suspension makes riding safer. And it makes you more confident which is more fun. The price is relative, you can take it with you to the next bike or sell them. Revalving every year costs a lot of money too. And it’s gone if you sell the bike. 102 is way off as rear sag on an sxf, way too high, fucks up the balance of the bike.

So what A-kit was he running??? Don’t think anyone mentioned who made the kit.

I need the discount A kit

Your average weekend warrior does not even have any business on a 450, much less A Kit.

In my opinion it‘s worth when you do with your bike MORE than just 50 hours/year. Not when you change the bike every year with the new model, because so you get after 50 hours a new bike with a new fork. But let’s estimate you change bike even it has not 200 hours. I guess you want to have the same performance for the whole time you use the bike. But this would not work, cause after 50 hours stock forks are done and so you have to spend about 500$ every 50 hours to change the whole inside, but having still the same stock fork. With Factory forks you can do about 200 hours til you have to do the „big service“. So if your doing about 200 hours with your bike using a factory fork after the first 50 hours, you have all the time a good performace only doing the „little service“ like changing oil and dust caps ecc.

How does this 10k suspension compare to what the factory boys like Roczen and Tomac have?

If you're competing at a high level at the national level for sure. If you have the money and it's important to you, go for it but probably not truly necessary. You could drop 10K on a lot worse things imho !

looks fair to me. can't blame Sexton when there's amateurs in his way.

Ridden many times w PERFECT set up by Ross @ENZO Racing!

$10,000 is just stupid expensive. I know it’s small scale production but come on.

Why is that kid not out getting a 450 outdoor title

Yes it not worth it for most of us. BUT, if u want really good suspension buy it and use it for 3-4 years, then u can sell it and get most of ure money back. If u buya new bike every year and revalve it than that cost more then buying A-kit then selling it after 3 years or so. Atleast in sweden :)

it's Jubilee ?

How much energy can you save over 30min moto if pro? If not pro how much is your safety worth?

I didn't know that Eminem had A-kit suspension! Good one! 😂

Albert, you've upper your game. It now takes three of you for us to learn nothing. Well done!

If that 10G's came with the suspension tech that can tweak it every time out it would be incredibly noticeable for most skill levels.

I stiffened up the compression on my 20 yz250f by about 5-7 clicks on everything and man is it a big difference and much faster, i rode my buddies 21 yz450 and he thinks its stiff but was incredibly wallowy and he was much faster on my 250 than on his 450. Just stiffen your stock suspension if youre not in the A class and youll have fun

that rear shock needs to slow the rebound.

If you have extra money get them

It would be nice but only worth the price if your a very serious racer. How fast do you have to be, to be your camera man? If I beat Cam can I be the new camera man.

I have an honest question for anyone willing to help. I’m currently 25, 135lbs, 5’5 (Troll Train size) I rode/raced from 4 y/o on a pw 50 stopping at 12 on a rm 85. I’ve been dying to get back into bikes for about a year now, not sure whether to pick up an old or new 125 with my bike skills being basic at this age or to go for the 250f. My goal is to be sound enough to race on weekends like the good ol’ days, any help is appreciated! Thank you guys!

My take… and I’m a slow Veg guy at Tomahawk where this was filmed- they are worth it. I’m still slow with A kit, cause I’m old and married with children, but it makes for such a smoother ride and your not beat to death at the end of the day. Videos don’t show how brutal this track is at the end of the day… with kit stuff it makes things so much easier. Just my opinion… Perhaps a test on my old smoker sometime at tomahawk AJ? I’m the slow yz250 with the Uncle Mitch suspension with Bones old guy setting. :-)

Bubba calls it a "doube D feel".

If you live on the east coast send your s*** to factory connection , it was good enough for Ricky Carmichael

It better be worth it for $10 grand

Unless you are racing top level pro it isn't worth it. Or if you have too much money😜

The dog in the intro was 🔥

Third, 10k WOW!! Are the forks made of gold? How in the heck and please explain how it could cost that much? I knew pro suspension is expensive but holy cow

That shock setup looked absolutely terrible

Nope waste of dollars done suspension work with a kits before ith the team I was on..the only difference is you have more clicks for setting up..we use to run showa A kit and yet my suspension only had gold valves and factory connection spring and sag set up and it was better then the a kit..unless you know what your doing with A kits and there at the track day in day out turning them total waste of money

Aye back up a little bit

10000 for bike suspension. For pros maby any one else it it's only to show off

Just buy a Beta with the suspension already on it. Boom!

Measure the jump, we're still waiting...

What’s the intro song called

Dudes spend wayyyyy more then 10k on cars who don’t race. The way I see it mx is my hobby. Even as a slow vet I’m throwing on A kit just for the “fuck it” sake of it 😂😂

Tyler made you guys look slow

lol ...

AJ would be 5 seconds a lap faster if he wasn't into this feet on the pegs thing in the corners. There's only a few guys who can pull that off-- Tomac being one.

I don’t need to watch the video to know the answer is no

Learning the fine middle balance point happy medium. The real secret is to not progress, but to continue degressing when/where needed. I hope that makes sense. I hope 2 strokes get the return they deserve because I'm burnt out of 4 strokes. And please, Aj, please have some hair on your haed because it just looks weird. Sorry man, it just does. Just being honest. Please ride 2 strokes from now on. 🙏 🙏

Most of what you are saying is placebo. No it’s not worth it!!