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

[@kneewall49]

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.

[@bremCZ]

@Trikk When and who did he race MotoGP for?

[@Alexxx0128]

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

[@gregjetnikoff7124]

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

[@trykozmaksym]

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

[@rondridealmeria]

the way Simon talks it´s amazing! well done

[@franklinwilkerson2061]

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!

[@jgsimons]

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

[@panzervalkyrie9299]

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 .

[@andyallison460]

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!

[@xuanyulyu52]

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.

[@thorstenhenseleratho]

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

[@boosthit811]

The strong sense of passion comes off through the camera!

[@wsc50]

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

[@trionrider]

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

[@CtrlCmdMusic]

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

[@rodrigofonseca1160]

This is simply one of the best videos on youtube.

[@nickegan3988]

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

[@kamikaze_twist]

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!

[@CtrlCmdMusic]

He has his own channel motovudu where he explains everything

[@kamikaze_twist]

@@CtrlCmdMusic thanks a ton for that info! Mike on bikes,life at lean apart from this has been my other favs as well! check em out too if you're interested in track day riding!

[@CtrlCmdMusic]

@@kamikaze_twist sure bro 👍

[@slash9196]

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

[@NotPoliticallyCorrect407]

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. 🍻👍🏻✊🏻

[@franciscomendoza1168]

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

[@HenriDeCarvalho]

I learn something... you make my day Simon

[@Gambo916]

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

[@sweetkawi636]

I love the tech talk series. Keep up the good work Simon.

[@TheRedMenaceR]

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

[@slipperyweasel2627]

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

[@AdrianSinner97]

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

[@JG-zu5wc]

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

[@olivialambert4124]

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.

[@TheGregouze35]

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!

[@motogp]

TheGregouze35 Glad you liked it! 😎

[@TrackSol]

Excellent! We need more tech talks like this!

[@johnreynolds2055]

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

[@blubaru73]

More of these please. Well done Simon.

[@peter_king]

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

[@bremCZ]

He was an Öhlins tech after he retired as a rider, so suspension is something he's forgotten more about than most will ever know. It's a level of insight you rarely ever get.

[@robchiatto4198]

Great job of explaining a complicated subject. Thanks Simon!

[@justincase8992]

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.

[@HanamDo]

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

[@luhaarunk3085]

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!

[@GiorgiLaluashvili]

Thats some complicated stuff right there

[@NeonFreakC]

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

[@outwrite11]

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 ;)

[@xuanyulyu52]

I guess it's based on an assumption that for a spiral spring its stiffness keeps the same all the way. They do alter the stiffness either by switching the springs or achieve variable stiffness by using the air gap.

[@bremCZ]

Grab a spring and compress it from slack. It will require x amount of force. If you squeeze that same spring a little at the beginning and then start measuring the force required to completely compress it. It would be exactly the same.

[@scotch_onrocks1876]

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

[@rubencriviDT]

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

[@one-of-us9939]

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

[@Hunterhunted-m2z]

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

[@Velodictorian]

That pneumatic preload is baller!

[@patryk996]

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

[@markcotter4213]

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

[@michaelrullis7501]

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

[@mohba01]

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

[@archetypex65]

So spot on 👍👌

[@kratanicverses4805]

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

[@horurbjarnason5448]

Brilliant information. Thank you!

[@sparkme123]

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

[@TheAslakVind]

I really really really love your TechTalk Simon!

[@RaunaqSahu]

This is a great initiative!

[@Kid574]

The amount of tech in those suspension is incredible.

[@shahsankgole2296]

Great job Simon....!

[@bilal_waheed]

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

[@j.d.7321]

Great video! I'm so intrigued

[@dbwindhorst1]

Simon really brings a lot to the race coverage. I'm glad *somebody* understands this stuff...

[@zoransandric5568]

Simon, nice explanation

[@VitorGTC]

Nice work mate , very interesting stuff right there

[@iodineclip]

i love how every time he mentions great braking he would say " brake like a demon". i guess he did saw something on the race track that he will never forget for the rest of his life.

[@Team-fabulous]

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

[@twitchbook-1]

Thanks for the quick tip Simón

[@brettlightfoot1802]

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. 🙌🏻

[@ZeroBoostBuick]

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

[@shanerr7252]

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

[@Corredorzxc]

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

[@Basstl3r]

Excellent vid. Please do more of it. Small correction though, spring rates are not measure in newton metres (torque) but in newton per mm. So the force needed to compress the spring 1mm is for instance 8 or 14 N to stick to your examples.

[@IvanCruz-ys6by]

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

[@Wheeliedevil]

The aprilia is so beautiful I'm a pro mechanic. Still I find these tech talks fascinating. MotoGP is awesome!

[@armandoescobedo782]

Great explanation mate!

[@astonmartin258]

The people, who disliked this video, dont ride a bike at all

[@Adeysworld]

Facts! This was a very informative video. How could you hate?

[@FynnAkaFynn]

I am currently thinking about disliking because of this TikTok dogshit.

[@codeboy_henry]

Only people disliking this are evil

[@lloyddotimas6302]

He geeked out! I got enthused!

[@Z32andCG6]

That pneumatic preload adjustment on the rear is amazing. Any Honda CBR owners in here will know why I say that Lol

[@Rdchiro]

That was great!!

[@ma77eo]

Simon is the best!

[@HasBeensNAddicts]

I needed this so bad. Thank you

[@mmates007]

This guy is great. How come Moto GP is not putting him on more! Especially in the Pandemic!

[@motoshan]

Can't wait for the next tech talk

[@mxtj3wboi]

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.

[@bikeguy3034]

..and they have these little plastic bits at the ends to stop them fraying, how cool is that!?. Simon is awesome 😎

[@Nandakumarweb]

Super. More like these please. Thanks

[@rbsuba]

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

[@djbgatekeeper]

Awesome tutorial Simon thank you 👍

[@francescolucarno6214]

Great video. Just a little note: spings in parallel add their force, so, in the forks, the total spring rate is the sum of the indivual spring rates and not their average mean value

[@kevinsroad9872]

Aprilla Sprocket was so cool!!!! 😍😍😍

[@oliviermader9007]

Thank you Simon!!!👍🏻

[@klaus-juergenkessel3916]

Excellent! Very good explanation!

[@Ronin-bt1fj]

Love his explanation!

[@digpatil]

👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 nice information

[@RTK171]

I'm a soft spring more preload rider. But the air gap and rear axle position is as important the amount of change in feed back from airgap and axle positions is huge

[@roydamron7404]

Awesome job simon,keep it up!

[@vonmisesmohr]

Good knowledge & Very technical

[@canofrockstar]

i love Simon, it took me a while to get used to his soft voice but man does this guy have great experience

[@vishwish]

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

[@guitarrman03]

Simon getting better on animation! Great! The important is that when he talks, you can cleary see the guy knows the feeling and consequences of stuff since he was himself a rider! Great job and great passion! Question, why is there a street tire on the bike ?

[@whitenite007]

This was incredible.

[@ELsplitterz]

Proud to be a kiwi 🇳🇿

[@guillermohoffmann8417]

yeah you should mate. I'm aussie but my best friend is kiwi and we both love bikes . Simon is making NZ proud!..

[@arkkitekktura]

This guy is amazing! Should do videos in how to race!