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BE SMART WHEN SPENDING MONEY FOR REDUCING THE WEIGHT OF YOUR BIKE.


Are you thinking of spending a lot of money on a titanium exhaust to considerably reduce the weight of your bike? Before doing so, you should know that your motorcycle has two types of weight:


"Sprung weight" and "unsprung weight".


The correct term is "mass" not weight, but by referring to the weight instead we believe you will understand it better.


The sprung weight is the one that rests above the suspension: engine, most of the chassis, tank, seat, etc. And the unsprung weight is the one below the suspension: wheels, axles, fork bars, brake calipers, swingarm, footpegs, etc. To the sprung weight it must also be added the gyroscopic effect that is produced by the rotating movement of the wheels, which causes the weight of these components to increase. Therefore, the less unsprung weight, the less gyroscopic effect, and with less gyroscopic effect, the bike is lighter, handles better and accelerates more.


If you look at the suspensions, you'll see that manufacturers place the shock and forks upside-down so that their heaviest components are part of the sprung weight.


In addition, various studies have shown that, under optimal conditions, the loss of 1 pound of unsprung weight is equivalent to a reduction of up to 20 ponds of total sprung weight. Under race conditions, this equivalence is likely to be cut in half, but even so, reducing unsprung weight should be a priority, as reducing unsprung weight has a noticeable effect on the suspension, improving damper response. and keeping the tires in contact with the ground more efficiently.


Therefore, before spending money on titanium parts that are in the sprung mass of your bike, reduce the weight in the unsprung mass of your bike, as this weight is the one that most affects the performance of your suspensions.



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