Accelerated Technologies Motorcycle Page

06/01/2026

BRAKE ROTOR WEAR… when is it too much?

I thought I would do this Post because almost every week someone tells me they have a suspension clunk. They then grab their front brake lever and violently pull the bike back and forth, and can feel movement.

I usually take my left thumb and bridge it between the upper triple clamp and the frame and then gently push the bike back-and-forth with my right hand while holding the brake lever. Although this is no replacement for proper elevated inspection and maintenance, this will often tell you if there’s excessive play in the steering head bearings.

But the biggest culprit is usually play between the brake outer rotor and the inner carrier. Again have the owner of the bike repeat this action and put a thumb between the carrier and the rotor across one of the buttons and any play will be immediately apparent.

If I do feel play here in the rotary direction of force, I will usually recommend replacement of the rotor, or if parts are available, replace the buttons or the carrier. 

05/27/2026

05/20/2026

OHLINS GOLD!

This Honda TRANSALP is getting a massive upgrade with this Ohlins Shock. Compression control for comfort, rebound control to tune for the trail conditions and a NO-TOOLS hydraulic preload adjuster to keep the sag on point as gear load changes!!!

WICKED. CALL OR DM US FOR YOURS!
705-657-9490

05/15/2026

TECH TIP

On many new bikes, primarily to save cost at point of manufacture, there is a spring in one leg and a damping cartridge in the other.

If the manufacturers believe they could make a damping cartridge strong enough to do both functions they could save money and put it in just one leg. The buzz name for this theory is SFF or separate function fork.

The electronic fork in the right hand side of this new BMW S 1000 XR definitely falls into this category. One thing to know is when the axle is removed for a tire change the forks can be different lengths making axle reinstallation tricky.

This discrepancy in length is exaggerated when we lower a bike, so we have to caution the owner about this, so there is no concern during front wheel removal.

05/11/2026

DUCATI HYPERMOTARD SETUP

Paul is a on-track rider coach and loves the Ducati for its power, upright riding position, wide handlebars, mirrors, and ergonomics. We went over the set up for racetrack duty.

Paul contacted us after he got home and loved the improvements we made to the damping and preloads to correct the sags and general bike feel. However, the stock shock with rebound damping only was woefully inadequate for the track.

We ordered an Ohlins after he got home and are excited for the next dramatic improvement. Stay tuned.

05/08/2026

AIR FORK UPDATE

We improved the functionality of the WP AER fork on this little KTM ripper last week. Using air as a spring definitely has a mixed fan base.

The friction was so bad on the forks of this seasoned motocross bike that we couldn’t let the owner take it home after the consultation appointment.

We checked for alignment in the triple clamps, axle installation, and roost guard interference, (the usual suspects for excessive friction) and narrowed it down to the air chamber inside the left fork leg.

SKF came to the rescue with this low friction, internal air piston kit. Although not as good as completely removing the air chamber and installing a K-Tech spring conversion kit, this did reduce friction by about half. (kit cost is around $289)

We hope Duran and Sam have a great season ahead. Look for them at OCMC and Burnt River events this summer.

Duran and Sam are fairly new to Canada from South Africa and were the nicest people. If you get a chance and see them at the track go over and say hello and maybe even see if they need anything. We would really appreciate it.

What are your thoughts (Intelligent and courteous please) on using air as a spring???

04/27/2026

SOGGY SPYDER ?

Let Elka Suspension and Accelerated Technologies transform your Three wheeler.

An Elka Stage 2 rear shock absorber significantly reduced bottoming and improved comfort out back while riding two up.

Last week we added Stage 3 front shocks and a heavy duty sway bar to dramatically improve the handling up front.

Can we help you transform your ride?

705-657-9490.

04/19/2026

BMW ESA SHOCK

Ever wonder how to tell if your shock has failed? Well… this is one way LOL.

But really, letting your shock go beyond 40-50,000 km is not saving you money. At that interval, a simple oil change with seals and nitrogen would have been enough. This customer waited until catastrophic failure at 100,000+ km and now needs much more, including a seal head and the rod replaced.

BMW shocks with their strong springs and high motion ratios spend a lot of time in a small part of the travel and can wear the chrome right off the shaft. Now, a typical $500 service on a non-repairable shock (which we CAN service) has tripled in price and the turn around time quadrupled.

A replacement shock now may seem like a better value.

Some of our partners including Tractive, Wilbers, Hyper Pro or Ohlins etc, even offer new ‘cores’ that allow you to utilize the OEM hydraulic preload adjuster while upgrading the shock inside.

Contact us for details.

04/09/2026

DYNO BREAK IN.

We are doing a suspension set up and build on a brand new 2026 KTM XCW hard Enduro version of their off-road woods bike. Sometimes we see a shock change its ideal clicker settings after the first ride due to subtle break-in of the components. WP uses a very good oil and the shocks are built very well, but sometimes the piston band and the cylinder just like in an engine will break in ever so slightly and free up. We see this break-in tendency on the Dyno as well as on the trail in real world applications.

The rebound on the shock in low speed settings was very very slow, and we knew it would cost the rider rear comfort, rear grip and with it living low due to the slow rebound, he wouldn’t have the ability to load the front tire properly at all moments in time. So, we wanted to move the window with a slight rebound re-valve. Since it was BRAND NEW, we broke it in on the Dyno for half an hour just to make sure our impressions were accurate.

04/06/2026

BMW SHOCK SERVICE AND LOWERING

Many people make the mistake of thinking you can lower a motorcycle simply by throwing on some aftermarket pull rods or linkage parts. The two major flaws with this idea are that:

1 - The front of the motorcycle needs to be lowered the exact same amount or dangerous handling side effects and uneven weight distribution become a reality.

2 - Secondly, a ‘lowering’ linkage in the rear suspension will lower the bike by advancing the tire up mechanically. The problem is NO ONE TOLD THE SHOCK ABSORBER. It still thinks the motorcycle has the full amount of suspension travel designed by the engineers, and sometimes, we have seen, the tire can hit the underside of the seat pan when an aftermarket lowering link is installed. We know some reputable manufacturers of these linkages will do their homework and confirm that this will not happen unless the owner has changed the size of the rear tire, but in this day and age other less reputable companies can copy the work and ideas and go to market without the same concerns for public safety.

This BMW pictured above, cannot be lowered by any other secondary devices as described above as it has no linkage. The shocks must be exchanged with shorter ones or shortened internally, carefully matching the shock travel to the wheel travel.

If you are considering getting your bike lowered, do your homework and get it done right. We lowered and fully serviced the front and rear shocks on this GS. All the electronic ESA functions were retained, and the side stand was modified at the end of the job to match the lowered height. This job, with the front and rear shock service, with new springs was completed and done for a little over $3000.