Motorcycle suspension technology has come a long way. Back in the day, two-wheelers didn’t even have them for the rear wheel. Sure motorcycles in the early days came with front suspensions. But most motorcycle manufacturers did not equip their bikes with rear suspensions until WW2.
Interesting, right?
However, this post will be focussing on monoshock suspensions, their history, and their benefits in the following sections. Here goes.
A monoshock suspension is a relatively big, single-spring over damper-type rear suspension. On paper, the mono suspension is a souped-up version of the rear dual shock absorbers used traditionally in motorcycles. The swingarm side mount of a mono suspension always is close to the swingarm’s pivot axis. The other mount of the mono suspension always is located near the motorcycle’s centre. In simple words, mono suspensions are installed at the centre of a motorcycle between the chassis and the rear swingarm.
Additional Read: 5 Best Suspension Bikes In India
The now almost omnipresent mono shock suspension was introduced to the world by Yamaha. The revered motorcycle brand used this particular variant of suspensions on its MotoCross motorcycles at an event back in 1972.
The mono shock suspension began to show up in the motorcycle market of India back in the 2000s. Please note that Indians were getting acquainted with the mono suspension through imported motorcycles that came equipped with them. Not even a single Indian bike brand offered their motorcycles with mono suspensions. All Indian bike brands offered their motorcycles with simple dual spring + damper suspensions. However, there were some brands, like Bajaj, that offered bikes with dual spring + damper suspensions that came with gas/oil reservoirs.
It all changed when the Indian chapter of Honda Motorcycles chose to offer a commuter bike with mono suspension. Later on, back in 2008, the mono suspension also showed up in two more motorcycles from the Indian chapter of Yamaha.
The next brand that chose to offer the mono suspension in their motorcycle was Bajaj Auto. The OEM introduced the mono suspension to its Indian customers through the Pulsar 200NS.
Fast forward to 2023, almost all motorcycle brands in India have several motorcycles in their line-ups that sport mono suspensions.
The Indian two-wheeler market segment is one of the largest in the world. However, the sector would not have been so successful without its scooters. Hence, it was a logical decision for two-wheeler brands to start equipping their scooter line-ups with mono suspensions. Sure, the elevated monoshock suspension price made scooters a bit expensive. But still, the added advantage (which will be covered shortly) made mono suspension-equipped scooters very popular in India. However, it must be noted that none of the scooters available in India ever had a true mono suspension. The only production scooter that sports a true mono suspension is an e-scooter from a revered e-scooter brand.
Traditional ICE-powered scooters are yet to come equipped with mono suspensions. The only reason that is keeping OEMs from equipping their scooters with mono suspensions is mentioned below.
Space constraints.
To equip a mono suspension, there has to be space between the rear swingarm and the chassis. Since scooters come with rear-mounted engines, OEMs do not have ample space to install a true mono suspension.
Additional Read: Explore Best Bajaj Sports Bikes In India
Monoshock suspensions entail their fair share of advantages for two-wheelers. One of the most compelling benefits of equipping a bike with mono suspension is mentioned below.
Compared to traditional rear dual spring + damper suspensions, mono suspensions keep bikes more stable. The reason is simple. When shocks are exerted over two suspensions, the resulting dampening effects are uneven. This effect keeps the rear swingarm of a bike bouncing for a while. Hence, the overall stability of the bike is hampered for a long time. When a shock is exerted on a mono suspension, it takes little time for the suspension to dampen the shock. Hence, the time taken by the rear swingarm to stop bouncing is reduced. Thus, the bike’s overall stability is restored in no time. On top of this, traditional dual spring over damper rear suspension often gets misaligned. This results in the misalignment of the rear wheel. On the other hand, mono suspensions seldom get misaligned. And even if they do get misaligned, the rear wheel of the bike won’t get much affected.
For more technical details, feel free to talk with a Bajaj or KTM service center spokesperson.
Apply for Loan Calculate Your EMI