Tech Edition: Digging Into Air Forks With WP

Send us Fan MailIn the moto world, people were happy with coiled metal in their bike’s fork. Then came the air fork and on paper, everything sounded great! Way lighter, change ‘spring’ rates at the track, tons of adjustability, better handling… The list went on and on. In reality, things weren’t so awesome. Most riders weren’t a huge fan of the ride feel, but the real sticky booger was that the setup and pre-ride requirements were not only confusing but just a pain in the butt! After a few years, motocross bikes returned to coil springs, that is except for the moto bikes coming from Austria. WP was the lone hold out of the air fork and that is what you will find today on all KTM, Husqvarna, and GASGAS’ motocross bikes. With a much simpler design, and continued development and refinement, these are the pinnacle of air fork technology. But there are plenty of riders out there who just have a bad taste in their mouth about air forks. We grab Leigh Crawford of WP USA to talk all about air forks: How they work, the pros and cons, how to adjust them, when they work best, how they are different than other brands’ air forks, and much more. So grab your fork pump and inflate your brain with some air fork knowledge!