the second most forward position because I ’ m tall – all of which was a mistake . The track was mainly third or fourth gear and MX-style ‘ whoop ’ rough , so the shock was way too soft for my size and the conditions . Also , I felt less comfortable with the bars in that forward position . It gave a slightly overcentre feel in turns that required a reasonable amount of lock and felt odd , even though the extra room was appreciated when going straight . One lap done I hit the pits and quickly adjusted the shock back to standard settings . Straight away it was a massive improvement . Now , with the shock riding higher in the stroke with more control and a heap more bottoming resistance , the whole machine felt better . The shock feels a little softer than last year overall and very plush . Given that I ’ m over 100kg suited up , I think a younger / lighter racer would be very pleased with the shock ’ s action . Up front the Showa SFF Air TAC fork is pretty plush and has decent bottoming resistance . The fork is highly adjustable and I found the action stable for the whole race . Air spring forks do feel a little different , in that air is more progressive in action than a wire spring ... so they can be softer initially and still man up enough for the big hits . However the difficulty is getting the balance correct so they ’ re riding high enough in the stroke and
KIWI RIDER 41