characteristics , but by the time that ’ s been done , I may as well put an aftermarket shock in it . As the Tenere 700 is the closest thing I ’ ve ever had to a ‘ forever bike ’ I decided to go all in and go with Robert ’ s gold-standard YSS option . He set the wheels in motion , getting the components in from KSS in Taranaki . KSS ( Kiwi Suspension Solutions ) is the YSS distributor for New Zealand and one of few KSS R & D locations worldwide . It took about four weeks to get the parts in , as they custom make them to order . That is to say , they take a shock off the shelf , put the correct spring on , and dyno-test each component before sending them out .
GO TIME I dropped my Tenere 700 off at RS Motorcycles at 8am on a Wednesday morning . Robert walked me through what they were going to do , explaining things in a very simple way that even this simpleton could understand . I left the bike and resigned myself to the fact I would be commuting in the ‘ cage ’ for the rest of the week , but happy in the knowledge it was a sacrifice worth making for a better bike . Robert had told me the installation is pretty straightforward ; the rear shock is a direct swap and a complete replacement , and up front it was remove the front wheel , remove fork , dump
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