Öhlins and Yamaha go together like a ham and cheese sandwich. The Swedish suspension überlord was once partly owned by the Japanese tuning fork brand and, although Kenth Öhlin bought back his majority shareholding in 2007, the two brands have always remained synonymous.
And now there’s a fresh collaboration for this season. Yamaha dealers are offering a new range of cartridge kits, spring kits and shocks for a spread of the firm’s hyper nakeds, sports tourers and sport heritage segments: all MT (except the MT-10), Tracer, and XSR models can now be upgraded and benefit from suspension that doesn’t mimic trifle, along with the YZF-R3 and XV950. We also understand that next year’s range will be expanded to feature options for the R1, R6 and MT-10 – presumably waiting for the release of an all-new 2017 R6 and Euro4-compliant R1.
Given the budget nature of bikes’ OEM suspension like the MT-07’s, MT-09’s and R3’s – which really hampers sporty performance during staunch speeds – there’s now a tangible go-to source for a golden upgrade. Even altering spring weights to suit particular rider weight will bring massive reward. Check your local Yamaha dealer. ÖMG.