2020 FE350: Bang-for-Buck Suspension Mods

Damn, that WP Xplor Pro suspension is impressive! But not everyone’s got a lazy $8500 to spend on a factory-level aftermarket WP fork and shock absorber for a bike they’ve just sunk $15K into. I sure didn’t. Admittedly, I was also keen to sample WP’s all-new Xplor Pro 6500 Cartridge-kit fork – a premium but more affordable performance upgrade that costs about two grand (for the fork alone, that is). But seeing as that kit is not yet available, I did what a greater majority of enduro bike owners do: I took my bike – a Transmoto 2020 Husqvarna FE350 project bike – to a suspension tuner I know and trust and asked them to set the thing up to suit my weight, ability and the sort of terrain I most regularly ride; mods that include changes to the fork and shock’s spring rates, and to the valving at both ends of the bike, which costs around $1200 all up for parts and labour.

Enter the guys from WP Newcastle, the suspension-tuning arm of leading NSW dealership, KTM Newcastle. WP Newcastle is an Authorised WP Suspension Centre, which works collaboratively with the experts from Chris Woods Performance (CWP) for customers who want to get their bike’s suspension really dialled.

And dialled is what I got! In all honesty, the improvement these modest mods made to my FE350 – its suspension action, chassis balance, steering accuracy, and overall handling – far exceeded my expectations. So, to get more of an insight into the mods performed to the WP Xplor fork and WP Xact shock, we caught up with CWP’s Derek Mayo in the WP Newcastle workshop, and then spent a day of real-world suspension testing on bush trails and grasstrack to fine-tune its set-up. Check it out…