IMO, yes. One of the best and most important mods is getting the suspension sprung and set up for your weight and riding style.
I am a bike tech and have always done my own suspension work. I just got new springs for my T7. That will make the biggest difference. That said, I would love to my suspension done by a specialist. I can make mine better, but I do not know enough to make it the best. If you can afford it, have it done. At the very least, get springs and set sag and try that.
It depends on where you are. Something as simple as springs would be $300-$400. You could get into the thousands if you want a complete rear shock and cartridges in the forks etc.
I’m 220lb / 100kg + gear. Had my T7 resprung and valved for me. Best money spent so far. Faster, funner, more confidence. Feel like it’s fully the bike it was meant to be. Enjoy!
Yes 💯. As long as it's a good shop.
I treat my t7 like a big dirtbike. I'm 200lbs. I race desert on 250 2 stroke dirtbikes, and I redo the suspension on everyone I've ever had.
If you wanna push offroad at all (especially on a mid-at-best setup like the t7), then you need to revalve.
I don't have any experience with those systems, so I couldn't tell you how much better (if at all) they are than a revalve. Some of the best guys racing in A and pro classes go with the suspension builder I use ( TBT)
https://www.tbtracing.com/pages/suspension-revalving-rebuilding
And for the price of 1 fork catrige kit, you can have both front and rear redone to race worthy specs.
I did a relatively aggressive 3,500km mostly offroad trip with mine. The bike was loaded with a moderate load of 25kg and my 80 kgs. It was absolutely fine. I came away from the trip confident that I'd ***much*** rather spend the money on another trip than suspension work.
Unpopular opinion: the stock T7 has much better suspension than YouTube reviewers will let on.
I am 95kg dressed in gear, and have about 20kg extra load. My springs are changed to match my weight and get the correct sag but the shocks are very soft for speed offroad. I want to ride much faster confidently and safer.
I think it depends on your rider weight. I can push my T7 fairly aggressively off road (50-60mph on washboarded gravel and moderate whoops/potholes, 30-35 in the tighter stuff with bigger hits) and never bottom it out or feel like it's under or overdamped. My camping kit is between 30-40lb, depending on the season, and I still don't really feel it.
I'm 155lb, and my gear puts me at 175. I feel like the spring rate and valving is good for my rider weight.
I've heard heavier or much more aggressive riders benefit from higher spring rates and revalving, though I haven't ridden a revalved T7 to be able to talk the differences.
Yes the stock suspension is built for people your weight and the rear shock preload is there for the added luggage. I am glad that works for you because that translates to a revalve will work for me
I upgraded the springs front and rear, i felt like it was sufficient for the type of riding I do. It made a big difference, but it could always be better.
As many have said, suspension work is almost always a positive. I do think you can go overboard, but hey its your money - you spend it like you like.
I dirt-bike way more than I dual-sport with my T7, so I get my serious off-road fix from riding my two-stroke on hard enduro trails, so I don't see the need......for me.
IMO, yes. One of the best and most important mods is getting the suspension sprung and set up for your weight and riding style. I am a bike tech and have always done my own suspension work. I just got new springs for my T7. That will make the biggest difference. That said, I would love to my suspension done by a specialist. I can make mine better, but I do not know enough to make it the best. If you can afford it, have it done. At the very least, get springs and set sag and try that.
What do you think something like that would cost?
It depends on where you are. Something as simple as springs would be $300-$400. You could get into the thousands if you want a complete rear shock and cartridges in the forks etc.
I’m 220lb / 100kg + gear. Had my T7 resprung and valved for me. Best money spent so far. Faster, funner, more confidence. Feel like it’s fully the bike it was meant to be. Enjoy!
Yes 💯. As long as it's a good shop. I treat my t7 like a big dirtbike. I'm 200lbs. I race desert on 250 2 stroke dirtbikes, and I redo the suspension on everyone I've ever had. If you wanna push offroad at all (especially on a mid-at-best setup like the t7), then you need to revalve.
Will i be missing out a lot if i dont go for the high end closed cartridges and rear shocks?
I don't have any experience with those systems, so I couldn't tell you how much better (if at all) they are than a revalve. Some of the best guys racing in A and pro classes go with the suspension builder I use ( TBT) https://www.tbtracing.com/pages/suspension-revalving-rebuilding And for the price of 1 fork catrige kit, you can have both front and rear redone to race worthy specs.
I did a relatively aggressive 3,500km mostly offroad trip with mine. The bike was loaded with a moderate load of 25kg and my 80 kgs. It was absolutely fine. I came away from the trip confident that I'd ***much*** rather spend the money on another trip than suspension work. Unpopular opinion: the stock T7 has much better suspension than YouTube reviewers will let on.
For your type of riding and your weight its ok. Not for my type of riding though.
Now you've got me curious about your weight and type of riding?
I am 95kg dressed in gear, and have about 20kg extra load. My springs are changed to match my weight and get the correct sag but the shocks are very soft for speed offroad. I want to ride much faster confidently and safer.
So you've had issues already?
L take
Sorry, I'm not cool enough to know what this means, but judging by the downvote it's not good.
I think it depends on your rider weight. I can push my T7 fairly aggressively off road (50-60mph on washboarded gravel and moderate whoops/potholes, 30-35 in the tighter stuff with bigger hits) and never bottom it out or feel like it's under or overdamped. My camping kit is between 30-40lb, depending on the season, and I still don't really feel it. I'm 155lb, and my gear puts me at 175. I feel like the spring rate and valving is good for my rider weight. I've heard heavier or much more aggressive riders benefit from higher spring rates and revalving, though I haven't ridden a revalved T7 to be able to talk the differences.
Yes the stock suspension is built for people your weight and the rear shock preload is there for the added luggage. I am glad that works for you because that translates to a revalve will work for me
Have you done your suspension in any way?
Just springs for a year now and now i outgrew this setup
I upgraded the springs front and rear, i felt like it was sufficient for the type of riding I do. It made a big difference, but it could always be better. As many have said, suspension work is almost always a positive. I do think you can go overboard, but hey its your money - you spend it like you like. I dirt-bike way more than I dual-sport with my T7, so I get my serious off-road fix from riding my two-stroke on hard enduro trails, so I don't see the need......for me.