Voge suspension: fork diameters and travel by model

Fork diameter and suspension travel appear in every Voge parameter table. Together they describe the intended use of a model more accurately than its styling does.

The figures

Model	Front fork (mm)	Front travel (mm)	Rear	Rear figure (mm)
DS800X Rally	inverted, Ø 43	207	central shock	190
300 Rally	inverted, Ø 41	206	monoshock with linkage	80
DS900X	inverted, Ø 43	194	central shock	63
DS625X	inverted, Ø 41	174	central shock	69.5
DS525X	inverted, Ø 41	150	central shock	145
525ACX	inverted, Ø 41	109	central shock	119
525R	inverted, Ø 41	109	central shock	119
SR4 Max	-	-	twin shocks	127
SR1	telescopic, Ø 31	93	direct push shock	103
FR150	telescopic, Ø 26	83	central shock	27.5
SR450X	inverted, Ø 37	123	twin shocks	122.5
SR3	telescopic, Ø 35	94.5	direct push shock	103
SR16	telescopic, Ø 33	93	direct push shock	102
525RR	inverted, Ø 41	109	central shock	119
250RR	telescopic, Ø 37	100	central shock	58

The front column is consistent

The front figures are fork travel throughout, and they correspond to the character of each model. The DS800X Rally at 207 mm and the 300 Rally at 206 mm carry genuine off-road travel. The DS900X has 194 mm on the largest fork in the range, 43 mm. The 525R and 525ACX at 109 mm carry road suspension.

The rear column is not comparable between models

The DS900X is listed at 63 mm and the DS800X Rally at 190 mm. Both are large adventure motorcycles, and 63 mm of rear wheel travel would be unusable on one while 190 mm is unremarkable on the other.

The explanation is that the manuals do not measure the same quantity. Some print shock stroke, the distance travelled by the damper rod, and others print wheel travel, the distance travelled by the axle. Linkage and swingarm leverage multiply the first into the second, typically by a factor of two to three. Nothing in the parameter tables identifies which quantity is given.

On that basis the 63 mm quoted for the DS900X and the 69.5 mm for the DS625X are shock stroke, the 190 mm for the DS800X Rally is wheel travel, and the 27.5 mm printed for the FR150 can only be shock stroke. Conversion between them is not possible from published data, since the leverage ratio is not documented either.

Why fork diameter matters

A 43 mm tube resists torsion and bending better than a 41 mm tube, and a 41 mm tube better than a 31 mm one. The two largest models here carry 43 mm forks and the SR1 scooter 31 mm.

Diameter also determines what fits. Fork protectors, clamp-mounted accessories, bar risers that fix to the tube and fork seals are all diameter specific. The 41 mm group, five models in this table, is the first to check when a component is advertised as fitting a Voge.

Adjustment is not documented

The parameter tables describe the type of damper but not its adjusters, and the owner manuals print no recommended settings. Where a motorcycle has preload collars or damping adjusters, sag should be set with an assistant and a tape measure and the starting position recorded, since no published baseline exists to return to.

Related pages

Ground clearance moves with suspension travel and is tabulated in dimensions, wheelbase and ground clearance. The height at which the seat sits above the suspension is in Voge seat heights, and wheel and tyre data in tyre sizes and rim widths.