Twinshock

Twinshock is commonly used to refer to motorcycles that use twin shock absorbers. The term is also used to refer a particular era of motorcycles and is often used to describe off-road motorcycles. The motorcycle rear suspension design underwent radical changes during the late 1970s and 1980s. This prompted developments in advancing motorcycle suspension systems. This resulted in the creation of suspension with an increased rear wheel travel, which is actually the range of flexibility provided to the rear wheel that allows it to move up and down. Before these advancements in rear suspension technology, the rear wheel travel of motorcycles was in the range of 3.5 to 4 inches. However, the new development allowed increased rear wheel travel of up to 12 inches.

During the initial period of development of rear wheel suspension, various designs were adopted to attain this level of performance. By the end of this period a common design was universally adopted that used only one shock absorber instead of two. Motorcycles equipped with a single shock absorber are called monoshock motorcycles. They are vastly superior to the twin shock motorcycles also referred to as “twinshock”. The monoshock suspension is used ever since 1980s. Twinshock is now commonly used to categorize vintage motorcycles. There are many twinshock clubs and championship around the world such as Polesworth Twinshock Club, the Scottish Twinshock Scramble Club and National Twinshock Scrambles Championships for enthusiasts to be a part of.