First Look: BOS CR60 Rear Shock 1

By Michael Lindsay

Anytime the words shock or forks get mentioned around the office I get a little giddy, as suspension always has my undivided attention. Quite often it's something mountain bike-related though (Vital MTB), as aftermarket suspension is more common in that realm. But the other day we got word that I'd have the opportunity to test a new shock by BOS. Now most of you are probably thinking the same thing I was. "Who?" Well, BOS has had their hands in a bit of everything from Rally, to Formula 3 and Moto GP, but they're best known for their mountain bike suspension. Their suspension components in these worlds are considered to be top-of-the-line, and this definitely caught our attention, so we set up a date to check it out and spend some time testing their new shock.

BOS CR60 Features:

• Low-Speed Compression: 25 clicks of adjustment.
• High-Speed Compression: 25 clicks of adjustment.
• Rebound: 28 clicks of adjustment.
• Bump Stop: Three turns of adjustment.
• 18mm shock shaft.
• 46mm shock body.
• 46-53mm reservoir, depending on the model.
• Available for: KTM SX/SX-F/EXC/EXC-F, Honda CRF, Suzuki RM-Z, Kawasaki KXF, Yamaha YZF, Husqvarna FC/TC/TE.
• U.S. Price $1880.

With their vast suspension experience and a passion for motocross, BOS decided it was time to enter the market with their new CR60 shock. Even though they're based in France, we were able to meet up with the owner and their U.S. distributor at a track here in California to test out this pre-production version.

At first glance the total size of the shock was surprising - it's extremely slim and left no excess weight to be trimmed. The CR60 is a 46mm bodied shock with an 18mm shaft size (most full-sized production bikes have 50mm shock bodies with a 16mm shaft). It has your standard high-speed and low-speed compression adjustment, and the adjustment is a bit expanded over the usual range, especially on the high-speed compression.

It also has what they call a Bump Stop adjustment, which is located right below the top shock mount. This is a type of hydraulic bottom-out control, which can help control the severity of the hit during a bottom-out or when it tries to blow through the stroke. It also has a similar system on rebound, but without the external adjustment. This soaks up some of the energy when the shock extends quickly, allowing it to track better along choppy sections.

I'm fairly critical of aftermarket shocks, and I always judge them against some production shocks I've had re-valved and spent quite a bit of time adjusting. This means the performance has to be on par and not just have some fancy adjusters to catch my attention. After running the BOS back-to-back with the production shock and changing clickers throughout the day, I was impressed on the gains made just in adjustment. Receiving a set of suspension that is perfect out of the box is a rarity in my case, that's why I value the ability to change and tweak them. Thanks to its large amount of adjustability, we were able to fine tune the CR60 to what I wanted for the conditions of the track.

As mentioned above, this was a pre-production shock which we spent the day riding with. Although it seemed like a finished product, BOS has a few things they want to tweak before releasing the shock to the public towards the end of May. We will be receiving the final production version in the next few weeks to put through the wringer, before we report back with our thoughts. Until then you can check out www.BOS-Engineering.com or call their US department at 702-847-5478 for more details.