My name is Mark and I run SSR Suspension in the W.Midlands. I was invited to join and contribute my expertise to this group by the Forum admin Weeksy
So where do I start? well firstly I really am not keen on Facebook, the groups are full of self confessed experts and trolls and many a bedroom seller who is prepared to sell a product for tuppence profit vs an established company who has overheads to pay and a living to make. Often people who post genuine questions just get trolled and recieve not much more than a blanket wide daft response. After spending the past 2 years on the Trackday Rider forums and interacting with many a user giving them advice and having genuine interesting conversations has reignited my faith in humanity, lol.
So about SSR Suspension...I am a specialist!
Specialists focus on one distinct job for a defined industry, sector or market. Their knowledge is specific but very deep. Generalists are considered the jack of all trades. SSR Suspension only deal with Motorcycle Suspension with Industry accreditation and training from multiple leading brands and manufacturers. SSR Suspension are Authorised Dealers and Service Centres for K-Tech Suspension, Nitron Racing Shocks, KYB Off-Road and Andreani.
But, we are also able to supply and service most brands of Suspension including Öhlins, Mupo (officially trained by Mupo in Italy back in 2016 before the brand was properly introduced in the UK, but I am not an official service centre as the dealership structure/importer changed), 'WP' both Road and Off-Road suspension.
So if you did not get that just to clarify I can service K-Tech, Nitron, Andreani and KYB Off road suspension as an Authorised official service agent but I am also able to service the following brands Ohlins (trained by Ohlins Racing AB in 2015), Mupo, Bitubo, KYB, Marzocchi and most other brands out there.
I am the owner and head honcho, an experienced suspension technician and motorsport engineer who also works as a Crew Chief in the British Superbike Series. I have worked with riders at all levels and all disciplines from the TT to BSB. At SSR Suspension giving people unbiased advice or better equipment to ride on makes us all happy.
I have invested in the very best equipment, tools and machinery on the market. Working with Andreani Group, K-Tech Suspension and other brands, we have everything from Andreani’s latest Vacuum Bleeding technology to brand specific tooling to ensure your equipment is worked on correctly.
We haven’t skimped on small details either – our workshop is more like a surgery than an engineering shop, did I mention I have OCD!
Don't you hate it when you can’t just speak to someone at a business when we need to, which is why we pride ourselves on being nice and easy to contact. You can get hold of us by phone, email, or through social media. We love to hear from you! Sometimes we miss a call or two whilst we are working on your bouncy bits, so please leave a message and we will get back to you as quickly as possible. We aim to get back to people within one working day and please be aware that our business number is a mobile phone but is not switched on out of hours.
SSR Suspension, About me...
SSR Suspension is owned and run by Mark Standley and was established at the end of 2015. Prior to working within the Suspension Industry, Mark worked in Motorsport both as a Race Mechanic and also as a Junior Race Engineer, with his primary experience in Endurance racing at Le Mans (Europe) at GT2 Level, before moving into Motorcycle Motorsport during 2009.
I worked predominantly in the road race scene as a race mechanic for International Road Racers such as Brandon Cretu, Alex Pickett and fastest TT Newcomer 2009 Ben Wylie. Working closely with those riders during that time, led to the integration of assisting in the development of the riders setup and the start of our friendship with key personnel at K-Tech Suspension who helped to develop our founding knowledge prior to the offer of employment with Öhlins Racing AB. Since 2015 we have developed our friendship and business relationship with K-Tech Suspension to become one of their authorised dealers and service centres catering for both road, race and off road suspension.
Alongside the daily activities of SSR Suspension, i may also may also be found in the British Superbike Paddock working as a Crew Chief for the 'Santander Salt TAG Racing' Yamaha Team and was to be working for the 'Rich Energy OMG' Superbike team at the 2020 Macau GP, but sadly due to Covid 19 it got cancelled. For 2021 I will be returning to the BSB to work for a different team as a Crew Chief, whom I can not mention yet but it is going to be an interesting and busy year that I am looking forward too
I am a rider myself, both on track and off road, I enjoys nothing more than being on a bikes, both recreationally and for personal testing and development of various settings. Currently I runs an Early Yamaha R1 on Track (very well specced bike), a Yamaha TDM850 on the road which I have just completed a full bare frame restoration on and a Kawasaki KX250F off-road occasionally. When I get time I also race Gravity Enduro Mountain Biking in the Vets category, I have to admit I feel old when I say that.
Having studied Motorsport Engineering at Staffordshire University (accredited by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers) I holds a BSc (Hons) in Motorsport and a FdSc in Motorsport Technology. As of 2019 I have undertaken study for a Masters Degree in Advanced Motorsport Engineering (Race Engineering) to further my development as a Motorsport Engineer. But my Motorsport Engineering career is outside of running SSR Suspension and racing is very much a part time occupation.
Continual professional development is very much a key area in the industry with technology advancing continually, I have attended further courses both at home and abroad including courses run by the Motorcycle Suspension School in the UK, to both factory level training with KYB and brand level training in Motorcycle Suspension at basic and advanced levels, with accreditation by multiple brands including KYB/Technical Touch (Off Road), Mupo Race Suspension in Italy, K-Tech Suspension, Nitron Racing Systems and the Andreani Group in Italy. I have also had formal training by Ohlins when I spent a small amount of time working for the BSB Ohlins Factory Support team.
Only dealing with suspension I work with all sectors, this includes road bikes not just race bikes, trackday bikes or off-road bikes. Unfortunately it is very true that many an OEM stock suspension system on a motorcycle is sub standard, that is not a sales pitch it is just the cold hard truth of the matter. Sometimes people seem offended when they are told you can not do much with their suspension or it needs internal upgrading to make even anywhere near sensibly usable, i'd rather you walk away not liking what you have been told than try to hard sell you something and feeling pressed into a sale. At the end of the day it is your budget and your money that you potentially come to me with as a customer.
My website may be found at www.ssr-suspension.uk
I look forward to speaking with you soon
