SR Suntour remote lockout lever spotted on Ducati MotoGP race bikes

After giving us disc brakes, suspension and mismatched wheelsize, it looks like motorbikes are finally taking some tech inspiration from mountain biking.

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As reported by GPOne.com MotoGO news site, a mysterious two-button bar-mounted contraption appears to be a stickered-up SR Suntour remote lock lever. But why?

On the Ducati race bikes the remote buttons are coloured red and green, presumably glued-on decals to help the rider remember which button locks and which button unlocks. You can see the spy shot pics on the GPOne story linked above.

There are a few fans who first assumed it was some sort of holeshot device (a button-release for timing the release of the throttle at the start of a race) but recent gossips from the chattering MotoGP masses are convinced the remote is doing the same sort of thing it does on a mountain bike. Namely, lock-out (or firm-up) the suspension, the rear suspension in this instance.

But why would a motorbike need a lock-out? There’s no pedal-induced, energy-robbing bobbing to fight after all. Understandably, Ducati remain tight-lipped on the mystery mechanism. It’s possible that the device is there to somehow deal with squat/anti-squat. Or maybe it’s purely to do with adjusting ride height on-the-fly? Or both? Maybe it’s for releasing an oil slick behind the bike to make chasing competitors crash in a Wacky Races stylee? Probably not.

Regardless, it’s notable that this is the first instance we can ever recall of motorbikes taking some technology from mountain bikes – in this case literally – and applying it to their sport. After we’ve