I got to know the people in eXTra Products in 2007, at the beginning of my trip in Asia. Thanks to a misjudgment of the so-called “expert” in suspensions that I had paid my confidence to in Thessaloniki, Greece, the rear suspension of my motorcycle had left its last breath in Ayvalik, Turkey, just 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) and two weeks since the beginning of my trip! At that time I had no choice but to take the ferry-boat to Lesvos Island in Greece. Finally I had decided to put eXTra Products in charge of my suspensions, a company much praised by many motorcyclists. I had a long trip before me, where I would ride many kilometers on demanding off-road routes on an overloaded motorcycle. So, I had chosen a new WP suspension to be installed on my XR.

   Six years later, my suspension had done me credit through the hard riding conditions in Asia and continued to work impeccably on my motorcycle throughout the time I was using it in Greece. When it was time for me to prepare another two XR’s 250 for our even longer trip in Africa, Mr. Tasoulis from eXTra Products was one of the first to declare that he would stand by our side!

   In the African continent I would use this same suspension by WP, the one that had gained my full trust. eXTra Products undertook the work of its maintenance, making it as good as new. More specifically, Dimitris Kounelis, who is a real expert in suspensions, did his magic on the WP suspension, as well as on the original suspension we would install on Christina’s XR. This work was very challenging as the suspension was calling not only for maintenance but also for lowering it a great deal, in order for Christina to be able to reach the ground when riding her motorcycle! The same work had to be done on her front suspension as well.

Our motorbikes are same but Christina’s had to be lowered by eXTra Products.

   Finally, everything was taken care of properly. The suspensions on our motorcycles were even better than new ones, tougher springs were placed both in the front and in the rear, taking into consideration the heavy load we would carry, and at last Christina’s XR was low enough for her to ride it!

   That was not all of what eXTra Products did for us… They supplied us with Denicol oil for our engines, brake discs and pads by Brembo, as well as chains and sprockets by AFAM. These brand names are known to those who use motorcycles of much higher performance than this of our humble XR’s. However, for such a demanding trip we could trust nothing less than top quality products, especially when we are talking about some of the most critical parts of our motorcycles.

Brembo brake discs and pads are the responsible ones to stop our motorcycles when it’s necessary…

   Denicol oil made our gear boxes working smoothly, while our engines would consume almost no oil at all. There is no need to say anything about Brembo brakes… Their quality is well known! The chains and sprockets by AFAM are the ones that have endured the most during our trip. They have worked without troubles for hundreds of kilometers in the sand of the Sahara. Despite of the sand being the number one enemy of chains and sprockets, ours remain intact even though they had to work deep in the sand every time the motorcycle was stuck! They also endured the mud and the river crossings. After almost 30,000 kilometers (18,641 miles) in such conditions, there are no signs of wear until today. Our front sprockets have still some life to live, the rear ones seem almost as good as new, while the golden chains with XS-rings by AFAM remain strained, high-and-mighty, even though we don’t have the luxury to maintain them the way we should!

Despite of the AFAM chains and sprockets having worked often in the sand, they still haven’t shown any signs of wear after 30,000 kilometers (18,641 miles).

   That is why eXTra Products is the company we trust without second thought when it comes to such critical mechanical issues. We feel the need to thank them from the bottom of our heart for being by our side all these years.