Improper assembly and inadequate fluids quality will drastically alter the way components are designed to perform and could cause premature wear. Factory Connection only uses the highest quality fluids in forks and shocks... the same fluids we use in Mike LaRocco’s and the rest of the Factory Connection race team’s components.

The biggest difference between factory or "works" suspension and production based forks and shocks is the amount of time spent with the rider testing and working on making their settings the best that they can be for that rider. People love to look at the fancy billet parts made out of exotic materials and the low friction coatings in cool colors. These differences are improvements but you can have the best suspension components in the world and still struggle with suspension performance.

Hours of testing goes into developing the final race setting for a factory rider. When the race comes around, not only does the rider have a setting that they are completely comfortable with but also the components are brand new for that race. During the race, the rider may learn some things about the way his bike is working and want to test some more or build some subtle changes into their settings for the following week. Regardless of setting changes or sticking with the existing settings, the suspension will be completely rebuilt for the next race. What the factory rider starts with at the first national is usually very different by the time we get to the final national. There are always improvements being made as the season progresses.

This "evolution" of settings happens here at Factory Connection, not only with our own race team but with our production suspension settings as well. Motocross, Supercross and Off-Road settings evolve every year as we spend more time with different bikes, riders, track types, etc. When the new bikes come out, Factory Connection starts testing with each of the new models. We learn what is good and bad about each bike and how to improve them for our customers. This requires spending time with a variety of different variables. Riders come in various sizes and ability levels and ride on multiple different track types with just as many different types of soils. But over time, we accumulate more knowledge and input from riders with each bike. This additional information allows us to continue to improve suspension performance. Improvements we make for one bike in November may be substantially better by June. Combine this development on our end with some more input from you as far as what you like and would like to see slightly better about your suspension and we can really make your bike work well for you, our valued customer.

This evolution is a major reason why riders should consider suspension maintenance during the racing season. Most riders don’t realize that they can make their bikes work even better. When you send your suspension in for a rebuild, let us know what you like and what you would like better about the way your suspension is working. While we are servicing your components, we will update your valving based on what we have learned and what your personal preferences are. In the end, you should end up with suspension that should be new again but the performance should be even better than new.

Most people are in tune with regular motorcycle maintenance. When your "top end" or clutch is worn out the loss of performance is evident. Most people will address this long before a piston fails or a clutch starts to slip. Forks and Shocks have the same type of wear going on. There are parts that are designed to wear to prevent damage to shock bodies, pistons, cartridges, etc. As these parts wear, suspension performance starts to diminish. This change in performance is gradual so most riders don’t notice it happening. This loss in suspension performance is why factory suspension is rebuilt for every race. We realize suspension service on a regular basis is not realistic or necessary for most people. If you ride and race on a regular basis, suspension service should be considered once or twice over the course of a season. The amount of time, riding conditions and ability levels have an impact on what interval you should think about having your suspension serviced.

Ziggy Tip: When you wash your bike, take the time to push up the bump rubber on your shock and clean out the dirt and grime from the shock shaft base. This will decrease the wear to your shock shaft.

Note: Preventitive maintenance is very important!

The diagram to the right shows the sideloads placed on the shock body and shock shaft (red star).

Excessive wear on the piston o-ring(s), piston band, seal head oring and shaft guide bushing can cause premature wear of the hardcoating on a shock body and / or chrome coating of a shock shaft.

This excessive wear is more often than not caused by lack of servicing / rebuilding of a shock

Some people think that changing the oil is rebuilding their suspension. While fluid changes are a good thing, sometimes people would be better leaving their suspension alone. There is a major difference between good and bad fluids. There are some oil companies that have wonderful two-cycle oil but their hydraulic fluids are not of the same quality and do not perform at the same level. Some of these fluids are so abrasive; you might as well throw sand in your forks or shock! Also, there is a bigger difference between a qualified suspension technician and someone that says they are qualified because they have taken forks and shocks apart once or twice. At Factory Connection we have had a situation where a person was/is running a supposed suspension shop yet they send their own personal suspension to us to be worked on. Very suspicious! Oil changes can be good when done at the proper interval, by a qualified technician using the proper tools and fluids. Usually around twenty hours of riding time is a good interval for oil changes on today’s bikes.

Shock and fork rebuilds are a much more detailed service. At Factory Connection, a complete rebuild is where we completely disassemble the components, clean and inspect all of the wear parts. We polish the fork tubes and shock shaft to remove any imperfections that may damage the seals. The components go back together using the proper special tools, the highest quality parts and fluids to reduce any chance of problems with your components. If your suspension has been modified by Factory Connection, we will check to see if we have any performance updates. Customer requests for valving changes will be addressed while the components are apart as well at no additional cost. This is a very thorough service, exactly the same service that we perform on Kevin Windham’s, Mike LaRocco’s, Barry Hawk or Jason Raines suspension on a regular basis.

If you have any questions feel free to call our us - and we'll be glad to help!