Factory suspension outer tubes

Tokyo_Tiddler wrote:

One thing I have never seen in all my decades of MX is an interview with a Kayaba or Showa tech explaining what goes into works...

One thing I have never seen in all my decades of MX is an interview with a Kayaba or Showa tech explaining what goes into works suspension units and how they differ from OEM, beyond the coatings and tolerances and billet lugs that we all know. I never see anything about the differences in the valve shim stacks or the complete separation of compression and rebound dampening circuits in works shocks. I find suspension the most interesting of all parts on an MX bike. It would make for a really interesting interview/ article.

Tokyo_Tiddler wrote:

One thing I have never seen in all my decades of MX is an interview with a Kayaba or Showa tech explaining what goes into works...

One thing I have never seen in all my decades of MX is an interview with a Kayaba or Showa tech explaining what goes into works suspension units and how they differ from OEM, beyond the coatings and tolerances and billet lugs that we all know. I never see anything about the differences in the valve shim stacks or the complete separation of compression and rebound dampening circuits in works shocks. I find suspension the most interesting of all parts on an MX bike. It would make for a really interesting interview/ article.

Jmicmoto13 wrote:

X100. Completely agree and I would love to learn some suspension tech as well. I’m not asking for proprietary info but I would like some basics...

X100. Completely agree and I would love to learn some suspension tech as well. I’m not asking for proprietary info but I would like some basics about what their stuff does and why.

Tokyo_Tiddler wrote:

One thing I have never seen in all my decades of MX is an interview with a Kayaba or Showa tech explaining what goes into works...

One thing I have never seen in all my decades of MX is an interview with a Kayaba or Showa tech explaining what goes into works suspension units and how they differ from OEM, beyond the coatings and tolerances and billet lugs that we all know. I never see anything about the differences in the valve shim stacks or the complete separation of compression and rebound dampening circuits in works shocks. I find suspension the most interesting of all parts on an MX bike. It would make for a really interesting interview/ article.

Tokyo_Tiddler wrote:

One thing I have never seen in all my decades of MX is an interview with a Kayaba or Showa tech explaining what goes into works...

One thing I have never seen in all my decades of MX is an interview with a Kayaba or Showa tech explaining what goes into works suspension units and how they differ from OEM, beyond the coatings and tolerances and billet lugs that we all know. I never see anything about the differences in the valve shim stacks or the complete separation of compression and rebound dampening circuits in works shocks. I find suspension the most interesting of all parts on an MX bike. It would make for a really interesting interview/ article.

ga_pike wrote:

Would definitely be something worth reading. I wonder if Showa or KYB would be willing to share much? Maybe interview someone like George Quay instead?

Tokyo_Tiddler wrote:

One thing I have never seen in all my decades of MX is an interview with a Kayaba or Showa tech explaining what goes into works...

One thing I have never seen in all my decades of MX is an interview with a Kayaba or Showa tech explaining what goes into works suspension units and how they differ from OEM, beyond the coatings and tolerances and billet lugs that we all know. I never see anything about the differences in the valve shim stacks or the complete separation of compression and rebound dampening circuits in works shocks. I find suspension the most interesting of all parts on an MX bike. It would make for a really interesting interview/ article.

Katoomey wrote:

What's to know? Less friction, less deflection, less dynamic deformation. That's it. This allows the dampening to do more of the actual absorption of movement, instead...

What's to know? Less friction, less deflection, less dynamic deformation. That's it. This allows the dampening to do more of the actual absorption of movement, instead of movement being absorbed by flexing parts and the friction between the parts. The idea is that removing friction and flex allows more precise damping control. (This principle is observed in cars as well with chassis and control arm flex). Friction and flex are not consistent at dampening movement, and introduce uncontrollable dampening forces. Because those forces can spike at times, the actual dampening baseline has to be softer. With more rigidity and less friction, damening tuning can be much more accurate and consistent. And because there is less harshness, the suspenion can be stiffer without sacrificing comfort. This means you can go harder, faster, longer...and dial your suspension in with more accuracy.

This is litterally why they turned forks upside down. Less flex = less friction. Less Unsprung weight was just a byproduct of the inverted fork. Not the reason like many have suggested over the years.


Fluid dampening designs come and go, so they are sort of irrelevant. Factory suspension is really all about the manufacturing...materials, coatings, fitment, tolerences, and assembly...not dampening designs. I will say this though- the larger you make valves and orifices in your dampening design, the more consitant the dampening will be, so thats the trend in suspension design- move larger volumes of fluid per action.