And now for something really interesting!

Okay, I lied, this may not be all that interesting to most people; but, if you own an off-road vehicle of some sort it may be important to you. Have you given any thought to the bearings in your suspension? I know, now that I have come out and said it you are waiting breathlessly on the edge of your seat.....

Suspension bearings are actually a pretty serious thing, particularly if they are not maintained. Many modern off-road (and on-road for that matter) vehicles use some type bearings in the swing-arm, shocks, a-arms, etc. Out of all the bearings on your machine, these probably take the worst abuse from water, dirt, mud, sand, cockroaches (okay, not cockroaches, just making sure you're paying attention). Unfortunately many vehicles don't have grease fittings to aid in maintaining these bearings. Which means to perform any sort of meaningful maintenance, the suspension has be taken apart, cleaned, greased and put back together. Because it is such a hassle to do this type of maintenance many of us (including me) tend to put it off until later, which normally turns into never. The problem with this approach is once the grease is gone or turned into a rock, rust begins to set in, and then it's down-hill from there.  Once the bearings and races get nice and rusty they have a tendency to fuse themselves to whatever they are supposed to be protecting from wear. Eventually the individual pieces become impossible to remove without seriously damaging things like the swing-arm, or on motorcycles, the engine case. The result is a task, that is tedious and not much fun, turns into a repair from hell that can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars to repair.  Not to mention the tears of frustration that are shed and the time spent shaking your fist at the heavens..

Hopefully you are convinced it's time to take care of your suspension bearings, and you may be wondering how often it should be done and when to do it. Like most things in life, it all depends on how and where you ride. If you live on or near the coast or ride in sand it should be done at least yearly, maybe even more if you are riding on the beach. Those of you that are riding in a drier climate like Sunny Central Washington, it should be done every year, but if you stretched it a little you are probably okay (always assuming you aren't into mud bogging). But, use some common sense, you know where and how you ride, don't talk yourself into thinking you can put it off just because you don't want to do it. 

A final thought on this subject, if you plan to do the work yourself always be very careful with anything that is spring loaded ( you know like your shock springs) and avoid getting a bigger hammer if things don't go smoothly. Of course, there is always the option of relaxing with your favorite beverage (adult or otherwise) and let our tech's shed the tears of frustration and shake their fists at the heavens while you enjoy the nice spring weather and your involuntary time off.