News & Events

The motocross bike that Tom Cruise rode for his sensational stunt in the latest "Mission: Impossible" was equipped with the SHOWA A-Kit factory-spec race suspension.

The beauty of performance

The A-Kit suspension, comprising the front fork and rear cushion, represents the pinnacle of current motocross suspension technology. Developed with the feedback from AMA and MXGP racing, its quality has proven with the many races and titles that have been won from bikes equipped with it.

Here's what makes it so special:

• "Dimplush,"^*1 our most advanced surface treatment technology, is applied to the outer tube, shaft, and rod pipe of the front fork, as well as the main pipe of the rear cushion.
• "Emerald Coating"^*2 is applied to the inner tubes of the front fork and the rod of the rear cushion to reduce friction and improve the design.
• Each part's bushing material was newly developed to reduce friction.
• Optimized structure, strength, and shape with the help of CAE (computer-aided engineering) of the front fork, titanium axle holder tightening bolts, and aluminum forged axle holders; along with the adoption of plastic diaphragms to reduce weight.
• For the rear cushion, the weight of the damper case is reduced by using a two-piece forged aluminum design. The spring adjuster is made of resin to reduce weight and improve the design.

SHOWA A-Kit front fork

SHOWA A-Kit rear cushion

*1 Dimplush: a unique micro-geometric-patterned surface texturing technology to improve the lubrication of sliding surfaces.

*2 Emerald Coating: a unique thin-coating technology. Surfaces are polished by a special process to achieve reduced friction and treated with a multilayer Ti-based coating in emerald color, which is superior in hardness and wear resistance for long-lasting performance.

Detail of the fully adjustable A-Kit front fork