Most suspension stories are about making a bike faster, plusher, or set up for a specific kind of riding. This one isn’t.
Brian Wickander didn’t ask us to revalve his Ténéré 700. He didn’t ask for heavier springs. He brought us a 2024 — a bike that’s barely broken in by adventure-bike standards — and asked for a service.
That’s the part most riders never do.
Why service matters more than most riders think
Suspension oil degrades whether you ride or not. KYB calls for a service interval; almost no one hits it. Dust seals wear in invisibly. Internal bushings get hammered by the small impacts that don’t register but never stop. Even a brand-new bike isn’t running its suspension at its best after a few hundred miles, because nothing does.
Suspension that hasn’t been serviced isn’t broken — it’s just compromised in ways most riders compensate for without realizing. The fork packs into its stroke a hair earlier than it should. The shock heats up faster on a long ride and rebounds slower than spec. Damping curves drift. Small things pile up.
Then someone services the bike and the rider says it feels new. That’s because it is.
What we did to Brian’s bike
We pulled both the fork and the shock and serviced them off the bike. Full teardown. Cleaned every internal surface. Inspected for wear. Replaced what KYB calls out as wear items, refilled with fresh KYB oil at factory weights, and reassembled to KYB’s factory spec — every torque value, every measurement, every charge.
Front fork
- Disassembled, cleaned, and inspected
- New KYB dust seal and oil seal set
- Fresh KYB 5W fork oil at spec volume
- Reassembled and torqued to factory spec
Rear shock
- Disassembled, cleaned, and inspected
- New shock seal head service kit — piston band, inner shaft bearing, seals
- Fresh KYB 3W shock oil
- Nitrogen recharged, rebuilt and tested on the bench
Stock springs. Stock valving. Just everything inside running the way it was designed to.
Brian rides like he photographs
Brian isn’t a casual ADV rider. He’s a former Marine, a working photographer, and someone who plans his rides around terrain and light. The bike is a tool that gets him deep into the kind of country where you can’t afford to be running compromised gear.
Service is part of how he keeps that tool sharp.
If you’ve got more than 50 hours on your suspension, or it’s been more than a couple of seasons since the last service, you’re due. We do this work off-bike — front and rear — and ship it back ready to install. The removal guide on every ship-in walks you through pulling and reinstalling in about 60–90 minutes with basic hand tools.
- Bike
- 2024 Ténéré 700 Base
- Service
- Off-bike fork + shock service
- Springs
- Stock (unchanged)
- Valving
- Stock (unchanged)
- Fork oil
- KYB 5W (factory spec)
- Shock oil
- KYB 3W (factory spec)
- Replaced
- Dust + oil seals, shock seal head kit, piston band
- Service Advisor
- Weston Peick
I’m a husband, a father, a former United States Marine, lifelong photographer, and dedicated adventure rider. I’ve had a camera in my hands since I was a kid, drawn to light, composition, and the ability to preserve a moment in time. That early fascination grew into a serious craft, shaped by discipline, patience, and a constant desire to improve.
Motorcycles introduced another form of freedom and focus. The combination of riding and photography naturally led me outdoors, chasing remote roads, changing weather, and unfamiliar terrain. Exploration is what drives both my work and my riding. The landscape is not just scenery, it is part of the experience. My goal is to document that experience with honesty, intention, and a cinematic perspective.