Norm Cobb and Darryll King - photo New Zealand Nationals 1997
Welcome to my web site.
Unless you live in New Zealand you're probably wondering about Suspension Tech's origins and who the hell is Norm Cobb? Read On:
My interest in motorcycles started at age 12 when I was eliminated from representative soccer with a knee injury. The knee recovered but I had caught the motorcycle bug and started racing the following year. At age16 I left school having passed University Entrance Examinations in the sixth form. Colemans Suzuki, an Auckland inner city Suzuki franchise, was my first full time job. I started as a bike retailer then progressed into the workshop where I learned the trade from highly respected tuner and racer Alan Franklin. With his influence I progressed up the grades of New Zealand motorcross. Unfortunately I suffered broken legs in successive seasons and had to rethink my racing ambitions. After 5 years I left to run the workshop at Southern Yamaha and after two successful years there I started my own repair business. My racing was once again a large focus and I raced in Tahiti in 1985 as part of a 5 man team. To broaden my horizons I travelled to Southern California in 1987 and worked as a mechanic at Ontario Honda. The race scene was not as I expected and I enjoyed the skiing more than the racing. Returning home to New Zealand at the end of 1987 I landed the job of service manager at Aucklands largest Honda dealership, Forbes and Davies. Two years later I again ventured into business starting Supacross Cycles in 1989.
Since its inception Supacross Cycles has evolved in many ways. It was my original intention to pursue the Road Bike tuning market but with the huge influx of second hand Japanese cars the motorcycle market went into a nose dive. My skills as a motorcross mechanic helped me to develop a niche market and with my association with many championship winning riders including Darryll King (9 New Zealand titles) Supacross Cycles became the leader in Motorcross tuning. Business grew as I started importing different product lines into the market and my business changed again. I was now acting as distributors as well as doing service and tuning work. In 1993 I started importing American Race Tech suspension products and our business focus became more oriented towards suspension tuning. With the importation of engine dynos by other tuners we did less and less engine work. During this time my reputation as a suspension tuner grew and I was approached by New Zealand's primary motorcycle magazine "Kiwi Rider" to do technical articles and motorcycle tests, an association which still exists today.
In 1996 my wife and I travelled to Europe to check out the GP Motorcross scene. It was at the final of the German 125 GP that I saw my first TM motorcycle. The following week we travelled to Italy and negotiated the distribution rights for TM motorcycles. The importation of TM motorcycles and spare parts and subsequent servicing has become an important part of my business.
With the sudden loss of the "Race Tech" agency to an accessory warehouse in late 1998 my business has once again taken a major direction change. We formed a new company "Suspension Tech International Ltd" and since February 1999 I have worked hard to develop my own range of motorcycle suspension kits. Although sharing some design philosophies with the Race Tech products Suspension Tech Stealth Valves feature many major design improvements. Made from aircraft quality 6061 T6 aluminum then hard anodized to100 microns, our pistons are incredibly light and tough. With aggressive pricing and exceptional quality and performance our products are taking the New Zealand and Australian market by storm. In our first season of racing Stealth Valve kitted forks were instrumental in achieving championship victories in 4 out of 5 New Zealand Junior National MX classes and in Road Racing our #1 rider Tony Rees clinched the two most important New Zealand Road Racing titles the 600cc and Open Production classes on Yamahas fitted with Suspension Tech kits. In 1999 our long association with Darryll King continued with development work performed on the factory Marzocchi fork on his 'works' Husky 4 Stroke. The need for high quality motorcycle springs led me to Eibach, one of the world leaders in motorcycle spring design and manufacture. Suspension Tech's appointment in 1999 as New Zealand distributor for Eibach springs is the perfect complement to the Suspension Tech Stealth Valves product line and I recommend Eibach Springs with all my kits.
While many companies are happy to sell to anyone with a credit card I feel this is a short term approach. Suspension tuning is a complex relationship between the rider, machine, spring rates, damping rates, speed and application. Its not some thing you can teach with a video or instruct with a sheet of paper. It takes years of testing and experience to develop the skills to be a good suspension tuner. My kits are designed to take away the need for countless hours of testing by providing better designed components than standard, with base line settings that will improve the action over the stock components. It is my belief a vital link in suspension tuning is the relationship between the rider and the tuner or technician. Some companies believe that if you can fit fork seals you can fit their suspension kits but I have seen many instances where even shops are not capable of performing seal changes. Suspension tuning is a trade where a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Incorrectly fitted suspension kits could be life threatening. This is the reason Suspension Tech kits are only available to the trade or suspension technicians and in this way I hope to support the trade as well as give the end user better suspension, service and value for money.