I'm buying +2 a-arms and new front shocks. I plan on racing mx, how important is it to have resevoirs? Do I really need them?

 

They aren't necessary, but you may want them depending on your riding level. Reservoirs are used primarily for two purposes.

1. They allow the shock to say cooler by creating better separation from the gas/oil.
2. They allow the shock to be more adjustable.
a. Rebound adjustment.
b. Compression adjustment.


Of the 3 kinds of shock adjustments, only Pre-load is usually adjustable on the springs. Rebound and Compression are adjusted by controlling how fast and where the gas and oil are moved to during use.

The bottom line, if you don’t want to adjust your shock's Rebound and Compression characteristics then you’re find without reservoirs. However if you’re running 10 - 15 lap motos, then you better get the reservoirs too. (On many aftermarket shocks you can add the reservoirs onto the shock at a later time.)

-ben horgen