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riders and racers are in for a treat. Dealers got their first look at
the future at Indy, when Progressive Suspension, a recognized name when
it comes to up-grade springs, shocks and ride-tuning kits, unveiled
its latest breakthrough at the 36th Annual Dealernews International
Dealer Expo this past February. The new 6th Sense™ Suspension
line of off-road shocks—featuring Progressive’s brand-new
and patented Control Valve technology [CV/t]®, Platform Damping™
and Thermaltech™, had everyone’s eyes popping.
Control Valve Technology [CV/t]®offers
riders compression-damping adjustments like they’ve never had
before. [CV/t]®, in addition to its standard velocity-sensitive
compression damping ability (damping adjusted to how hard and how fast
the shock is working), adds “Position Sensitive” compression
damping to the picture. This is a shock technology that actually senses
where that shock is in its stroke and further adjusts the damping accordingly.
Between those two systems housed in one shock, velocity-sensitive valving
and the new [CV/t]® technology, a rider has almost infinite adjustment
control over the shock’s performance. This shock can be quickly
and easily tuned for everything from the smoothest and subtlest ride
over the smallest bumps to a seemingly endless bottom-out control for
hard charging. [CV/t]® is something Progressive developed and refined
three years ago, first applying it to the mountain-bike industry (these
guys are into bicycle racing big time). The application for off-road
powersports was a natural.
Thermaltech™ engineering senses heat build-up in the shock and
then controls internal pressure buildup to ensure consistent damping
performance in all conditions.
This 6th Sense™ Suspension has a
couple more tricks up its sleeve, too. That [CV/t]® feature also
allows for “Platform Damping™” adjustment. Platform
Damping™ control will be especially appreciated, too; it allows
for quick tuning to minimize all the roll, squat, wallow, bump-overrun
and other unpleasant and unwanted suspension movement encountered on
an ATV. Stabilizing the ride overall, that Platform Damping™ still
allows the shock to respond to and deal with all bumps, ruts and dips
encountered.
And last—but certainly not least—Progressive’s
new ATV shock introduces “Thermaltech™” engineering
to the sport. Thermaltech™ actually senses the heat build-up in
the shock as it works, and then controls internal pressure buildup due
to that heat to ensure consistent damping performance in all conditions.
It’s a revolutionary idea. Thermaltech uses a brand-new, and proprietary,
fluid that’s perfectly matched to the expansion rate of the shock’s
reservoir gasses. As the shock works hard or eases back, heating up
and cooling down, the Thermaltech™ mechanism expands and contracts
to maintain the optimum reservoir chamber size.
The [CV/t]™ technology actually senses where
the shock is in its stroke and further adjusts damping accordingly.
With
its five-way adjustable damping—Platform Damping™, Bottoming
Control, High-Speed Compression, Low-Speed Compression and Rebound Damping—coupled
with Thermaltech™ and Progressive Suspension quality construction,
6th Sense™ Suspension made quite an impact at Indy. It’ll
be a different story out on the trail, though. That’s where this
new shock will control the impact like never before. 
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