Honda Canada Racing Presents MXP Chatter With Colton Facciotti

Since Colton Facciotti announced his retirement from professional racing last fall, the industry has been wondering what Colton will do now that he’s done racing. After months of speculation it was finally announced last week that Colton is going into the suspension business with his long-time friend and sponsor Joe Skidd of SSS Suspension. Working out of the shop at Gopher Dunes, Colton will be providing SSS Suspension Service for riders who are looking for the same edge that he and a number of top pros had for so many years. This is great news for not only Colton and SSS Suspension but also for riders who have always wanted to try this championship winning product. We caught up with Colton as he was driving to his new suspension shop to work on a few sets of suspension. 

MXP: Hey Colton, I saw that Gopher Dunes was actually opened for riding yesterday. I know you didn’t ride but how was the track?

CF: It looked good, actually. There were a couple of spots that were rutted and a little muddy, but overall it looked good. Not bad for early February, that’s for sure.

Yes, who would’ve thought people would be riding at Gopher this time of year. Let’s jump right into your new venture and really your new job with SSS Suspension. I think it’s pretty cool. Can you take us through how this came about?

I think it really began back in like 2016 or 2017, which is when I started to think that maybe I’d like to work with suspension after I’m done racing. I don’t know, I’ve always enjoyed the process of testing suspension and getting it set up, and while it was done, obviously, from a rider’s point of view, I thought it would be cool to be on the other side of it. It would’ve been very difficult to start something up on my own, so with the help of Joe Skidd and SSS Suspension we decided to go down this road together.

You and Joe have worked together for so long and your success together speaks for itself. If working on suspension interests you then this appears to be the perfect way to do it.

For sure, Joe and I work very well together and always have. I think we have the same mindset when it comes to wanting to go that extra mile to make sure things are as close to perfect as possible. So, together I think we can make this work really well.

Over the years Joe and SSS Suspension have mostly been synonymous with pro riders and winning pro championships, but this venture should help open SSS Suspension to a new market.

That is the plan! Joe will still do his thing and help out the pro teams and riders that he supports. They have their stuff and some of their components are a little different. But I will be focusing more on our new Intermediate Suspension package that comes in at a lower price point that will hopefully make it more accessible and affordable for other riders. This will give riders another option if they want to use SSS.

So, you will be building suspension out of the shop at Gopher Dunes?

Yes, I have a nice little shop set up here and things are starting to take off. I’ve been down at Joe’s shop quite a bit lately, learning about the product and how to build a rider’s suspension, so yeah, things have been going well. If anyone out there wants their suspension done then you can email me at colt@superiorsettings.com, or just give me a call at (604) 250-2569 and we’ll get you set up.

This sounds very cool Colton! With this Intermediate package and you doing it at Gopher Dunes, will a rider be able to have you come out to the track to help them fine tune their new SSS set up?

Yes, that is the plan, and honestly, that is something that I’m really looking forward to. A rider can have me do their suspension and then they will have the option of having me come out, watch them ride, and together we’ll get it right. I know better than most how important it is for a rider to feel comfortable. Sometimes you get your suspension modified and then you get home and it might not feel as good as you want. That won’t be the case as I’ll be able to help them, as you said, fine tune it.

For a rider to have your help setting up their suspension after you’ve completed the work is amazing! As we’ve seen for so many years you’ve been on the bike and helping to set up your suspension as a rider. Do you think it will be difficult to be on the other side of the fence just watching people ride and trying to determine how their bike is working?

It’s definitely going to be different being on the side of the track and watching how a rider’s bike is working, but I’ve been doing it now for a while with other riders and I feel like I’ve become pretty good at it. Even during the past few years with Dylan Wright, I’ve watched him ride a lot and we’ve worked together in getting his suspension set up. Even though it’s going to be different than racing myself, I’m really looking forward to the challenge.

Are you set up to do this now? Can people start sending you their suspension to work on?

Of course, we’re all ready to go! I’m actually heading to Gopher Dunes to work on a few sets of suspension right now.

Well, congratulations on this new gig; as I said, it all sounds very exciting. I was going to write a story later today about the top riders in the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross Series, however, now that I have you on the phone, I will get your opinion. I’m assuming you’ve watched all or most of the opening rounds of SX so far.

Of course!

Okay, I’m going to give you some names and you give me your thoughts. Let’s start with your fellow Honda rider Ken Roczen?

I think Roczen has been riding great and up until last weekend in Oakland, he was pretty much the fastest rider. I’m not sure what happened in Oakland but he looked a little off the pace of both Tomac and Webb, but he might have just had an off night. I think moving forward he needs to improve his speed through the whoops as he looked a little slow there compared to Tomac and even Webb on Saturday night. Hopefully his foot injury isn’t too bad and he’ll be 100% for San Diego.

How about Eli Tomac?

Tomac has been plain fast, and to me he looks a little more comfortable this year. In the past you don’t know what you’re going to get with Tomac as he’s been known to make some big mistakes. In Oakland he was on a different level; we’ll see if he can do it again this weekend.

Do you sometimes watch Tomac ride and just shake your head? You were always smooth and precise, and in most situations the complete opposite of Tomac. He doesn’t appear to care which rut he’s in or if he’s lined up for a jump, he just goes for it.

Yes, but I think that is what has gotten him into trouble in the past as far as remaining consistent for the entire series. You can ride any way you want when you’re on, but on those nights when you don’t have your A game, you have to back it down. Tomac never seems to back it down.

Excellent points. What about Cooper Webb, he seems to be finding his groove?

If I was Roczen and Tomac then I’d be most worried about Cooper Webb right now. He started off the series sick and now that he’s healthy he’s getting better. When the series heads east in a couple of weeks, Webb is going to be even better. I know I say this every year but this series is the most exciting that we’ve seen in a while. I think if these three can remain healthy then we’re going to see some incredible racing in the coming weeks.

I agree completely. Okay, the 250SX West class. Ferrandis and Forkner appear to be the fastest two riders, but Cooper has been the most consistent. Who gets it done this weekend in San Diego?

I think Forkner is getting better each weekend, and I agree, he and Ferrandis look to be hungrier to win right now. I don’t know if Cooper is playing it safe or what, but he lost the points lead last weekend and he’s had two tough races in a row. He needs to win this weekend to get this confidence back. If I had to pick, I’d say Forkner wins this weekend.

What did you think of the Ferrandis pass on Christian Craig a few weeks ago?

I didn’t like it to be honest. I don’t think Ferrandis meant for it to go that badly but I’ve been on the receiving end of those passes, and whether or not the other rider means to or not, it doesn’t matter. I know it’s SX and it’s tight racing, but you can’t go into a corner and wreck a guy like that, whether it’s intentional or not.

We’ve seen Ferrandis ride like that before. You think back to Paris in November and he even gave Forkner a bump in Oakland. Do you think that at some point a rider is going to give Ferrandis some serious payback?

I would think yes! At some point Ferrandis is going to be on the other end and the other rider won’t hold back at all.

I guess it’s the old live by the sword and die by the sword. Anyway Colton, congratulations on the SSS Suspension program and thanks for taking the time to chat. 

No problem! It should be exciting and I’m looking forward to working with everyone moving forward.