Shim support for suspension assembly

A suspension assembly, comprising:

• a piston, comprising:
• a moat forming a cavity for fluid within said piston;
• a plurality of fluid ports in said moat for allowing said fluid to pass into said piston;
• a shim sealing surface formed around an outer circumference of said piston;
• a shim stack comprising a plurality of shims, comprising:
• a cover shim that is flexible and configured to be in contact with said shim sealing surface of said piston to prevent said fluid from entering said moat of said piston during a checked condition of said suspension assembly and configured to allow said fluid to pass between said cover shim and said shim sealing surface when pressure is applied to a moat side of said cover shim;
• and
• a plurality of support surfaces configured to be in contact with said cover shim during said checked condition and not be in contact with said cover shim during a preload condition when a damper is not experiencing said checked condition.

A piston with two sets of support surfaces, comprising:

• a first moat forming a first cavity for fluid within a first surface said piston;
• a first shim sealing surface formed around an outer circumference of said first surface configured to be in contact with a first cover shim of a first shim stack to prevent a fluid from entering said first cavity of said moat during a compression condition of a suspension assembly associated with said piston and configured to allow said fluid to pass between said first cover shim and said first shim sealing surface;
• a first set of support surfaces configured to be in contact with said first cover shim during said compression condition and not be in contact with said first cover shim during a preload condition;
• a second moat forming a second cavity for said fluid within a second surface said piston wherein said first surface is an opposing surface of said second surface;
• a second shim sealing surface formed around an outer circumference of said second surface configured to be in contact with a second cover shim of a second shim stack to prevent said fluid from entering said second cavity of said moat during an extension condition of a suspension assembly associated with said piston and configured to allow said fluid to pass between said second cover shim and said second shim sealing surface;
• and
• a second set of support surfaces configured to be in contact with said second cover shim during said extension condition and not be in contact with said second cover shim during a preload condition.