Al - I think needle bearings are a bad idea on a low rotation pivot as wear is greatly accelerated, and even on the top pivot I found life before play developed quite short. I found an easy solution to the excessive friction in standard DU bushings is to lathe down the OD of the bushing slightly so it is not clamped as much when pressed into the eyelet, thus decreasing friction greatly. Done correctly, reducer hardware will press in by hand.
This is the new Fox "five piece" hardware you speak of, which seems to work quite well too:
http://www.foxracingshox.com/technology.php?m=bike&t=mh&ref=topnav
It uses IGUS glide bushings.
This is the new Fox "five piece" hardware you speak of, which seems to work quite well too:
http://www.foxracingshox.com/technology.php?m=bike&t=mh&ref=topnav
It uses IGUS glide bushings.