Vertex’s case hardened wrist pins utilize nitride coatings that produce a high performance, wear resistant wrist pin. Coating wrist pins with a nitride coating is advantageous because it allows the desired surface hardness to be obtained without quenching and possibly distorting the pins. This hardened surface is highly wear resistant and provides anti-galling properties. Being the OE supplier of pistons to KTM, Vertex applies a DLC coating to all KTM four-stroke wrist pins for an extra hard surface treatment.