[Mr Magic Fingers]

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Hi everyone,



I have just completed draining, cleaning and rebuilding one of my rear shocks. They were never leaking, only not very solid. They were very spongy. I had to ask this question before I went on to the other one.



I am hoping someone in the know can answer this question ASAP so I can go on the second one or take the completed one apart again.



In the Honda manual, page 12-31, it says to add 12.5 oz of ATF. When I do that, it just about fills the shock up to the point that things get quite “pressurized” when it’s the seals turn to go on. It does go on, and after it is all together, as I tilt things back and forth I can hear the ATF going in to fill the area where the spring/coil is, or so I think. Also, when I take the plug out of the air line hole, it I can “burp” the shock a bit and things start to look and sound a bit better. I was going to take pictures but have been covered in oil all afternoon.



All and all, with that much fluid in there, there is not such a large volume of air left in the shock. I realize that there would not be, you don’t need much for an adjustable cushion. I only got out about maybe about 4.5 oz.



So, to anyone that has rebuilt the OEM shock on this bike (82 1100 Aspencade)…



Does 12.5 oz sound right?

Does it come up and almost fill the area where the seal goes?



Tim.

 

[Mr Magic Fingers]

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A shameless *** BUMP***



Tim

 

[k1w1t1m]

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According to my manual you have the correct amount of oil.

 

[jackjohn]

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Tim, 365cc or 12.5 Fl. Oz is correct. Please don't take offense, but are you sure the shocks you're working on are OEM. If someone has changed them to Progressive at some point, the oil is substantially less.

 

[jlparker77]

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I have a 82 aspencade. I just rebuilt the shocks not two weeks ago. the manual does say 12.5 oz. However, I was unable to fit 12.5 in mine. Literally would not physically fit in the body of the shock. I ended up closer to 10 maybe 9 oz and my shocks work perfectly. If they were progressives you can tell because the air line will go into the side of the body coming out horizontally of the shock and the oem will go into the top housing right near the top mount coming out nearly straight up. and progressives only hold 2-3 oz. just enough to lube the seal.

 

[DaveO430]

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It is hard to work out all the oil and if you don't get all of it out 12.5 OZ will overfill it. I did 2 sets and had to tip them one way then the other several times to get all the old oil out then getting 12.5OZ in was no problem.

 

[Mr Magic Fingers]

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Hi guys,



Thanks for the replies. The shocks are indeed OEM. No doubt about that.



I did go ahead and do the other shock and it was the EXACT same way. I never knew it was so easy to rebuild them. Apart from the mess, I really enjoyed the process.



They were in hard shape as far as the fluid goes. There was only about ½ of what their should have been in them. One side was black. The other side looked like 300 year old motor oil… still a little yellow but thick and gooey. I don’t know if it the oil was ever changed. It was draining out in clumps like yogurt.



Now I know where the oil came from in my air pump and desiccant container. Earlier this spring I had to tear it apart and I emptied a good 10 oz of oil out of it.



They both got a good cleaning out with mineral spirits, dried and cleaned up. Nice clean ATF was used. Yummm!



I am looking forward testing it out next week. I am doing so much work to it right now while the weather has been bad here.



I’m going to start a new thread just to show you guys the condition of the front fork oil. I did them too and have found a wonderful way of filling them up in 90 seconds WITHOUT taking them apart.



Thanks again guys.



Tim.

 

[DaveO430]

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You are going to love the difference in the ride.

 

[Mr Magic Fingers]

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Yes… the ride…



I am soooo looking so forward to it!



I was thinking I would go to progressives but I just don’t have that in my bike budget. So, I decided to tackle the front and rear suspension myself. There were no leaks in either and I only was loosing my time and a $7.00 bottle of ATF for each end. What did I have to loose? It can’t be any worse.



I have never done anything like that before. Glad I did. I had wonderful help from those before me like Gambler and RCMatt007. They had great explanations and lots of very informative pictures. I would NEVER have even considered trying this without their inspiring threads. Great work guys! Thanks!



Time will tell.



Tim.

 

[krazy al]

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i also have 82 aspencade.i have a extra set of shocks.i let hang upside down for about two weeks to drain.went to put atf in can only get about 9oz.in have let them hang for about two weeks now.fluid right at the top.will it hurt anything to go ahead and mount them.the shocks on now will leak down in about 2 days i have sprayed water everywhere no air leaks.will not haveing enough oil in them cause this.i am going to rebuild orig.shocks this winter.:?:?

 

[Mr Magic Fingers]

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Hi Krazy Al,



In my humble opinion which is based on two days of working on the front and rear shocks, the only way to really clean up the rear shocks is to:



1) Remove them.

2) Tip them upside down and apply small spurts of air into the airline hole with a compressor. Oil will blow back out in volumes. It’s messy and you will have to do it 6-10 times but it will clean all the oil out.

3) Disassemble as per the Honda manual. (blowing out the seal)

4) Pour a measured amount of mineral spirits in the shock and slosh it around and make sure you get it all out. Clean it a few times like that.

5) Blow air in it from the compressor to dry it out. Make sure that ALL your cleaning agents are out of the shock.

6) Clean all the parts that came out that you’re going to put back into the shock. CLEAN is the word of the day!!

7) Plug the air line hole (see the picture), and fill up as per the Honda manual.

8) Reassemble as per the Honda manual.

9) Wash the inside and outside of the rubber boot. Make sure the inside is dry before installing it onto the shock.



In reality, you could let it hang for a year and not all the oil will come out. I learned that pretty quickly today. It’s just not going to happen.



This is the fastest, easiest, and best way to do it. You know that EVERY THING is clean in there.



Just giving you the benefit of my whole 6 hours experience!



Tim.





PS – This is a picture of the little plug I made up to plug the air line hole. Just the right size bolt and a washer from a tap. Works great.

 

[jlparker77]

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I also had a air leak I could not find for the longest time. It turns out my leak was in the valve to switch from front to rear. I could never find it but I tore it apart and replaced both schrader valves in the valve and then the leak stopped. They are just a regular valve stem tire valve that gets depressed when you push the button.

good luck with it

 

[johnnynogood]

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Hey fingers, you kept refering to the manual. Was that a Clymer or Honda shop manual?



My Rear Shocks bottom out from time to time and when I check my air pressure, it's fine, and that's when I knew the fluid is not doing it's job. What's the shopping list for a clean and refill. I have an 82 Interstate.

 

[Mr Magic Fingers]

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Hey Johnnynogood,



It was the Honda Shop Manual.





Shopping list for me was:



1) 1 bottle of good quality ATF.

2) 1 bottle of mineral spirits.

3) A couple of hours of my time.



I laid out less then $15.00. My seals were fine. They were not leaking and I gave them a really good inspection once they were cleaned up.



Can’t wait to het the bike back out on the street to see the changes.



Tim.

 

[johnnynogood]

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Mr Magic Fingers wrote:

Hey Johnnynogood,



It was the Honda Shop Manual.





Shopping list for me


1) 1 bottle of good quality ATF.

2) 1 bottle of mineral spirits.

3) A couple of hours of my time.



I laid out less then $15.00. My seals were fine. They were not leaking and I gave them a really good inspection once they were cleaned up.



Can’t wait to het the bike back out on the street to see the changes.



Tim.

Thanks Home Biscuit.

 

[busdriver]

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What did you use to compress the spring?

 

[Mr Magic Fingers]

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Hey Busdriver,



To “refresh” the shocks, you don’t have to remove the springs and there for there is no need to compress the shock. My problem was fluid – the lack of it and the quality of it.



But if your are going to replace the springs, then here is a good guide:



http://www.goldwingfacts.com/forums/forum1/28603.html



Tim.

 

[TxWinger54]

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I rebuilt a set of stock air shocks a couple of years ago and noticed that the stock shock damper assembly relies on the ATF fluid for its operation where as the progressive damper upgrade does not.
Another issue I noted was that there is a "rubber bumper" inside the stock shock that provides some minimal cushioning if you bottom out. Mine had deteriorated to the point of being a black gummy substance that mixed with the fluid and may have affected how the stock damper operated.

Rick

 

[little guy david]

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where did you get your parts? my left rear shock leaked all of its oil so i will probably need some kind of oil for it. thanks, david

 

[clarkjh]

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I rebuilt both my back shocks and front forks. Made all the difference in the ride. I don't remember how much I put in the back now, but it was the amount in the manual for the GL1100. The stuff that came out might as well been mud for it had the same consistency. I figure this should be done about every two the three years to keep everything fresh.
James
PS: Hoping to get down your way before the end of the riding season there mister Fingers