[wing nut]

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i have 86 1200 i the rear shocks seems to be bottom out on rough roads there is air in theshocks is there a way to rebuild or should i replace the the whole shock, and how long should the last the bike has only 86000 on it....

 

[Eamonn1200]

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Theres a thread on rebuilding the rear shock here; http://www.goldwingfacts.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=437&forum_id=1&highlight=leaking+shock

Someone recently mentioned being able to inject some new oil into the air shock on a 1200 (the inner damper has oil). I can't remember the thread but you'll probably find it by browsing.

 

[Renegade]

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Are those rear shocks on the Interstate air adjustable, or do they just have external springs for manual adjustment?

 

[gkiesel]

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The honda manual gives instructions as to the rebuild. I,ve been thinking about this myself. I can,t afford new shocks at this point. Does anybody out there know what weight oil is best in the rear shock, it really could use firmer rebound damping? PS. Just joined the group. Hello All

 

[Grouchomax]

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Hello gkiesel. I wouldn't go higher than 15 weight oil for that.

 

[wing nut]

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they are air but do they have both or just one???

 

[twisty]

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wing nut wrote:

i have 86 1200 i the rear shocks seems to be bottom out on rough roads there is air in theshocks is there a way to rebuild or should i replace the the whole shock, and how long should the last the bike has only 86000 on it....

wing nut, while rebuilding them (rear shocks) might not be a bad idea I doubt that will help your bottoming out verymuch. As a rule oldermotorcycle shocks have very little compression dampening. So shock wise adding new internals or thicker oil won't help that much. Most compressioncontrol is done with the air pressure as that is the actual spring. Adding thicker oil or newer internal valving will help the rebound dampening but your bottoming problem is in the compression direction.

You probably just need to add more air pressure to the rear shocks or remove some of the stuff from the rear bags that you have accumulated over the years.

I know on my personal 1200 if I run the front with too much air pressureit forces the rear to work harder so maybe look at the front air pressure also.

If those rear shocks are leaking air/or oil, oryou have beat the jounce bumper out of them then they will need a rebuild. I know you can re-seal them pretty easily but as far as internal valving replacement, I don't know what's available.

Twisty

 

[glennuk]

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Yes

you can replenish the oil in the rear shocks.All you have to do is pump the old oil out

by compressing the shocker.Then to refill get a syringe fill it with fork oil. Then compress the shock.Then as you inject the oil in the air input hole pull the shocker open.Then slowly close it again and repeattill the required amount of oil is in.

PS. I use fork oil as its thicker than ATF and there'sless chances of it leaking

 

[gkiesel]

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Twisty,What do you think?Ithink the viscosity of the oil in the shock will impact compression and rebound. As the piston moves up and down it must displace the oil in both directions. now, it may be that the orifices in the damping rod on the compression side are too large to give effective compression damping. but heavier oil should impact both comp. and rebound. Back in the old days before cartridge style forks on dirt bikes, suspension people would weld up the orifices in the damper rods and drill smaller ones in the rods.

 

[twisty]

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gkiesel wrote:

Twisty,What do you think?Ithink the viscosity of the oil in the shock will impact compression and rebound. As the piston moves up and down it must displace the oil in both directions. now, it may be that the orifices in the damping rod on the compression side are too large to give effective compression damping. but heavier oil should impact both comp. and rebound. Back in the old days before cartridge style forks on dirt bikes, suspension people would weld up the orifices in the damper rods and drill smaller ones in the rods.

gkiesel, not necessairly so, streetmotorcycles usually don't use much compression dampening.

As the piston moves up and down it must displace the oil in both directions. now, it may be that the orifices in the damping rod on the compression side are too large to give effective compression damping

While it's true it has to displace oil in both directions there is usually a washer that unseats in the compression direction to allow a very unhindered compression stroke. Obviously there would slightly more compression dampening in real cold weather but usually not much with warm shock oil. Some spring wrapped shocks do use a little more compression dampening but most air shocks have so much pressure gain as the air chamber volume decreases with stroke if they used much compression dampening the ride would be very harsh.

Twisty

 

[gkiesel]

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Thanks Twisty That makes alot of sense.

 

[BRowan]

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Sounds sensible to me as well. :waving:

 

[saioro]

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hELLO THERE,

i JUST DISASSEMBLED MY REAR SHOCHSand I noticed a piece of round rubber at the end of the dumper,it is almost melted and I want to replace ie.

Trouble is that it does not compare in the list of components of the rear shock.Anybody can tell me if it is usefull or not, since Honda does not offer it as a spare part.

Any help appreciated.

Lucio

Italy

 

[plainmech]

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i believe that's sludge at least it was on mine, just did them couple days ago, probably same in bushing pockets, also i put progressive springs on mine while doing. good luck

 

[Rockhound Rider]

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Eamonn1200: Tried to access the site you recommeded and It comes up as an error, did you re-write correctly? :baffled:

Rockhound Rider :coollep: