Rear Suspension squeaks

[Guest Nightrider1300]

I have recently developed a squeak in the rear suspension. I notice it mostly when getting off and on the bike,but it must be telling me something needs to be lubed. I dont have a service manual if someone can tell me what it need it would be very helpful

[AlbertaClipper]

My wife says that's the bikes way of telling me to lose some weight.

[Tom]

Might be the dreaded Rear Shock going out..be watching for a puddle of oil under the rear shock soon if it is..Mine started that way and even though under warranty,Yamaha had the shock backordered so with a little persuasive chatting to them they at least gave me their cost of the original shock and I bought a Works Progressive.

[hale374]

Mine has been doing the same thing for about 6 months. No oil under the shock, but I have seen some type of oil coming from one of the hoses that run down under the bike. There's about 3-4 of them. I saw a few drops of a clear type of oily substance. Anyone with any idea as to what it might be?

[SaltyDawg]

If the rear shock is going you will see oil or an oily residue at the bottom of the shock.

 

The shock could be going bad, more than likely it is. The noise could also be coming from the bolts that hold the shock on and the dog bones.

[wizard]

My rear shock has squeaked since the day I rode it home, 2 years ago. It will do it in the morning when I first get on the bike in the morning, after sitting all night. I really don't notice it at any other time. The shock has not given me any other issues, I'm happy with its performance, but I really do expect to change it after 100,000 miles, which I will reach before the 5 year warranty expires.

[hydraulicman]

I had a similar noise starting at about 12000 miles, the noise disappeared after having the swing arm bearings lubed at the 16000 service. They also lubed the steering head bearings which made a big difference in the way the bike handles.

[gunboat]

hi hale

i belive the oil you see is the blow-by oil from the engine. this will happen if you put the oil level above a half of sight glass. or sometimes just from coming in from a good day's ride. this happens to me every now and then.

best reguards

don c.

[SilvrT]

maybe someone replaced your rear suspension with the springs from an old stove's oven door... gawd I wish I could figgure out how to stop that thing from squeaking so loud!!

 

(no, we're not gonna stop using the oven) LOL

[gunboat]

hi nightrider

your rear shock is still covered under warrenty, would take it to a delear for replacement. but be prepaired to waite several months for the replacement to come from japan. seams mama yama doesn't carry any spares state side. one trick you may try is the rick butler mod. jack up the bike a little, take out the air valve from the shock. use a syringe to inject an 1/2 oz of 40 wt shock oil and a 1/2 oz of aft fluid into the upper part of the shock housing. then replace the air valve and air the shock up. this will help for a little while.

best reguards

don c.

[N3FOL]

After reading this thread, I checked my rear shock pressure and did not have any air in it after over 1K miles of riding. My '07 currently have a little over 1K miles that I bought brand new 2 months ago. I added air on the rear shock and now have 25 psi...I can't wait to give it a ride once the weather improves.

 

So far, no squeeks on the rear shocks yet.

[KiteSquid]

I dont have a service manual....

 

The factory service manual is available for FREE in PDF format.

 

on the left side of his page click on the VRTech link and you'll find it...

[nickle]

i had the oil under the bike where shock is. and looks to come from shock. is it posible to still hold air in shock for long periods of time. not loosing any preasure .

[Twenty7Delta]

I have the same squeak, epecially on a cool morning but at the end of the ride it isn't there.

 

I also noticed that air I put in the rear shock does not stay. A few weeks later it's down 10 psi or so. Is that normal (is that a hijack or a diversion?)

[Tom]

i had the oil under the bike where shock is. and looks to come from shock. is it posible to still hold air in shock for long periods of time. not loosing any preasure .

 

YES,It will still hold air but will have alot of up and down movement..kinda like a shock on a car thats worn out,push down on it and bouncy

[Ponch]

Good info from Rick Butler:

 

"In fact in those cases where the shock is making that squeaking or groaning noise, it is doing this because the seal is dry and really needs to be lubricated. At this point, I would suggest that you could lay the bike down on it’s side and let some of the oil run down the side and I’ll bet your groaning shock will quiet down. Also, I would have no problem taking the schrader valve out and squirting in a couple ounces of 20 weight fork oil down the hose to help lube the ram."

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2220

[V7Goose]

I have the same squeak, epecially on a cool morning but at the end of the ride it isn't there.

 

I also noticed that air I put in the rear shock does not stay. A few weeks later it's down 10 psi or so. Is that normal (is that a hijack or a diversion?)

The air and the oil in the shock are not in the same place. When the shock on an RSV dies, the oil leaks out and makes a mess of the bottom of the shock and the ground under it. Usually, when this happens, the shock continues to hold air and will bounce a lot because the oil is what causes rebound damping. If the air is leaking out, I'd suspect a bad schrader valve. First try to tighten it with a valve core tool. If that doesn't help, just try replacing it with any core from a tire valve stem.

Goose

[loosebiker]

I had the same squeak on my 2000 rsv. When I had the 16000 mile service they lubed the shiock mounting bolts and bushing. Squeak gone.

[Chinto]

About 2 months ago my 06 RSV started the rear shock noise. At first only sitting on it after an overnite but not later. More recently it was groaning all the time. The slightest movement of the shock would cause it to painfully groan like the Christmas epic "The Rusty Chevrolet". Last Tuesday I took it to the dealership. They advised me that the colder the tempature the more it groans. It sure was at this point (30 degrees now). Anyway, the service manager said he would check it out. Could be lubing the bushings or maybe replaceing the entire shock. Well I called today for an update, it turns out that the shock is going to be replaced (said it was an $800 part) which was ordered and expects it in a day or 2. The good news in all of this is it is a warranty repair. Hopefully I will get my bike back before the next snow so I can start doing the 16000 miles maintance stuff.

[Chinto]

Well I got my bike back yesterday from the dealer. The creaky shock is gone. From start to finish took about 10 days with Thanksgiving in the middle. Warranty took care of the entire cost for replacement. This is good news because now I have cash left over to have my seat Butlerized.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Yep. I got the squeaky rear too. I got some fork oil already, gonna buy some trans fluid and give that thing a transfusion.

[Silver Bullet]

have the squeak only on cold days ..on hot day no squeak...also no oil; on the floor