Opinions for new 1st Gen owner on CLASS options

[GregR]

I've had my Venture Royale a little over a month and a half now and have put about 1000 miles on it. I have to admit, of all the bikes I have owned or have ridden over the years, this is by far my favorite. When I bought the bike the CLASS system had been disabled. The previous owner did not like it for some reason. All parts are still on the bike and he assured me there was nothing wrong with the system he just did not like the way it adjusted the bike when he rode two up with his wife. The guy is local and a decent guy so I have no reason to believe this isn't the case. When he disabled the system he removed the fitting for the rear shock that connects to the compressor and added a valve to directly air up the shock. I can find the hoses online to replace this hose with the proper connection. I have noticed that when I had a passenger on the bike the back mudflap hits the ground when going over bumps and from the looks of it, it has been doing this for a while. I added air at the valve he placed in the line but it doesn't seem to do much to raise the rear of the bike.

 

My question is this. I have looked into the Progressive front springs and also checked out a few aftermarket rear shocks (Hagon, etc). Is it worth my while to try to get this CLASS system back up and running or I should I just consider going the Progressive route with new rear shock? 99% of my riding is solo. I rarely have a passenger. When I ride the bike solo the suspension seems fine to me. I do feel like the back end sits a bit too low though. Sure, I would like to have the CLASS system working, but am I missing anything by not going that route? Seems to me that if I get it working I might just be asking for more problems down the road. Whereas if I do the Progressive and new rear shock I should not have to even think about anymore.

 

I appreciate any opinions one way or the other. Thanks.

[Flyinfool]

What air pressures are you running in the front and rear shock?

 

My 88 is a standard not a Royal so it never had the Class system. I have no issues with adding or removing a little air in the shocks as needed.

In the 4 years that I have had mine I have yet to have a passenger. But I do carry a small hand pump to adjust the pressures just in case.

[bongobobny]

Basically reconnecting the CLASS will just allow you to do automatically what Jeff suggests manually doing. Hopefully your CLASS still works but there is some maintenance needed for any CLASS system which includes putting your water removing crystals in a microwave to rejuvinate them, and to solder the edge connectors on your controller. Also please note the CLASS only works with the key on accessory...

[GregR]

In answer to your air pressure question flyingfool, my manual seems to indicate 11 psi in the front and 14 psi rear for solo riding. Since my rear mud flap was hitting the ground going over bumps I just tried increasing the rear pressure. It seems that no matter how much air I put in the rear shock I was not getting a reading on my pressure gauge which leads me to think the air chamber of the shock is not holding air. Air is going into the tube leading to the shock but the shock does not appear to inflate and I still get no reading on the pressure gauge when I check. I'm beginning to think this may have been an issue for the previous owner and perhaps he thought disabling the CLASS and adding the airvalve would correct it when in fact it may just be a malfunctioning rear shock.

[dingy]

I have a shock I just took off an 84 if you are interested in it.

 

You can replace the shock without major dis-assembly of rear end.

 

Gary

[Marcarl]

One of the reasons I ride my 85 still is because of the class system. I ride with my wife about 50% of the time and when she gets on I need all the air in the shock, when I'm solo that's a way too hard and I need it at about 25lb. Sure glad I have the system. There are lots more reasons I still have my 85 and being the fastest is another.

[GregR]

Thanks Gary. I may take you up on that. Just read the tech page on progressive spring replacement for the front and it seems like the way I might want to go with that. From everything I have read on here people are very happy with them. Looking at other aftermarket rear shock replacements now. Man! They are pretty pricey.

[Flyinfool]

I would start by seeing if you can find your rear air leak. It might be simple like a loose connection or when the tube was added it had the wrong fitting and did not seal.

running no rear air is not good for the shock either.

[frankd]

Is the Class still connected to your front suspension, or was that disconnected also? If it's disconnected, how much air are you running in your forks?? If you don't have any pressure in the front forks and they don't bottom out all the time, you probably already have Progressive springs up front.

 

The Class on my 89 works great. As Carl said, you can adjust both the front and rear whenever you want. In addition to having the key in the ACC position, you should have the bike on the center stand to adjust the suspension properly. The pressure settings that I use wouldn't apply to your bike because the forks and springs are different on a Mk II (86-93) than on a Mk I (83-85), and the rear suspension and rear shock/spring are slightly different. I usually run my front forks @ 14-15 psi, and the rear about 50psi and it feels pretty good with and without my wife on the bike. When she loads the luggage full for a 2 week trip, I usually bump the rear up to 65-70 psi.

 

If your front suspension is still connected to the Class, you'll know if it works or not. If the front works, the rear probably will also. Connect it and see if you like it. BTW, if you look on the left side of the bike, just in front of the passenger footpegs, you will see a know with 1 to 4 on it. This is the rear suspension damping. For solo riding, you probably want it on 2.

 

Frank D.

[KIC]

I have a couple of 84 parts bikes and one has the CLASS on it if you need any parts.

[GregR]

Woke up early and decided to read up on the CLASS threads. After removing the trunk and reconnecting the three plugs to the class system I realized that it was not activating in any way. No noise, clicking, etc. Nothing. With the key in the accessory position the controller panel would show 88 on the screen and when I push any of the buttons and hold them down for a couple of seconds it would go to 0 and then shows the E4 error. I think this might be a good thing. Having read the thread posted by Freebird a few years back I now have some ideas on where to start troubleshooting this problem. Loose connections, re-solder of the pin connectors on the circuit board, etc. If this works and I get the unit working again, all I will need then hopefully is a new hose with the proper fitting going to the rear shock. If I get it working I should at least able to test it out on the front end to ensure that it is working. I have nothing to do for the next 3 days so it looks like I have a weekend project

[GregR]

I resoldered the pin connectors on the circuit board and I am now able to switch between manual/auto, front/rear, and compressor comes on with air blowing from both front and rear valve ports All I need now to complete the system is hose assy 4 from the connector to the valve. See picture. This is the point where the manual valve was put in the line and I am missing the piece that connects to the valve on the compressor. I call it a banjo fitting. Not sure if that's the correct term or not. If anyone has this piece for sale please let me know. Thanks for the helpful advice and the great offers of assistance. It's definitely appreciated.

 

Greg

 

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o196/TSM01/valve_zps246748d1.jpg

[Flyinfool]

Sounds like you are getting close.

Send KIC a pm on the hoses you need.

 

Good thing for you that you found this site and the PO did not.

[Squidley]

Greg,

 

I have a class system in the garage with the rear hose if I'm not mistaken. I will try very diligently tomorrow to take a pic of it and see if it has that hose. BTW the pressure I usually run on the 1st gen shocks is 14 in the front and depending on how I'm traveling in the back shock (Solo) about 40 (2 up) about 55 (2 up loaded bike) closer to 70, I'm 5' 11" and weigh about 280

[MiCarl]

If you end up swapping out the rear shock you might consider putting a progressive spring on the new one. It's especially nice if you'll be riding 2-up.

[KIC]

Greg,

 

I removed the section of hose I think you need. Below are some pictures. If this is what you need I will mail it to you: