Anyone got a clue of how much oil is in a 1st Gen rear boinger?

[cowpuc]

Confounded lop eared dork wad wanna be gear head varmint that I am,,, in the process of swapping out Tweeksis's rear shock (her Progressive just aint cutting it - going back to stock), my little "gotta push ALL the buttons to see what happens" finger pushed the shrader on the replacement with it laying on its side and SKKKKKKAAAAAWIIIRRT,,, out shot a bunch of oil.. Gonna empty out the rest by the same method and then refill thru the hose with a syringe while Tip bounces on the bike after I get it back on BUT,,,,,,, it sure would be nice to know I am refilling with somewhere close to the amount its suppose to have....

 

Thoughts? Ideas? Predictions? Got a headache yet - I got pills for that

[Chaharly]

Confounded lop eared dork wad wanna be gear head varmint that I am,,, in the process of swapping out Tweeksis's rear shock (her Progressive just aint cutting it - going back to stock), my little "gotta push ALL the buttons to see what happens" finger pushed the shrader on the replacement with it laying on its side and SKKKKKKAAAAAWIIIRRT,,, out shot a bunch of oil.. Gonna empty out the rest by the same method and then refill thru the hose with a syringe while Tip bounces on the bike after I get it back on BUT,,,,,,, it sure would be nice to know I am refilling with somewhere close to the amount its suppose to have....

 

Thoughts? Ideas? Predictions? Got a headache yet - I got pills for that

 

Buy a used one off eBay, drain it into a measuring cup and viola! You'll know exactly how much ya need!

[Prairiehammer]

The air and oil are in two separate sealed chambers, isolated from each other. Releasing the air should not have released any oil.

[cowpuc]

The air and oil are in two separate sealed chambers, isolated from each other. Releasing the air should not have released any oil. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=112486

 

I am right there with ya Kev and was considering ripping apart another parts bike to grab another shock thinking Tweeks old +300k miler was obviously kaput but then I found this posting by Fits and thought I would give a shout out to see what kind of feed back I got,,, I also sent Fitz a P.M. but haven't heard back from him.. Unless the 2nd Gen's shock is completely different internally,,, it sounds like we might be missing something somehow...

THANK YOU for your input brother!!!!!!! MUCH APPRECIATED!!

 

Here's what Fitz had posted long ago:

 

[h=2]RSV Repaired Rear Shock 2000 Mile Update[/h]

I would like to thank DaNetFlunky, thanks Mark, and Rbig1, thanks Rodney, for sending me their leaking shocks to work with. I disassembled both units, visually inspected them for damage, cleaned the internal surfaces, replaced the leaking o ring and recharged them with fresh shock oil. I tested each unit with 40lb. of air pressure for a couple to day to insure there was no oil or air leaks. I did notice some variation in air pressure, both up and down, and discovered it was from changing temperatures in my garage.

 

I experimented with a few types of oil looking for the best results. I used 5w Honda Shock Oil, 10w Honda Shock Oil and 15w Spectro Fork Oil. I found the best results using the 10w Honda Shock Oil. The response/rebound from the 5w seemed to fast and from the 15w to slow. A special note here:

Not all of the original oil us removed from the unit during the repair process. Some oil is retained in the oil friction shock itself. Only the oil in the reservoir can be removed and replaced. I cycled the shock through several strokes and replaced the oil again to dilute the old oil as much as possible.

 

The oil that I removed from each unit was thin, appeared dirty and was black in color. I don’t believe that it was installed in the shock in this condition. I can only guess that it was effected by wear, being forced through the shock and from heat. It could be possible that the deteriorated oil causes the o ring to break down and leak. I’m thinking about changing the oil in my shock, at 20K miles, that has not begun to leak as preventive maintenance. More about this later.

 

After repair of the first unit I mounted it on my ’03 RSV and put on just over 1000 miles riding one up on a mixture of highway and secondary roads. Performance was similar to the stock shock. My wife and I attended the WNY Rally riding 2 up with a full load of gear. The performance was good and it survived 500 miles of mountain 2 lane, main roads and super highways at max load plus some. Added another 200 miles that weekend of 2 up and another 300 miles of one up since returning. A total of 2000 miles with no issues. I mounted unit number 2 on my RSV last week and with 250 miles the results are the same.

 

Now, back to changing the oil in your shock. This is easier that you might think. You may want to do this a couple of time to get as much old oil out of the system as possible. Once you are set up it’s pretty easy.

The tools required are:

 

 

1. A valve stem tool to remove the air valve stem.
   
   
2. An open end wrench to remove the air hose at the shock body. (10mm I think.)
   
   
3. A measuring cup to catch the oil.
   
   
4. A shop press or some way to compress the shock.
   
   

 

Here is how to remove the old oil:

 

 

1. Remove the valve stem to relieve the air pressure in the unit.
   
   
2. Remove the air hose at the shock body.
   
   
3. Drain the old oil from the unit via the air inlet
   
   
4. Catch and measure the oil so you know how much to replace.
   
   
5. Use as narrow of a measuring cup as possible (more on this below).
   
   

 

To replace the oil:

 

 

1. Remove the rubber accordion boot from the bottom of the unit (so it won’t be damaged in the press---don’t ask how I know this.)
   
   
2. Reinstall the air hose with the valve stem removed.
   
   
3. Discard the old oil noting how much was removed.
   
   
4. Fill the measuring cup, the narrower the better, with fresh oil (as much as was removed)
   
   
5. Compress the unit in the shop press, top end up. (edit) Support the shock by the clevis not the shock body to avoid pressing the shaft out of the bottom.
   
   
6. Caution: Allow at least 1.5” of the bottom canister exposed. Compressing beyond that point may cause the internal shock to push the o ring beyond the housing (once again, don’t ask how I know this.)
   
   
7. Place the end of the air hose in the oil and slowly release the shop press. The suction will pull the oil into the unit. Be patient, this may take a couple of minutes.
   
   
8. Replace the valve stem.
   
   
9. Cycle the unit a couple of times.
   
   
10. Caution: Allow at least 1.5” of the bottom canister exposed. Compressing beyond that point may cause the internal shock to push the o ring beyond the housing.
    
    
11. Replace the rubber boot, mount the shock and ride.
    
    

 

 

Thanks to the generosity of Mark and Rodney we now have a unit that I can exchange with any paid forum member. I’m not looking to make any money on this project but I will have some expenses such as parts, supplies, shipping and handling. This repair will work best with a shock that is leaking and has not yet begun to “pogo stick”. Keep an eye out for the tell-tale drops of oil under your RSV and I can get a unit on the way to you so we can limit your down time. PM me for details.

RIDE SAFE,

Fitz

[Prairiehammer]

Puc, the Second Gen rear shock IS substantially different from the First Gen shock. Here is a diagram of a Second Gen shock, courtesy of Rick Butler.

Rick Butler Shock Diagram.PDF

[cowpuc]

Buy a used one off eBay, drain it into a measuring cup and viola! You'll know exactly how much ya need!

 

:rasberry:

 

 

[dfitzbiz]

Puc,

I just saw this post after I PM'ed you. Here are some pics of the dis-assembled RSV shock. It is very different from the 1st Gen. In the RSV the oil and air share the same chamber. Contact me with any questions you may have.

Fitz