Hi Fellas

The rear shock on my bike seems to be too soft, as when I am stood on the bike, the rear mudguard seems very close to the tyre. I have checked and the spring is wound up as far as it goes.

Does this mean the shock needs a service?

If I have it serviced new seals/oil etc at £100 will it remain the same as it is now or will it increase the distance between the tyre and the mudguard when I am stood on the bike?

I weigh about 13 stone.

I looked into buying a new rear shock but at £350 its far too expensive for a bike of its age.

As you can probably tell I am am no suspension expert so any advice would be very much appreciated.

Ta in advance.

check that no lower linkage bolts have come loose as common on older gassers

Hi

the oil / damping condition of the shock does not affect the "sag" of the bike when staticly loaded. The sag is a function of the spring / spring preload itself.

Springs "relax" over time and they are also rated for different rider weights. The issue you describe is likely to be attributable to one of these issues.

Do a search on suspension sag or suspension setup to identify if your "sag" is correct.

Dom

Hi

the oil / damping condition of the shock does not affect the "sag" of the bike when staticly loaded. The sag is a function of the spring / spring preload itself.

Springs "relax" over time and they are also rated for different rider weights. The issue you describe is likely to be attributable to one of these issues.

Do a search on suspension sag or suspension setup to identify if your "sag" is correct.

Dom

Hi

Thanks for that Dom, are you saying that the spring is knackered?

Can I replace the spring? If yes is there any where you would recommend to buy one from?

Cheers

I have checked the lower linkage bolts and they seem to be ok.

Thanks Zero

Zero

I guess that i'm saying that you need to check the "sag" on the shock to confirm its knackered. I attach a couple of links that deal with measuring sag to determine condition and another with a suggestion on where to get another spring.

http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/topic/42958-gas-gas-suspension/page__hl__suspension

http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/topic/37579-problems-with-sag-settings/page__hl__suspension

Dom

Thanks again Dom, after reading several articles on "sag" i am convinced the spring has relaxed over the years of use.

I am going to try and source a new spring.

Cheers

Has it got a blue round adjuster on the top of the shock? More than likely that it`s not the spring, but it`s the lack of gas(nitrogen) pressure in the shock ... only about two thirds of the overall spring rate is the spring, the rest is from the 200+ psi inside the shock, when this leaks over time you end up increasing the tension on the spring until there is no adjustment left. the pressure can leak without leaking oil (at first..) but when the pressure drops too far the oil seal will fail, it`s the high pressure that seals it against the shaft. take the shock off then remove the spring, then see if you can compress the shaft by hand, if you can it`s not good, and if you can and it doesn't return then it`s very bad. plenty around second hand though

Hi Moleman

Yes it does have an anodised blue adjuster at the top of the shock. I would like to buy a second hand one and have been looking on ebay but have not had any luck so far. I am leaning towards taking it to a local guy who deals with suspension, but he wants £100 to service it. Expensive when you consider what she cost me to buy!!

I am using the old girl this weekend then I will strip out the shock and test it as you suggest. I would be grateful if you could point me in the right direction if you know of anywhere else I could acquire another second hand shock. I spoke with gas gas uk and they said that I should be able to fit anything up to a 2002 shock.

Any more input would be appreciated.

Thanks again.

Hey, did you found a solution for this old shock?