hey guys... i went out today to do a little work on the klx and someone yold me on a forum before to let all the air out of the front and back shocks before setting the sag... well i jet the air out of the forks and the rear shock... the forks still seem fine but the rear shock seems to have no compression dampening, whatso ever now that i let the air bleed out of the schrader valve on the piggyback canister i tryed turning the cd screw all the way in and out and there isnt any change in the compression dampening the rebound still seems to work but it sounds like the oil os gushing around insice in the rebound stroke... does anybodu know whats goinmd on... shoudl i put some air back into the valve? if so hom many psi should go in there roughly for mainly off road use?

 

I'm no expert but believe the the shock is nitrogen charged and will probably need to be refilled by someone with that capability. They should know how much to put in. The forks should run at normal atmospheric pressure so should not be an issue.

Again, not an expert but the guy that told you to let the nitrogen out of your shock to set the sag, sounds like an idiot.

 

The rear shock is filled with nitrogen to put consistant pressure on the shock fluid. Nitrogen is stable air is not. Do not use air to fill your shock! You are now going to have to take either the shock or the whole bike to a dealer or a reputable shop and have it refilled with nitrogen. Read your manual for directions on how to adjust your rear shock preload, and for any other procedures you may not be familiar with.

 

i guess we all learn from our mistakes... i never thought anything of it beacause the shocks on my quad have the same kind of canister that can be filled with air and i figured that it was air and could be filled with air but i downloaded the manual just then and you guys are right... so looks like a trip to the dealer and 50 bucks later ill have it refilled... thanks for your help guys and hopefully next time i take advice i should take it from the manual which i now have.

 

Rear shock on the quad is the same, it needs to be filled w/ nitrogen also. I read somewhere that it shouldn't cost more than $10-15 if more look elsewhere. I did the same on a kawi tecate cost $8 to refill back in '85

 

I believe that the nitrogen is used to pressurize the shock oil so that it doesn't foam up and stays in it's liquid state. This allows it to run normally through whatever valves are in the shock. Air is not used as a pressurizing agent because oxygen will OXIDIZE the oil.

 

the only place in my area that refills shocks charges 50 bucks i gotta drive almost 2 hours to pay anything sensible i guess thats why they charge what they do...just a quick question now that the nirtogen is gone the shock has been compressed several times, and the gushing sound on the rebound stroke ... does that mean i need to change my oil too would my oild be foamed and ruined in those few strokes? or can i just get it recharged and ittl be fine...?

 

You might try hitting up the guys in the suspension section at Thumpertalk. There are some suspension gurus that hang out there and could answer most of your questions.

 

alright thanks guys!!!

 

Dont mess with your shock unless you are doing a revavle /spring upgrade.