Hello everybody, first post here. I did what you are never supposed to do and bought a bike with no service records or information on it's history...I mean it looked nice and shiny and ran good.
It's a 2003 C10 with only 11k miles. I bought it as-is from the dealer where I used to work. It's too old for them to keep for their inventory and was going to be sent to auction. I missed having a big inline-4 and I liked my dad's C-10 he owned almost 20 years ago. I'm fairly handy and my dad is a good resource for answering a lot of questions about the bike, but this rear shock has us a bit stumped.
When you compress the suspension, it groans. Shock had no air in it when I bought it, and was quiet. The more air you put in, the more it groans. The rebound adjuster also seems to affect it. It holds air and the damping seems to work as it is supposed to (you can notice the rebound speed change with each of the 4 settings). There does seem to be a little oil residue around the top of the shock.
The oil residue suggests a leak, but as I mentioned, it holds air. I know nothing about how these shocks are built. Is the damping circuit separated from the air chamber? I would assume that this is an emulsion shock, so the oil inside isn't really under pressure which could allow a slow leak. It has to have some oil left in there or else it wouldn't have any damping left to it.
So, my question is if these shocks have any means of user serviceability or something I could lube to quiet this thing down. I don't plan on keeping the bike long term, so I don't have any interest in an upgraded shock. I could take my chances with someone's old take-off shock or one from ebay (likely from a wrecked bike).
Thanks for any advice or information.
It's a 2003 C10 with only 11k miles. I bought it as-is from the dealer where I used to work. It's too old for them to keep for their inventory and was going to be sent to auction. I missed having a big inline-4 and I liked my dad's C-10 he owned almost 20 years ago. I'm fairly handy and my dad is a good resource for answering a lot of questions about the bike, but this rear shock has us a bit stumped.
When you compress the suspension, it groans. Shock had no air in it when I bought it, and was quiet. The more air you put in, the more it groans. The rebound adjuster also seems to affect it. It holds air and the damping seems to work as it is supposed to (you can notice the rebound speed change with each of the 4 settings). There does seem to be a little oil residue around the top of the shock.
The oil residue suggests a leak, but as I mentioned, it holds air. I know nothing about how these shocks are built. Is the damping circuit separated from the air chamber? I would assume that this is an emulsion shock, so the oil inside isn't really under pressure which could allow a slow leak. It has to have some oil left in there or else it wouldn't have any damping left to it.
So, my question is if these shocks have any means of user serviceability or something I could lube to quiet this thing down. I don't plan on keeping the bike long term, so I don't have any interest in an upgraded shock. I could take my chances with someone's old take-off shock or one from ebay (likely from a wrecked bike).
Thanks for any advice or information.