1200 rear shock rebuild

#1

at first I thought I had a rear end seal leak... but it turned out to be the left rear shock... the saddle bags are off, but I still have to remove the mounting bars for the bags. the left boot is oil stained from the leak

yes that is a gold colored wheel and a 145sr15 radial tire... this bike has a sidecar and the rear wheel is from EML

#2

as mentioned above, this bike has a sidecar (and I rarely drive it)... when I went to remove the rear shock, I noticed the swing arm jiggled back and forth--how long has this been happening, I do not know.

turns out the left bolt for the swing arm had loosened up... here it is with an allen wrench, and I removed the lock nut to tighten it in place

#3

once I removed the lower boot cover I could see into the seal area... there is a retaining ring (not circlip)... now how in the world to get this bugger out... tried a srewdriver, a nail, a box knife... finally it occured to me to tap the metal holding washer deeper down... once this was done, removing the ring was a snap (pun intended)

#4

the ring and retaining washer are out, now ready for the seal... no other clips or rings are there

#5

into the vice we go to blow the seal... btw a clean workplace is a sign of a messy mind (now where did I place that last tool?)

#6

this is a really important step. wrap the shock with towels before you atempt to blow the seal out... I only put the bungee cord there to hold the towels, but it turned out to be a very wise decision

#7

you will know when the seal is out -- POP! -- I used about 100# of air and a rubber tipped nozzle... this is how high the seal blew, fortunately it was all covered with towels held by a chord

#8

parts are ordered, when they arrive I will post pictures of the rebuild

octane · #9

Thanks Rodger!!!

#10

parts arrived from bike bandit... tomorrow afternoon is the time.... it seems, from the steve saunders group that betweeen 8-9oz is what I need

#11

here are all the parts lined up and ready for re-assembly.... using the on-line parts fisch I actually ordered parts 1, 2 &3... turns out all I needed was #3 which is the seal

five little monkeis playing on the bed... the first one siad, "roll over, roll over"

#12

before I could pour the atf fluid in (the shock would be upside down) I needed to close off the air hose hole. I used electrical tape and wrapped it tightly several times... turned out it leaked just a little bit, but worked well enough

#13

pouring in the atf was pretty straight forward... I heard various amounts, but the consensus was between 8 and 9 ounces... I think I started with 9, but when you count spillage, as somewhere in between

#14

the inner slider and washer are next... they fit realitvely tight and needed to be gently tapped in

#15

next the seal.... interestingly, the seal does not "seat" against any thing as you push it in.... the retaining washer "seats" it as the air tries to push it back out... the retaining washer is part #4 and it is held by the ring#5
I put a little atf on the surfaces to help them slide into place

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1200 rear shock rebuild

1200 rear shock rebuild