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Cruiser
Posts: 66
Oklahoma City | Ok, I've done some searches in various spots but haven't found the answer yet. My rear shock seems to have a dynamic pressure leak. I have let it sit overnight and it will lose about 1-2 psig but it will lose 30-40 after riding it 15 miles. It appears that the combination of my weight and the road conditions make it lose this amount of pressure. I tested it in my garage with the gauge attached and me sitting on the bike and it didn't appear to lose much pressure. Although I admittedly did not stay on it staring at the gauge for too long as I got bored and had other things to do that day. Any ideas what could be causing this as I would think if it were the hose or shock the pressure loss would be constant. Thanks in advance for feedback. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 802
| There are three places it can leak from. The first and the simplest is from the Schrader valve where you fill it. You can just screw in a new one and see if that hopefully fixes it. The second place is from the o ring where the hose screws into the shock. I kinda doubt it though based on how difficult it was to remove mine. The third place is from a leak in the hose. One place to look is where the hose sits on top of or very near an electrical relay which is about two inches back from the Schrader valve. Mine was badly abraded from rubbing against that relay. The shock is an emulsified type like a Harley. This means that the air goes into the same chamber where the oil is so if it were leaking from the seal you would find oil under the bike. It's probably going to be related to the hose. BTW, the hose is NOT available as a spare part! You have to buy the entire shock to get the stupid little hose. I lucked out and found a crashed bike being parted out on eBay. The shock was broken but the guy was happy to get $30 for the hose. Even that one was abraded in the same spot as my original one was so I taped it up and routed it differently to keep it away from the relay.
Marc |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 802
| Also, every time you hit a bump the pressure spikes so if you have a very small leak it will certainly push more air out whenever the pressure rises. Aren't you still under warranty in any case?
Marc
Edited by marcparnes 2012-03-19 10:22 PM
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Cruiser
Posts: 66
Oklahoma City | Yes I'm still under warranty, but I like to figure stuff out on my own at times so that I can tell them exactly what is wrong (if possible). The line looked fine when I had the bike apart this weekend, and there is no oil leaking out that I can see. If it's a simple fix (like the valve) I'll just do it myself as I have no time to bring her in to get it checked under warranty until this summer. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 741
Central New York | You say it looses 1-2 psi overnight. Keep in mind, the system is so small that you will often loose 1-2 psi just checking it.
You say it looses 30-40 psi after riding 15 miles, what are you starting out at? |
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Cruiser
Posts: 66
Oklahoma City | Have it set to 70 and it drops to 40 just from the ride to work. And if it sits until I get back without pressure added it is zero before I head home. Most leaks that I've ever dealt with are fairly consistent with static loss, but this one isn't. Furthermore, I can watch it bleed down from 20psi on the gauge itself after pumping it up to there from zero. But if I go above 50psi then it's a slow leak. It's not making sense... |
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Visionary
Posts: 1632
Jasper, MO | I'm wondering if the core in the Schrader valve is not seated fully, or it might be faulty. If the valve is like the ones on the tires, the core is replaceable very cheaply.
Ronnie |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 741
Central New York | The way you describe it, my money would be on a tubing connector, probably a compression fitting of sorts. When it has a higher pressure it expands the tubing, sealing the fitting to a degree. I would try to snug the fittings and if no help take a ride to the dealer. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 802
| mlockman - 2012-03-20 8:59 AM
Have it set to 70 and it drops to 40 just from the ride to work. And if it sits until I get back without pressure added it is zero before I head home. Most leaks that I've ever dealt with are fairly consistent with static loss, but this one isn't. Furthermore, I can watch it bleed down from 20psi on the gauge itself after pumping it up to there from zero. But if I go above 50psi then it's a slow leak. It's not making sense...I'm sure you already know this but 70 psi is the max for that system and with the trunk on is rated for 450 lbs of load. Maybe you're just putting that much in since its leaking but I thought I'd mention it anyway. There are no fittings to tighten. They are both crimped on. The only threaded part is were the end fitting screws into the shock body and is sealed with an O ring like I mentioned before.
Marc |
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Shock pressure
