Erni- rear strut/shock oil leak?

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Erni- rear strut/shock oil leak?

Postby ASLRider » Thu Dec 19, 2013 9:42 am

It's been a few months since my last bike crisis ( 1994 r1100rs) so I guess this one was due. Noticed when I was pulling in home yesterday that there was some smoke coming off the bike- that's never good right?? After some looking with a flashlight I see my rear spring strut/shock is a bit shiny, and I see my exhaust directly beneath it is where the smoke is coming from- I'd guess oil dripping down.

So- does this thing have oil in it, or is it just the path if least resistance to the ground (ie dripping from there)?

OEM rear strut is about 1k, I think ohlins is the same. Anyone have more economical solutions?

Is it dangerous to be riding with it in this condition? He's got 60k miles on him and I commute daily.
-G
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Re: Erni- rear strut/shock oil leak?

Postby ERC Scott » Thu Dec 19, 2013 10:13 am

Yes, shocks contain oil. The hydraulic flow of said oil thru orifices and washer stacks contributes compression & rebound damping. Otherwise the suspension would bounce like a pogo stick, which I surely would consider to be dangerous. Do you know how old your shock is? I would think a rebuild at 30000 might be considered. I don't think the OEM units can be rebuilt, so you can find used ones for a song. However, most people I know purchase a replacement shock from the aftermarket (Ohlins, Wilbers, etc.) Scott
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Re: Erni- rear strut/shock oil leak?

Postby Genen8kua » Fri Dec 20, 2013 6:08 pm

Lindemann Engineering affordably rebuids stock struts and claims good results. I contemplated them when I was replacing the tired struts on my old R1100RT but got the urge for new ones and put on a set of Hyperpros which I liked. Any new (or rebuilt) shock will be amazing if you've 30,000 or more miles on your old one. You might consider replacing the front too, though you'll probably notice the rear most. You might be able to confirm the diagnosis by visually inspecting the point where the shaft enters the tube while the bike is being bounced by your heaviest available assistant (or reverse roles). In addition to poor handling of worn shocks, if there's still a lot of oil in the shock and the seals fail more completely, you could dump a nice puddle of oil into your rear tire's path.

At this time last year Bob's (Ohlins dealer) had a reasonably good sale price on their Ohlins TTX shocks, which seemed a good idea for my R1200GS. I was in a mood to support my local dealer and gave Mattigan good information about the riding I do, weight, etc. and placed the order. I installed them myself and was amazed the sag settings were spot on without adjustment. I haven't messed with them much since, other than to slightly dial back compression and rebound damping front and rear. One of theses day's I'll try decreasing the damping a lot and increasing spring preload to see if I can turn the bike into an off road pogo stick. But on gravel, forest service roads, etc., they work great as is.

On your bike, the rear shock is super easy to do. The front is easy too, once you get past the body work and fuel tank.

You could hunt some and maybe find a group buy on ADVrider or somewhere.

NJ-based R1200R rider and frequent SRR attendee Don Eilenberger has a nice writeup on suspension setup here. Required reading.
Gene
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