Rear shock oil leak?

[coot]

Dragon57: Thanks for the information. Thats a price I can live with, I'll check it out.

I think CaddmannQ's diagnosis is correct. It appears the leak is coming from the lower weld.

[watchman]

I had my leaking rear shocks replaced under my extended warranty at no cost and with no problems. Made that extended warranty pretty cheap insurance.

[coot]

dragon57: Do you have the part # for Harley touring shock, and where did you get the isolator bushing?

[Eppic2]

Originally Posted by ;52741

Eh...could just be the rod seal too. Hard to tell unless you take it off the bike. Still I don't think you can do anything about that seal.

I know a trip is not advisable but my leak just happened last Sat./Sun. as bike was sitting in a hot room on display. I have lost about 10 drops (about 10ml) in a week near as I can determine (white cloth laid under shock all week). There is normally 105ml of oil in the chamber. I have planned this trip all year and really don't want to back out. Of course I have no time to search for used shocks or order new ones, so I am rather stressed. The leak is definitely dripping from the very bottom of the shock and has almost stopped now with cooler weather. The dealer service tech. said it probably would not do any good to add oil through the shraider valve up top.

So should I take a chance and just add a little more air pressure to make up for the leak and go for my trip anyways? I'd say not going any higher than 45 psi would be wise.

How risky is a road trip in this condition? Has anyone nursed a shock through... say about 4000 miles? I'd really appreciate some road experience opinions on this one. Thanks.

[Eppic2]

Btw my bike is 2004 Nomad

[Peg]

FWIW, my opinion is that the OEM shocks aren't up to much in the first place, and a trip of that distance with one performing less than it should do won't really be noticeable. Even a complete loss of oil would simply reduce the damping effect and cause that shock to "pogo" a bit more than it did before. No amount of extra air will make any difference, and the second shock operating to its (limited) potential will make up to some extent.

I've rejuvenated OEM shocks with heavier weight quality oil for first my Nomad, and later my Voyager, and while they were both improved, neither bike was really up to the task - especially for the goat-tracks we call roads down here. Long term, the much better option is to replace them with aftermarket shocks.

Progressive or Steel Tracker do very good value off-the-shelf options... I'm fortunate to have NZ's best bike shock shop in my city, so replaced the OEM's with a set of Öhlins shocks built specially for my bike... Night & day difference.

No air to pump up, no changes to make between one-up / two-up with baggage, and a butter-smooth ride whatever the load.

[Eppic2]

Originally Posted by Peg

FWIW, my opinion is that the OEM shocks aren't up to much in the first place, and a trip of that distance with one performing less than it should do won't really be noticeable. Even a complete loss of oil would simply reduce the damping effect and cause that shock to "pogo" a bit more than it did before. No amount of extra air will make any difference, and the second shock operating to its (limited) potential will make up to some extent.

I've rejuvenated OEM shocks with heavier weight quality oil for first my Nomad, and later my Voyager, and while they were both improved, neither bike was really up to the task - especially for the goat-tracks we call roads down here. Long term, the much better option is to replace them with aftermarket shocks.

Progressive or Steel Tracker do very good value off-the-shelf options... I'm fortunate to have NZ's best bike shock shop in my city, so replaced the OEM's with a set of Öhlins shocks built specially for my bike... Night & day difference.

No air to pump up, no changes to make between one-up / two-up with baggage, and a butter-smooth ride whatever the load.

Paul...thanks a lot for your insight and experience. I will be traveling with 3 brothers so I will have good company as I watch my drips. I will attempt to keep the air pressures the same and likely return the expensive 15w Belray oil I just bought.

[recumbentbob]

I'd go on the trip. I would put the same air pressure in both shocks. Less oil in 1 will only affect the dampening of that shock. Doubt you will even notice it.

Sent from my ASUS_Z00TD using Tapatalk