Air shocks on 1600's

[wheelpig]

Has anyone made or found an equalizer kit for rear air shocks on 1600 Nomad? Filling them individually is a bit of a hassle...yeah, I know, I need a slimmer girlfriend, but ya gotta take what you can get at my age...Kenny ;o)

[ells]

From Gadget's Fix-it page

http://www.gadgetjq.com/airshockbalance.htm

Everyone should, if you haven't already, get throughly familiar with what all he has there.

[dogdoc]

+1

[nomadman]

Balanced my shocks and created one point to inflate and deflate the air, mount an air gauge to read the pressure, works fine!

Since the shock pressure left and right is the same, the stability of the bike is better, aspecially in long fast driven curves.

Greetz Nomadman

[beezer]

http://www.phatperformanceparts.com/...B%2D1&CartID=7

$19.95

[Idaho]

I just ordered one of these kits because Beezer recommends them. Okay, that's a lie but I did just order one.

[ells]

With one of those pumps, I haven't found the need to do the equalizer mod. Easy to get them both the same and they seem to hold it for a long time, months.

I installed one of those balance kits and found it would not maintain air preasure more then a couple of days.ended up removing the kit and installing 2"- 45 degree angled metal valve stem extenders on each side.Now both shocks are easy to fill using a suspension pump.(don't have to take anything off)

[nomadd]

I installed one of those balance kits and found it would not maintain air preasure more then a couple of days.ended up removing the kit and installing 2"- 45 degree angled metal valve stem extenders on each side.Now both shocks are easy to fill using a suspension pump.(don't have to take anything off)

I have to agree with you duffer. I installed the equalizer kit right after I got the bike in 06 and took it off within 6 months. It wouldn't hold air. Might have been a bad install on my part. I am either going to reinstall it and be more carefull sealing the threads, or maybe modify it and change out the fittings and air tubing.

I installed one of those balance kits and found it would not maintain air preasure more then a couple of days.ended up removing the kit and installing 2"- 45 degree angled metal valve stem extenders on each side.Now both shocks are easy to fill using a suspension pump.(don't have to take anything off)

I don't have one of these, but my buddy Mac does, and it wouldn't hold air long either. He was pumping it up every day.

I examined it, and the issue turned out to be the design of the o-ring on the adaptor that screws to the shock nipple. Because the end of the brass filler fitting on the shock is so thin, it would just deflect the o-ring when you tightened it down.

I just removed the little o-rings, then cleaned the fittings up and screwed them onto the shock fittings with a tiny amount of 5-minute epoxy applied to the brass threads. (Don't get it into the valves or fitting orifice!) Once dry, I assembled the rest of the tubing as normal. It never leaked after that.

[nomadd]

Thanks for the tip Cadd. Maybe a bit of silicone O ring lube on the O ring would work? I'm a little hesitant to epoxy the fitting onto the stem in case I want to remove it later.

The o-ring seal is just a lost cause AFAIC. There's not enough contact surface for a good seal.

If you use silicone, put it on the threads, and do it very sparingly. Allow plenty of drying time before airing up.

Frankly, the epoxy will be harder to remove, but it will still shear away before the metal will. Once you do get it to stop leaking, you'll never need to take it apart anyway.

I tried using an RTV silicon adhesive on all the fittings and I noticed a small improvement but still leaked ever so slowly.I just wonder how it would hold up with gear and two up on a road trip???

[MarkG]

Duffer mentioned 2"- 45 degree angled metal valve stem extenders. Where is the best place to find them?

I tried using an RTV silicon adhesive on all the fittings and I noticed a small improvement but still leaked ever so slowly.I just wonder how it would hold up with gear and two up on a road trip???

One thing about RTV is that the metal must be really really clean. Metal does have pores, and they will trap oil. Nomad shocks will emit some oil vapors, and even drops of oil if you de-pressurize them quickly. Several cleanings with MEK or commercial spray carb cleaner and clean rags will get it off, but cleaning threads is kind of a tedious process.

When I epoxied Mac's fittings, we spent almost an hour getting them super clean.