Just doing some maintenance on the GTR and dont really know how the rear adjuster works. In the past ive done the upside down trick soaking the adjuster itself in oil overnight . Today i thought Id undo the cable from the adjuster to check it over, oil came out!

Should oil be in there is is that just my over lubing in the past. How does the knob actually adjust the shocker, is it hydraulic ??

Just in case it makes a difference....what year bike?

Just in case it makes a difference....what year bike?

its 2010 but they all have the same adjuster

Actually, I think that there were some changes made in the design.  At least that's what I recall from a post or two in the past.  I could be wrong, though.  The voices are quiet this morning.  Usually they correct me if I'm wrong.  But then again they might be as well.  Someone should chime in here on whether there's oil in the innards.  Let me see what I can find out from looking around.

http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=7546.msg90268#msg90268
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=15194.msg185567#msg185567

I think that MGvaleri had his seize up and he took it apart.  Had a video on it.  Can't seem to find it though.. Still looking.  The only way to really look for his posts is to bring them all up and look through them one by one......unless you know Italian.  Only Italian I know is pizza.

Found it  http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=14888.msg182570#msg182570

But he does say no oil leakage so maybe it does have oil in it...

When I got my Ohlins I was wondering how the hydraulic adjusters work because looking at them it is hard (for me) to understand.  But the oem and Ohlins are basically the same, they have hydraulic spring pre-load adjusters. I believe the cylindar with the adjustment knob is filled with hydraulic oil. When your turn the knob it moves a piston which pressurizes the oil which in turn moved the spring collar/holder or whatever it is called. If you undo the hose and let the oil out it won't work any more.

By the way when you turn the knob it is easy to miss the movement and mistakenly think nothing is happening as the movement is small and you have to be looking at the right spot. You will not see the spring move or the bike raise up. The total available adjustment is only about 15 mm.

i m certain thats it hydraulic fluid, a small quantity has come out now that ive disconected the hose from the adjuster. Now how do I replenish without airlocks?

Good question.  The service manual shows it as one piece with the rear shock.  Doesn't give any kind of service information.  Says if it's leaking replace it.  It's not a user serviceable part.

Try backing off the adjuster a few turns or more if needed and just pour back the approximate amount you lost. Then turn in the adjuster to get any air out then reconnected. You might also need to suspend the hose and pour in fluid to fill it up and force out any air. I am just guessing, probably best to wait and see if anyone who actually knows what they're talking about posts up.

Try backing off the adjuster a few turns or more if needed and just pour back the approximate amount you lost. Then turn in the adjuster to get any air out then reconnected. You might also need to suspend the hose and pour in fluid to fill it up and force out any air. I am just guessing, probably best to wait and see if anyone who actually knows what they're talking about posts up.

sounds as if you are on the right lines. alsomaybe the black knob comes off and the oil is put in from there?

I think that is pretty good advise.

It is not a user serviceable part. That said, what is there to lose at this point by tinkering around with it? Open the adjuster up all the way (unscrew it) and as Bob (Lather) said, re- fill the hose as completely as possible and get as much air out of the system as possible an then reassemble. Give it a try- if it works, it should get harder and harder (easy boys!) to turn as you screw the adjustment knob back in- that will at least indicate that it is working on some level.

You should get the right weight oil though which unfortunately is not known (not a user serviceable part).

I think I would give Traxxion a call and chat with one of the folk there about this. They have been extremely helpful about suspension issues in the past with me and very nice as well as knowledgeable folks. They may offer a service to re- fill and check out your hydraulic suspension system. ?? Unfortunately you will probably have to remove it and send it to them but to be honest, at this point I think the system really should be removed from the bike no matter who works on it to get all the air out of it. And possibly Traxxion will give you some recommendations right over the phone- as I said, very nice people who seem to honestly want to help folks like us folks (ignorant about these systems) out.

Best of luck with it.

Brian

Try backing off the adjuster a few turns or more if needed and just pour back the approximate amount you lost. Then turn in the adjuster to get any air out then reconnected. You might also need to suspend the hose and pour in fluid to fill it up and force out any air. I am just guessing, probably best to wait and see if anyone who actually knows what they're talking about posts up.

Thanks, Brian.

Hey, I didn't actually DO anything! 

Just waiting for the salt to soak into the meat (easy boys!) so I can burn the dead animal flesh on an open fire as my ancestors would say (I believe the polite social term is "grilling"). 

Brian

Thanks, Brian.

wouldn't hurt to give these folks a call, and pick thier brain a bit on this subject....
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=16025.msg196432#msg196432

 

Thanks Rich, and don't hurt yourself twisting that knob.

My 11 became nearly impossible to turn. Kwak covered swapping shock and adjyster under warranty

OK, Ive solved/fixed the dilema.

I foolishly unscrewed my preload adjuster from the cable that runs to the rear shock. I researched a way of putting it back together as I could not see any point to bleed out air, went on all sorts of forums and even the Concours owners group in the states told me the unit is now toast. Apparently mr kawasaki  makes the shock and the pre load adjuster as a sealed  unit and thats why the whole thing gets replaced when your adjuster knobs siezes. However , as with most things , there is a solution if you look hard enough, I absolutely refused to accept that i was going to trash my rear shock, i even contemplated assembling the whole thing in a bucket of oil.

these are the steps.

using Hydraulic jack oil from halfords

Fill the shock absorber itself with oil, this is only a very small amount . I did use a pair of spring compressors to compress the shock, this  allowed me to pump some air into the adjuster to force open the piston, i filled with oil and released the pressure on the springs, this forced the piston closed and pushed the oil out through the 10mm hole



next you need to fill the adjuster with oil. Back off the adjuster knob to its fully relaxed position. put some oil in through the 10mm hole, only a small amount will go in as the air will trap. Fill the pipe with oil. I did this by attaching a clear tube to the pipe and sucked fluid up through the pipe from a jar containing the fluid, I used a big syringe. Attach the pipe to the adjuster holding the adjuster upside down. Now the fluid will not get into the adjuster without some considerable pressure. With the whole thing still upside down keep forcing the fluid down by using the syringe. keep pulling the syringe back and after about 10 mins of this you will see the air bubbles streaming up the clear tube and you can keep forcing more fluid into the adjuster. you will need to refill the clear tube a few time and use cable ties to make all the connections oil tight.
these next pics explain it better








i left the upside down assembly over night just to make sure all the oil was out.

Now to attach the two parts together , the shock will have oil filled to its brim and the adjuster and pipe will be filled to their brims and still some fluid will be in the clear pipe.
remove clear pipe and the excess oil will spill out and then quickly screw the pipe into the shock its self, for the brief moment you point the pipe down, no oil will actually come out, vacuum forces will hold it in




I cleaned everything up and am pleased to say that they adjuster works so much better than before, on the very first click i now can see the preload starting to operate, before nothing happend for 6 or 7 clicks, the knob felt sloppy and inactive, now its tight from the first turn. The preload can be seen to move out by about 15mm, which is the spec. Ive done a little video of the preload in operation.



video link

http://s55.photobucket.com/user/neill1200/media/2014/DSCF0008_zpsa7325f40.mp4.html


Just on a side note , I fitted a neoprene shock tube when i got the bike new and when i took it off for this job the shock was remarkably clean underneath , just a small amount of water staining. No solids or mud or grit at all, i dont have a hugger. Ive refitted the tube with its velcro and top and bottom cable ties. Ive got an even better fit than before as the shock is off the bike

Excellent!  Good work.  Thanks for posting the results.