88 kdx 200 rear suspention

[csdwarf]

My suspention in really soft so i got looking for a dampaner, I found a 2 things that are like clickers,


One is on the seperate nitrogen tank thing, That doesnt seem to do anything


the otherone is on the shock, but up by the top were it mounts to the bike


nither of them seem to do anything, do you think i need to put oil in my shock or somthing?


thanks!

 

[sr5bidder]

yeah you might have to replace the sealhead and fill with oil and recharge with nitrogen

does it compress and rebond as if it where just a spring...kinda like a mattress

 

[csdwarf]

Yeah,its deffinitly just the spring, theres no dampining

 

[dirt bike dave]

The one near the reservoir would be your compression damping adjustment. The one on the other end of the shock would be the rebound adjustment.

Even if the shock is working right, you probably can't tall any difference in clicker seettings just bouncing the bike around in the garage, but out on the trail they would make a big difference.


According to Jeff Fredette's site, this is how you should set the shock on the '86 - '88:
Use the stock shock valving. The settings that work best are ½ inch unladen (the bikes weight only) sag for most riders and no sag for riders over 200 pounds. Compression damping setting s were best at 3 clicks out on fast whooped out courses and 12 on slow riding over rocks. Run rebound adjuster at 2.5 turns out. Have the shock oil changed frequently (every 100 miles) to prevent shock shaft wear.

 

[csdwarf]

Thanks a ton on the infrormation, The it 200 that i picked up has the dampining setting, and it makes a big difference from hardest to softest,

Thanks for the settings on the clicks out

I might tear my shock off and put oil and stuff in it here in the next day or so

any links that i can read to do it,

im pretty good at the mechanics stuff,but i like to read up a bit,

thanks a ton!

 

[sr5bidder]

make sure to release any pressure in the resivior first

 

[csdwarf]

thats the one with the like air filler stem? right?

 

[dirt bike dave]

Yes - that's the one.

It should be charged with nitrogen to around 150-200 psi or so.

You definitely want to release the pressure before you start taking the shock apart!

If you google, you can probably find a 'how to' guide for replacing your shock oil and recharging the bladder.

FWIW, the pressurized bladder keeps the shock oil from frothing and raises its boiling temperature. If you end up using compressed air instead of nitrogen in the bladder and are off 10 psi from what the manual says, you are not going feel any difference, but you will save some $ from what a shop would charge you for a nitrogen charge.

 

[csdwarf]

ALight cool, ill just set the regulator on my compressor to like 150psi and give it to her after i change the oil.


I was hoping i didnt HAVE to use nitrogen, i would much rather use Compressed air


Do you happen to know what the exact PSI is?


And do you know were i could find a manual for a 86-88 kdx 200

Thanks for all the help!!!

 

[sr5bidder]

well it out to be in the manual I sent you

DBD: thought I read somewhere that the compressed airis not so good for some reason.
I wonder if a tire shop would do it for less momey (nitrogen)

 

[sr5bidder]

never mind about the manual it was for your IT200

 

[dirt bike dave]

DBD: thought I read somewhere that the compressed airis not so good for some reason.
I wonder if a tire shop would do it for less momey (nitrogen)

In theory, nitrogen is better for several reasons.

1) Compressed air usually has lots of moisture
2) Air may over time be more damaging to the rubber bladder than nitrogen
3) In the event of a catastrophic failure, compressed air could be an explosive bomb
4) The nitrogen may expand less than the moisture filled air as it heats up, so the pressure in the bladder stays more consistant


In practice, the bladders are thick rubber and not likely to fail due to contact with air. Shock bodies are aluminum and unlikely to create a spark in some sort of freak crash that ruptures the reservoir. Mild changes in pressure as the air in the reservoir heats up are unlikely to make a noticeable difference in shock performance.


Hey, use pure nitrogen if it is available, but if you have to use air, don't stress about it. FWIW, air contains a large amount of nitrogen anyways.

 

[Dirtdame]

You won't get 150 pounds of air (or nitrogen) by using a regular air chuck on your reservoir. You need to have a bleeder fitting with a T-valve on it. Then you can attach that to the schrader valve on your shock, turn the T handle down, fill the shock to the proper PSI and use the bleeder to get it perfect, turn the T handle back up, bleed the pressure out of your fitting and remove it. Second, air expands when it gets hot and nitrogen doesn't. That's why nitrogen is used instead of air. If you take your shock apart to put on a new seal head you will need to grind the end of the shaft before you can pull all the stuff off of it as the end of the shock shaft is peened from the factory. If you get any of the shims out of order when you disassemble, the ride and dampening will be way off. The OEM shop manual will have very little in it about doing a rebuild, so you better have a good understanding of how suspension components work or have somebody with you who does.

 

[sr5bidder]

she's right . I aways have a clean bench before I start and 2 shop paper towels to lay things out to keep in order

 

[csdwarf]

Im not worried about maximum preformance, If it works


The suspention for the manual you sent is an IT,200


the dampening on the IT works great, but not on the kdx


is it the same PSI for kdx and IT?


how much would a charge of nitrogen cost, avg?

 

[sr5bidder]

I paid Mark at hyperformance cycles $20 after I rebuilt my shock

 

[glad2ride]

You might want to call around and ask how much a rebuild is. If you have been riding it on pure spring, then that usually means internal damage to some extent. The shock needs to be taken apart and inspected after it was ridden in that condition. Sorry to sound frank, but it doesn't matter if you got the bike for free or cheap, or whether you care or can spend money on it, the condition of the shock is what matters.

Go with nitrogen. Just trying to fill it with compressed air won't work, and you won't get 142psi in it, which is what the manual mentions.

 

[csdwarf]

why wont i be able to get 142psi in it? i have a v4 aircompressor and i think it will pump up to 150 safly, accualy i know it will, and i will do it if it wont hurt anything

 

[glad2ride]

OK, you will get it in there, but lose a good bit when you release the chuck. A special chuck is required. Your shock needs more than oil. It has been used without oil which is very bad for a shock.

 

[csdwarf]

well do you have a tutorial on how to rebuild it and what i need to do because its so Damaged and i cant just put oil in it?


couldnt i just try putting oil in it, if it works great if it doesnt maybe ill get it fixed.


how much does it cost to fix the "damage" i have done by riding it without oil?

 

[csdwarf]

i just read a tutorial, looks really simple,so i might go through and rebuild all the seals and stuff if i can get a kit for cheap, anyone know were i can get one?

thanks!

 

[Dirtdame]

Probably order a sealhead almost anywhere. Dennis Kirk and Rocky Mountain carry those. Racetech might have piston o-rings and teflon rings.

 

[glad2ride]

Hey, no need to get upset. Your feelings won't make a difference to the condition of the shock. Good luck with it.