Shinko tire travesty

[bikerphil]

Make sure you order the seals for the Special and double check to make sure they are 37X48X10.5, many vendors get them mixed up with the seals for the Standard (37X49X8) and won't fit your special. Georgefix sells the K+L brand which have worked fine for me, your best choice would be OEM seals but pretty sure they are NLA.

[Bonz]

Now you are talking! Good deal.

Here's a link to some on ebay... these were the first ones I came to, might find some that offer free shipping if you look at more listings.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/79-81-XS1100...#ht_565wt_1328

Otherwise you might find them at a dealer, but usually they will have to order them as well, so ebay is about as simple as it gets.

Glad to help and talk you through anything you run into if needed!

[jjz28]

yeah, I really do need to get them done. I haven't ordered them yet or I would do them this weekend. I am sure I could do it never had a problem with doing anything else. The reason I wanted to wait until winter was so I could have plenty of time to do it. Does anyone know of a good source or part number for our fork seals. I need the 79 special. A lot I have found only has f instead sf.

[Bonz]

What I said before, and jetmech restated...

It's a morning worth of work, take the time you would spend on your next ride with bike in it's current form and stay home to do the work.

I am sure there is a forum member in your neck of the woods down there to lend a hand if there is any trepidation doing it yourself. Crappy forks do nothing to help our already fragile riding condition of being a target out on the road.

In fact, when I rebuilt the leaky forks on the 80G, I ended up with a much better riding front end than the pristine 80SG sitting next to it in the garage. It's been a couple years since I did the SG forks, but it is obvious they need to be serviced riding them back-to-back.

The tire "probably" won't lose contact with the road riding around, but hit an unexpected bump, get HARD on the brakes, have to make a quick evasive maneuver, just once, and it might be one time too many.

[jetmechmarty]

Jeff,

Air can't leak out the bottom if there is fluid in there. The air can only leak out the top. Air pressure on top of the fluid may make it leak worse. There is a bigger problem with your fork leak. That fork oil will find its way to your brake pads. I don't have to tell you what that does. I am writing this from experience. I neglected my forks until they helped me to a fall. After that, I went all out on the fix, but that's another story.

Your best coarse of action is to fix it. After you do, you'll be telling yourself, "That wasn't so bad!" Once you've done it, you'll know all about it and you'll get right to it the next time.

[jjz28]

The forks stay on the road like they are supposed too, if they didn't I would not ride it. One is all that is leaking but the leaking one didn't have air and they other had hardly none in there. When I hit the little compressor that plugs into the cigarette lighter, the bike jumped up with the air I put in the leaking one. It holds air but still leaking fluid It may be leaking the air too, I could check it today and see if it still has the same pounds as yesterday. I've road the bike like this since I have had it and it handles good and the tires are firmly planted on the road. I would hope knowone would ride with the forks bouncing off the pavement, my bike never got like that, I guess because the other fork don't leak and the bad one still had a little fluid.

[jetmechmarty]

Just to elaborate on what Bonz said, properly functioning forks and shocks are what keep the tire in constant contact with the pavement. Yes, they are very important to braking.

[Bonz]

If I understand you, one tube is out of fluid, still leaking after the bars leak, but the tubes are holding air now? Of course the ride will stiffen up with air in them, but the fork control is jacked up without oil in there.

You probably want to take a few hours and do the forks now... Unless winter starts tomorrow! That goes above the level of dirty fluid or stemming a leak, to the point as to question safety.

Aggressive or not, you need to brake, accelerate and turn, go over bumps in the road, etc. what you described begs attention, and that's the way I see it in recommending that to you.

[jjz28]

Well, I used the bars leak jack oil with stop leak but its still leaking a little. It had stopped leaking so I thought it was dry but about 2oz came out. what came out was kinda grey, probably very dirty. Anyway, I changed both schraeder valves and they both hold air now. I didn't really notice a difference in ride, maybe its a little stiffer. I figured I would notice a big difference since one fork was about empty and both almost out of air. I don't drive aggressively though so maybe I don't push it enough to feel a difference.

[Courtney]

What's all this talk about safety anyway? Aren't we all fearless low life bike scum that strike fear into the hearts of mild mannered sissies and panty wearing scooter riders? Oh wait a minute..... I ride a scooter too.........

[BA80]

I would agree with Rasputin on this one. Every old Xs I have gotten and went through the forks(total disassembly), I have found sludge in The bottom of the forks. Adding clean oil to that sludge will just contaminate it fairly quickly.

+1. That crud is thick and sometimes hard to get it all out.

The seals are designed to keep the oil and air in, not keep dirt out. Any dirt that may be on the fork tubes will slip past the seals on the way down but be scraped off on the inside by the lip of the seal. Very small amounts but over time builds up and sinks to the bottom. Gravity works.

[Bonz]

Good points, Ras! Honestly did not realize we have so many lurkers, and forgot that search doesn't work unless you are a member.

[Rasputin]

Its not so much downing a quick fix as it is making sure everyone knows the pitfalls. There are a lot of things that work fine for the general user but the best thing about this site is all the positive and negative are given.

A person who knows something about his/her bike is very different from a newbie on here. Say for instance someone comes up with a quick get around or fix for their bike that is a great thing. However there are newbies and lurkers here who have never even seen this bike and now have one. Its only fair that all the information is in the thread or at least enough to point anyone in a safe direction. Some of these bikes have been POed to death a guy that has just gotten a 30 year old bike I suggest taking the springs out and checking things rather than the mix of cleaners and thinking everthing is just fine.

I absolutely agree with this statement! I have met far more lurkers on here than members. On any given day the lurkers are up to 10 times the number of members. The other day I was on here and 6 members were online but 77 people were using the site. The importance of what we advise is seen by others and followed whether we are correct or not. One will never know how much heartache he may save by posting the "cons" to a posted idea.

In general, folks taking this kind of bike on as an owner have this whole site and a search function to use. In the everyday life of the forum, it makes threads laborious when discussion goes the way of "just in case". It happens almost without fail, each time a tip or trick is posted.

I don't have the answer, but would like to be able to talk about stuff without getting the litany each time about the most correct way to do things in case someone is lurking or new.

I agree that they have to whole forum and the search function to use. Will they ...."No". Half of them do not join so their searches or rather questions go unanswered.
Yes it does make the forum "Tedious" and that fact has made many a good member drop out. If a tip or trick is posted that is new and has not been discussed before the members are happy to acknowledge it and if it is really good they promote it! Just check out any posts about transmission repairs or carb tips, tools, 850/750 final drives or anything else you choose.
I myself and as a matter of fact, I believe that every long time member here, has been corrected quite a few times. The litany is produced by our desire to get the best possible information available for these old bikes period. This site could end up being the absolute best site to be on if we proceed as we are. I believe it is already but my thoughts are mine.
If you are thin skinned then approach it as you will get flack, so be sure of what you are posting. Then be aware that if you post that the sky is blue that someone will disagree as it will be stormy there.

[MPittma100]

Good to Know

Recently ordered a set of Shinkos from J&P Cycles.
I didn't get 100 yards before realizing the front was defective, wobbling handlebars not good

J&P insisted I take the bike to some tire shop I am unfamiliar with about 25 miles away to have a "warranty evaluation" done before they will honor the "satisfaction guaranteed" slogan they seem so proud of.
I sent them pics of the more than 1/4" lateral run-out and told them I was not willing to ride the bike on that tire.
After many dialogues and posturing, it came down to an effective "sucks to be you" attitude on their part because, if I can't get an authorized local Shinko dealer to warranty the tire THEY certainly won't.

I now have a Kenda on the front that I got from a local bike shop, the wobble and vibration is gone, the rear Shinko seems fine... so far, I'm out the cost and labor of the front Shinko, and J&P Cycles seems just fine with that.

In closing, although you may have heard that J&P Cycle now caters to "METRIC" bikes, don't!
Also, I'll never buy Shinkos again either.

Good to let people know when you have a problem with a particular dealer or product esp. here where a lot of people can be advised. That is the best way to get them to screw their heads back on when they read (and hear) people in quantity speaking badly of them and promising not to use them or their product again.

It is too late (for them) when this happens as they usually cannot recover the amount lost due to bad publicity. As this point is when they wish that they had done something else to "please the customer" the first time.

We have all had some bad experiences in the past - Let them and all your friends know about it!

I recently had a problem with an Ebay vendor's product. He wanted the part returned for evaluation. I gave him the option of sending a call tag for it, but he would not. So I gave him a negative rating. He can figure it out from here.
FYI, it was a carburetor kit for a 4 wheeler that would not work. The vendors name is offroadidaho. Buyer beware!

MP

[Bonz]

In general, folks taking this kind of bike on as an owner have this whole site and a search function to use. In the everyday life of the forum, it makes threads laborious when discussion goes the way of "just in case". It happens almost without fail, each time a tip or trick is posted.

I don't have the answer, but would like to be able to talk about stuff without getting the litany each time about the most correct way to do things in case someone is lurking or new.