Milestone

[tcoop]

Hit a milestone today😀

poor bike was neglected for way to many years before I got it. Put it back on the road this year and already doubled the miles on it.

[3Phase]

Way to go, Ty, nice milestone!

Now it's almost time to repack bearings, change fork oil, shock oil, and alternator brushes.

[tcoop]

Yep maintenance is important to keep it running right.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Is that all your XJ has on it, or how many times around the moon has it actually gone?

Pretty cool, Ty!

Bob

[tcoop]

That is all the miles it has on it. It sat in a garage for 15 + years and was hidden from the PO's ex for years before that so it was not ridden much.

[Radioguylogs]

Wow!

That's obscene (miles).

Will last forever under your care.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Wow, Ty! That's awesome!

[3Phase]

Ty, wasn't trying to be flip, just sort of amused and more than a little envious about your bike finally making 7K and wondering if it ever even got its first dealer service.

And I noticed the maintenance chart mentions changing the front fork oil but doesn't say diddly about the oil in the rear air shocks.

[tcoop]

Actually, I appreciate you mentioning what would be needed. Fork oil is not something i think about unless it is leaking all over the place. Does the manual cover how to change the oil in the rear shocks? I have 4 sets of these shocks that probably have never been done.

[3Phase]

Even though it devoted one whole page to the rear shocks, the manual doesn't cover how to change the shock oil. It does tell you the refill level and there's a discussion thread somewhere on the forum about the type and grade of oil to use, I think it panned out to using 7W oil instead of 5W oil. I still use 5W oil just because.



That's it, the entire page.


There is a Tech Tip for rebuilding the XJ shocks:-

XJ1100 Rear Air Shock Rebuild
by 0011mixaM aka Perry




It's not necessary to take the shocks apart just to change the oil. Disconnect the air crossover line and take the shocks off the bike, then hang them for a while upside down over a tray to catch the oil. Take them down and pump the shocks every now and then to get the old oil out of the guts, then rehang them over the pan. I made a temporary jig to hold and pump the shocks but it can be done in a vice if you're careful.

After most of the old oil is out I put a little kerosene in the shock, then cover the hole and shake it for a minute or two to get the grunge loosened up. After it's shaken, immediately turn it upside down over the oil tray and let it hang to drain the kerosene and dirt.

You'll have to let the shocks hang for good while to make sure you got all of the kerosene out or it'll mix with the new oil.

If you want to be really thorough: after you've flushed the main reservoir, add a little more kerosene and pump the shocks to clean the innards, then invert and drain them again over the pan, pumping them every so often to get the kerosene out. It'll take even longer time this time to drain and dry the shocks, I just hung mine up and worked them every so often before I went to bed and they were ready to go the next morning.

Refill with oil and put the shocks and air line back on, then add air to suit and go ride!

[DiverRay]

Or, instead of hanging the shocks for two or three days, just take them apart, clean, and re-assemble.

[3Phase]

Or, instead of hanging the shocks for two or three days, just take them apart, clean, and re-assemble.

I left off taking apart the shocks because it's way too much work for just a simple flush and fluid change but I did link to the TechTip.


Yeah, I rinsed and cleaned mine in the evening when I changed the rear tire and greased the Final Drive splines, then I let them hang overnight and put them back on in the morning. It doesn't take three days unless you're doing other things to the bike and you don't want or need shocks on it but what could possible go wrong with a bike that's only 36 years old and just had its 7,000th mile annualversary?

[/crickets]

Anywho, once you have everything apart you still have to clean and flush that damper assembly without taking it apart and without getting stinky carpy black stuff everywhere. It was easier for me to do that when the shock was together with its reservoir so I just added kerosene (or whatever you favorite solvent happens to be). After you shake it like a Martini and pump it a few times to flush it out you just pour the dreck into a pan, if the dreck comes out as shiny, sparkly and chunky dreck, then it's time to think about taking apart the shocks.

Oh, that spring-compressor in the TechTip is a work of art and necessitated engineering ingenuity too but you, uh, have to remember to buy everything and build it before you dig into the shocks if they're on your only transportation. Oops.