CRF's Only Forums

Hi there,
I have a 2004 crfx and have never done anything with the rear shock other than set the sag. It has many hours on it. Do most people send there shock in for rebuild?
Thanks
Chris

I guess it would depend on your mechanical skills and the availability of Nitrogen to recharge the shock when finished

If you have not tackled suspension and are unsure and most importantly do not have either a Owners Manual or a Factory Honda Service Manual then yea , it would be best to let a shop do it .... The process is not really hard once you do it , but can be overwhelming to someone who has never done it or watched it being done ..... Race Tech has some good video's of doing a shock (and forks) , so if you watch it and feel you want to take on the challenge , I can help walk you thru it if you get stuck or are concerned about anything .........

Shock Video's (there is more than one video to get thru the disassembly and assembly process)
https://www.racetech.com/page/id/138

Safely depressurising the shock is the most important video to watch.
A clean out and oil change will have it working like new.

Yes, as Ray stated - caution is mandatory when working with high pressure. The actual rebuild of a rear shock is really quite simple. If you do not have the nitrogen gas - Argon works great also. It is actually a better gas due to it's molecular structure but not nearly as cheap as nitrogen. Argon will last longer and seal better. If you are a Welder you may already have argon. Tri-mix works also but argon is the best. I use Bel-ray oil for my suspension work.
Safety glasses, factory service manual and take your time. Forks are also pretty straight forward but not nearly as easy to work with as a rear shock - and there is two of them to deal with.

Thanks you guys. Ya I have done my crf forks and trials bike forks but for some reason I would never consider opening up my rear shock. What I was asking....Like my FOX shock on my mountain bike...I have sent it back to them because it obviously needed some new life in it. So I have been riding my bike since to X came out in 04. recently I got on my buds brand new KTM and Yamy and they felt insanely responsive. Then I got on old faithful and she felt like a mushy Cadillac...So I have been on this bike too long to know if this is just the way my Honda iron horse has always rode or was she once more spunky?

Usually when the Nitrogen depletes , the shock will get "springy" like a pogo stick , real fast compress and real fast rebound , like it is just relying on the spring and nothing else to compress/extend , if its not doing that the Nitrogen is still holding , but does not mean it has full pressure .... though a refresh of it would put some life back in .... as we all mentioned , the oil becomes worn just like the forks , so most of us just do "regular" maintenance on the shock when we do the forks .... in terms of difficulty , its no worse than doing a complete teardown (cartridge rebuild/bleeding , as well as fork seals and oil) on your forks ... the only difference being the Nitrogen and the precautions needed in disassembly and assembly ... other than that , it is pretty much straight forward and is detailed in the Owners Manual , as well as the Honda Service Manual .... As long as you make sure you release the pressure at the schrader valve before disassembly , the rest is just like the forks ... then when reassembling , make sure you get the clip for the shock seal in good , as well as the one for the bladder so they do not blow the shock apart when it is charged/pressurized and you should be fine ....

We should probably change our shock oil more often than the forks as there isn't that much in there and it does a lot of work and get contaminated.

We should but I guess most of us don't.

Yea .... I usually do mine every other fork rebuild .... or 3rd