Air shocks

[tdiller]

Bought a freewheeler for the Mrs. About 3 weeks ago. I added air to the shocks to account for her weight according to the manual about 2 weeks back. Saturday we went for about a 250 mile ride. She who must be obeyed was complaining about the harsh ride. When we got home I checked the air in the shocks and found it had dropped from 35 to 18 lbs. Once aired up again the ride seemed OK. I am having a hard time with the shocks leaking down by almost 20 lbs. In 2 weeks. Is this normal? On my Kawasaki voyager I can go almost all season without needing to air up the shocks. I've still got some warranty on this 2015 freewheeler so I may just have it looked at.

 

[rhino 2]

Welcome to Trike-Talk'''':wave4:

And ''NO'' it is NOT normal that it losses air....Take it back to the dealer to fix...

Just as an after thought, Are you using an no-losse air shock/pump.. And not a regular tire air gage..I ask because using a tire gage you will let most of the air out just by checking the pressure ...

Again, Welcome....:wave:

 

[tdiller]

Welcome to Trike-Talk'''':wave4:

And ''NO'' it is NOT normal that it losses air....Take it back to the dealer to fix...

Just as an after thought, Are you using an no-losse air shock/pump.. And not a regular tire air gage..I ask because using a tire gage you will let most of the air out just by checking the pressure ...

Again, Welcome....:wave:

Thanks for the welcome. Yes I am using HD's no loss touring shock pump. Its the same one I use on the shocks on my kawasaki voyager.

I pumped them up to 35 yesterday and I'll give it a few days and check them again. If there is a loss then to the dealer it goes.

 

[Gorilla]

Welcome aboard. The fitting might be leaking. Not a big deal for the dealer to take apart and re-seat the air tubes.

 

[tdiller]

update

Thanks for the welcome. Yes I am using HD's no loss touring shock pump. Its the same one I use on the shocks on my kawasaki voyager.

I pumped them up to 35 yesterday and I'll give it a few days and check them again. If there is a loss then to the dealer it goes.

So it's been a week and the shocks have held the pressure. That is with the bike sitting and not being used. I'll have to keep an eye on this.

 

[Jack Klarich]

Welcome, soapy water on the lines and valve , u may have a leak

 

[HDB0B]

The air volume is very small ... hence the need for a zero loss air pump. Changing out the air line to a much longer coil of air line will dramatically increase the volume of air. I am considering adding a small air tank / bladder to my TG.

Bob orag:

 

[Gorilla]

The air volume is very small ... hence the need for a zero loss air pump. Changing out the air line to a much longer coil of air line will dramatically increase the volume of air. I am considering adding a small air tank / bladder to my TG.

Bob orag:

If someone is interested in doing what BOB mentions, the HD Police bikes have a badder and air tank for their solo seat setup. Usually can be reasonably acquired on EBAY.

 

[vito]

The air volume is very small ... hence the need for a zero loss air pump. Changing out the air line to a much longer coil of air line will dramatically increase the volume of air. I am considering adding a small air tank / bladder to my TG.

Bob orag:

Keep in mind that adding volume will change the pressure rise rate giving a better (softer) ride on small bumps but increase odds of bottoming out and of lean in corners. Be great to hear from anybody who has done it.

 

[DK Custom Products]

Keep in mind that adding volume will change the pressure rise rate giving a better (softer) ride on small bumps but increase odds of bottoming out and of lean in corners. Be great to hear from anybody who has done it.

We did a lot of experimenting with this a few years ago. Not only did we add a bladder, but the bladder was made of rubber. We were sure we were going to feel an improvement in the ride quality. We tried everything from a 1/2 quart bladder to a 1/2 gallon bladder.

With the 1/2 gallon rubber bladder we thought we might have felt a small improvement...but if we did, it was so small that it was not worth it. In theory, it certainly seemed like it should work, but we could not make it provide real world improvement.

I should note, that the bladder was also the "tank" that held the additional air volume. We did not try any variation, like what Gorilla mentioned, of a tank AND a bladder.

Kevin

 

[tdiller]

update on air shocks

So it's been a week and the shocks have held the pressure. That is with the bike sitting and not being used. I'll have to keep an eye on this.

She who must be obeyed wanted to go for a ride Sunday. We went about 100 miles. I checked the shocks before we left and they still were at 32 pounds. My wife was worried about too long a ride because of how bad it was the other time out. So we kept it shorter. When we finished our ride and about halfway through I checked the shocks again and they were fine. My wife said the ride was fine for her. I also got some new mirrors from J&P cycles. The week before last I ran out to Anamosa Ia to see their store. I found some mirrors with longer stems that move the mirror out to just about over the grips. Price was $20 per mirror. Happy wife Happy life.

 

[Jack Klarich]

Another happy ending ThumbUp