Rear shock question

[Kev]

Hi everyone, sorry to trouble you all once again, but have another question/issue with my '04 ABS St1300. The rear wheel when on the centre stand is now touching the floor to the extent that l cannot turn the wheel. It would appear as if when initially placed on the centre stand there is a slight gap between wheel and floor but suggest that the wheel sags over a period of time to touch the floor. To be brutally honest l cannot recall if this was sudden or over time. I have overhauled the pre-adjuster and topped up its oil. I am assuming that the shock has worn out and probably requires replacement. There is no obvious leakage or broken spring.
Just wondered whether my assumption is correct, also for those in England, is there a rebuild service for stock shocks or is it a replacement and are there alternatives. Obviously with the high cost of the original replacement units looking at various options. Cheers people.

 

[dduelin]

When the bike is on the center stand the shock is extended to it's maximum length which is fixed by the internal rod and shock body extending to a maximum dimension set by the design before manufacture as the stock shock is not adjustable in length. Shocks do not sag "longer". Aftermarket shocks may include a ride height adjustment that shortens or lengthens the shock usually by means of a threaded adjustment. A shock shouldn't get longer on it's own but if an aftermarket shock is fitted it may be too long.

The other thing is some one may have shortened the center stand for whatever reason and that allows the tire to touch the ground.

There are alternative shocks available by several builders. Penske, Race Tech in the USA and Hagon in the UK used to sell a ST1300 shock. I bought the latter some years back from the US importer.

 

[ST Gui]

The rear wheel when on the centre stand is now touching the floor to the extent that l cannot turn the wheel. It would appear as if when initially placed on the centre stand there is a slight gap between wheel and floor but suggest that the wheel sags over a period of time to touch the floor.

"appear" and "suggest" are a bit vague - yeah? Can you put it on the center stand with clearance between the tire and the floor and after a period of time (minutes/hours/days) the tire is touching the floor?

Or is the "period of time" more of a then and now situation? Now it always touches the floor when placed on the center stand? Does it lean any farther than before when placed on the side stand? Can you grab the rear shock and give it a shake? Does it feel loose?

 

[Andrew Shadow]

Your post gives the impression that this is the OEM Honda shock. It also gives the impression that this is something that has changed over time and you know that this was not always the case. Assuming that you have not made any modifications to the bike that could have caused this condition, in addition to what Dave has offered above and only thinking out load, the only other things that I can think of are;
- Wrong size (larger diameter) tire.
- Worn upper/lower shock mount bushings and/or their eyelets allowing the shock to droop.
- Worn stopper on the centre-stand allowing it to over-rotate and therefore lessens the height that it holds the bike at.
(I don't even know if this is a possibility without looking at what stops the forward rotation of the stand.)
- Bent centre-stand legs.
- Worn bushings on the centre-stand pivots.

If any one of the above individually could be worn enough to cause this seems doubtful. Maybe a combination of them all but that seems a stretch as well. All of the above would have to be quite seriously worn to have this big an effect on the sitting height of the centre-stand, and it would be hard to believe that they would not have been noticed before they degraded to the point where the tire is touching the floor.

Do report back. I am curious to know what the cause is when you discover it.

 

[SMSW]

Shock worn out: You can test this by taking it for a ride and going over some bumps. If the shock is shot, i.e. no dampening, the bike will pogo over bumps - it will keep bouncing. You could even do this in your driveway with the bike at a standstill. If a friend holds the bike upright, and you push down on the rear, it should rise and stop moving. A worn shock will go up and down - maybe several times. If the spring sags, you would have attitude problems - and perhaps steering issues. That is what the preload does - it boosts the rear of the bike so the bike is 'level' and the steering is 'neutral' or as designed by the manufacturer. Changing the fork's angle by raising or lowering the aft of the bike will make the bike turn more quickly or more slowly and might contribute to high speed wobble. A worn out shock should not allow the rear tire to touch the ground when the bike is on the center stand.

 

[Larry Fine]

An at least temporary fix is to put a board under the center stand.

 

[Kev]

Hi thanks for the responses, well to be honest not sure what has happened but to recap, when l replaced the rear tyre, for the correct size, the wheel was touching the floor when on the centre stand, unable to turn the wheel. I topped up the oil in the shock pre-adjuster, wheel still touching the ground. Decided to leave it on the side stand over night, put it on the main stand in the morning, wheel now off the ground. Most odd but have to put it down to the pre-adjuster being topped up. Anyway job sorted but don't quite understand.
Wonder what quirk will happen next, all good fun.

 

[ST Gui]

Most odd but have to put it down to the pre-adjuster being topped up.

Not that I have any deep understanding of the details of the pre-loader but I just don't see how that can make a difference. Odd to be sure.

 

[Igofar]

You wouldn't happen to have a top case on your bike? Or alot of stuff in the panniers would you?
Sounds like the back of the bike was simply over weighted and rocked backward touching the rear wheel.

 

[Sheriff41]

You wouldn't happen to have a top case on your bike? Or alot of stuff in the panniers would you?
Sounds like the back of the bike was simply over weighted and rocked backward touching the rear wheel.

My thoughts, exactly. Is the front tire touching the ground when the rear is touching the ground? If not, place a weight on the tank/handle bar riser area.

 

[ST Gui]

He said he couldn't turn the rear wheel. It would be pretty hard not to notice the front wheel in the air when trying to turn the rear wheel. That would most likely lift the rear wheel off the ground if that was a possibility. And it doesn't sound like it was.

 

[Igofar]

I thought he said he couldn't turn the rear wheel because it was touching the ground...as in the bike rocked backwards etc.
Is he parked on a level surface where he always parks?
I would empty all bags and see if that changes anything.

 

[Kev]

Hi guys, just reading through the last few posts and for info, nothing had altered, the top box and panniers were not touched, the bike was on level ground, both wheels were on the ground, topped up the pre adjuster, left it on the side stand, next morning wheel off the ground. Very odd but sorted but thanks for all your comments.