Spring Service- Uh Oh

Joined
Jan 14, 2026
Messages
1
Age
25
Location
Central NJ
Bike
93 Pan
Hey all, doing my spring service on my new (to me!) Pan with *95,000 miles* on the clock. Old girl! Things have gone remarkably well so far, but I figured I would post some questions I had on here while waiting to receive my valve shims for installation. I did a once-over of kind of everything on the bike, but my main concerns are with the rear suspension and final drive oil.

I changed out the final drive oil and noticed some patterns. Not quite shiny, but not smooth and unicolor like my engine oil usually is. Let me know what you guys think, if that's normal or if I'm going to find some smooth gears soon. Replaced with FRAM 80W-90 up to the bottom of the fill bolt hole.
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Nearby, I was inspecting my rear shock for any leakage and noticed that up at the top, there seems to be some corrosion *on the spring itself*, and some of its black covering chipped off with a finger. I'm sure that that's not ideal, but my question is really if that will significantly impact performance of that rear shock or if it should be replaced immediately. The rest of it looked to be in quite good condition, so I thought it was odd just that top portion should be so worn!

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Finally, two of my spark plugs were quite oil-fouled and two others were okay. My valve clearances were significantly out on one side, so I'm thinking that may be the cause. Anything else I should check for or ensure is correct?
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Curious to hear what y'all think. Thanks!
 
Paint peeling should not effect the shocks performance, shock looks like aftermarket. Valve clearance might cause the black plugs , but I would also check idle screws that they have not wandered out of adjustment.
 
Refill the rear, let it run for a few rides, flush it again. See how it is. The colour could be tired oil, air in oil, water in oil.
Spring - take it off, clean it up, paint it, or just brush on some ACF50
Plugs - you’ve done the valve clearances. Fit som new. Change air filter and sponge. Check carb balance. Check choke operation / cable.
 
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