rear shock reconditioning ?? 2008 model 67tkm

[vara8]

Hello friends

I am a bit unsure and need some team thinking on the following; when do I know my Varadero would benefit from a rebuild of the rear shock? It is a 2008 non-ABS model with 67tkm on the clock. Apart from having now an approx 2cm bigger sag then at the beginning when it was new I haven't really a problem, no leak, nothing. I am 190cm tall and 120kg on the bike.

Having said that, that's what I thought of my front suspension as well until I decided to change the fork oil now and the oil was brown and contaminated with water, whereby the seals were in mint condition.

I am a bit spooked now because I commute daily and sometimes I do a bit of State Forest with it as well, what I mean is that I am so used to the gradual change, I perhaps wouldn't know the difference between good and to be replaced anymore. Does that make sense?

That Honda is so fantastically reliable, I would probably only notice once it is fully broken but I'd like to avoid that. Being pr-active I could just go ahead and get it done, however 2 points pop up in my mind:
1) Does a reconditioned rear shock (if done properly) last longer than the current one would without reconditioning it?
2) Is it currently an overkill?

Yup, so if you could put in your 5cents worth of thinking, I sure would appreciate that.

Cheers
Vara8

[SB]

A lot depends on what is worn/wrong with the existing shock.

It might help to think about what could be wrong/worn and then try an decide what is wrong/worn.

Unlike the front forks the rear shock assy only takes compression and extension loads so there are no internal bearing surfaces to worry about.

Issues in order of severity :

• Seals worn and leaking
• Sealing surfaces (chrome) pitted or corroded
• Spring shagged
• Pre-load adjuster broken or seized
• Mounting points worn
• Internals damaged/worn

SB

[Two Plugs]

On Karinda's bike, we recently replaced the complete rear shock which was still Honda Original but only equipped with an aftermarked spring (WP).

It was replaced at the 170.000 km marque... So I guess unless you have done lots of offroading and bad roads, it is still not really necessary to replace it. 

[vara8]

Thanks SB for the checklist in sequential order, mighty useful and perhaps useful to some other infoseeker at some stage and thank you TwoPlugs for your experience report.

This info helped a lot to validate my current situation.
The rear shock will continue to stay in service until it shows signs of failure as described by SB's checklist..

I appreciate your effort to respond to my question a lot, keep a safe riding season.

[SB]

The biggest problem would be detecting a slow fluid leak.

The Seal area is covered and not easy to inspect. Testing the shock once it had been removed from the bike would be possible but only after the spring had been removed which is not easy without a jig.

Building a simple system to do basic tests on bike shocks would not be hard and I'm surprised more workshops don't offer this type of service.

[foxbat]

hi guys

mine died ~ 80.000 km .
~ 150 eur to be fixed ( I have ABS version). + the parts from the buttom ( I found all damage, dont know how because i ride only on road)

I have her in Romania very good tech ( some of them works for honda workshops )
if i can help please let me know

[Two Plugs]

Thanks SB for the checklist in sequential order, mighty useful and perhaps useful to some other infoseeker at some stage and thank you TwoPlugs for your experience report.

This info helped a lot to validate my current situation.
The rear shock will continue to stay in service until it shows signs of failure as described by SB's checklist..

I appreciate your effort to respond to my question a lot, keep a safe riding season.

Thats the big plus of this community! Enjoy every aspect of it.