Rear air shocks

[mixongw]

My GS1100L has stock Suzuki air shocks on the rear. How does one go about adding oil to these shocks? Also, are the air shocks that much superior to spring shocks?

[Billy Ricks]

My GS1100L has stock Suzuki air shocks on the rear. How does one go about adding oil to these shocks? Also, are the air shocks that much superior to spring shocks?

You don't, very few OEM shocks, if any, are rebuildable. You probably do have springs, they are just covered up with the housing. As for superiority I can't say. I know I've never liked how air shocks perform on trucks and cars.

[mixongw]

I noticed oil coming out of the air valve, and just wondered where it was coming from.

[kalessin]

How much oil?

If I recall correctly, the rear air shocks were only used on GL and GK models. Air in these shocks is used for spring preload, which makes the shock "longer" so that more weight won't bottom out the suspension. Oil is used for damping, to counteract the bounciness of the spring. With no oil, the shock would be verrry bouncy, and it shouldn't leak out under normal operations.

The stock Suzuki air shocks need to have air in them to function properly, and they need to be checked from time to time, especially at the beginning of the season. I've kept mine with 10lb minimum and up to 15lb for when I ride with a pillion. One year I forgot to put air in at the beginning of the season, took a friend for a ride, and the rear kept bottoming out. When I went to put air in, I discovered one of the shocks had almost no pressure, and had let a little oil out (only a very little) into the air inlet (that looks like a bicycle tire air valve, under the hex-nut style cover). I added air and haven't had any more oil leak from that shock, and it's been holding air, and functioning normally when I ride.

So I'd say use a hand pump (only!) to add 10-12lbs of air to both shocks. You'll need a gauge that's accurate down that far, and see if you still get the leakage. You might get lucky and have it leak no more, as mine did.

[retrex]

Air shock junkie

I loved my S&W air shocks, I got them shortly after I got the bike and ran them until they turned 20 years old. For me they were the best shocks for the way I rode. To add oil, fork oil 15W, I would take a large syringe and fill it and inject it into the air inlet hole. After each injection I would compress the shock, without air and keeping it verticle. When I reached the point after an injection that the oil came out of the air inlet after compression I stopped injecting oil. This way I knew that I had sufficient, if not a little more than normal, oil level and equal amounts of oil in each shock. I know the pros and cons of air vs steel, but for me air rules.