| Author | Message | ||
     Greenlanternjeep |
I recently tore down my uly for paint. When I started the reassembly I noticed the rear shock had leak some oil around the fitting where the hose connects to the compression adjuster. There was about an ounce of oil in the box. I tightened the fitting and its not leaking now, but what can I do about the oil that leaked out? | ||
| Greenlanternjeep |
still looking for help | ||
| Hughlysses |
Several people have successfully re-filled the system. Apparently a lot of these bikes lose some of the range of adjustment as they get older. When the bikes are new, it takes 2 to 4 turns or so before any resistance is felt. My bike has gone from 4 turns to 6 turns before I feel any resistance on the pre-load adjuster. I suspect some of the oil weeps past the seals over time but another theory is that the rear spring sags slightly with age. At any rate, the trick is to back completely off of the pre-load adjustment. Unbolt the preload adjuster from the bottom of the under seat tray. Carefully disconnect the hose, trying to minimize the amount of oil you lose. Re-fill the pre-load adjuster through the hose connection. People have used hydraulic jack oil, fork oil and other stuff. It's not really critical what you use. Personally, I'd go for fork oil (IIRC, someone from EBR said that was the correct fluid). Apparently you may need to poke a toothpick or something similar down into the hole to get the oil to flow in. Reconnect the adjuster to the hose. Before you tighten it down snugly, give the adjuster 1/2-to-1 turn to force any air out. Tighten the fitting down securely and reinstall the adjuster to the seat pan. You should be good to go. Here's an older thread on the subject: (see next post) Unfortunately, the "how to" links in the thread are both dead, but it seems like a pretty simple procedure. (Message edited by Hughlysses on August 27, 2012) | ||
| Hughlysses |
Doh! I forgot to include the link to the old thread: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/626029.html | ||
| Buellerxt |
Hughlysses, I'm sure glad you got that 2008 or 2009 motor, I forgot which, but I'm sorry you had to go through all that trouble. Having the new motor means, hopefully, that you'll be here for years to come. You are such a HUGE help on so many Ulysses topics and it is GREAT to have you on board! Very knowledgeable and very helpful! How cool! Thanks. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Wow, Mike. That's a mighty nice compliment. You're very welcome. Hopefully we'll still be here 10 years from now trying to keep our ~8 year old EBR bikes running.  | ||
| Buellerxt |
Hughlysses quote: "Hopefully we'll still be here 10 years from now trying to keep our ~8 year old EBR bikes running". Unquote That's my plan!  I love the bike. Hang in there and enjoy, Uly owners! We're in this for the long term! | ||
| Greenlanternjeep |
Thanks Hughly I knew you would be the one to answer me.I rode the bike to Cherokee and back with the wife and the handling was a little less than ideal. I will get out this wknd and give that a shot,thanks again. | ||
| Hughlysses |
OK- I finally got around to doing my preload adjuster just now. I was debating how to get the adjuster higher than the top of the shock so I could get the adjuster AND the hose full of oil. It's a PITA to remove the rear shock with the comfort kit duct installed under the seat, so someone had suggested laying the bike on its side. I was very close to doing that in my front yard grass, but I figured no matter how careful I was, I was going to break a turn signal or scuff something up. I finally put the bike up on my motorcycle jack and muffler cradle and unbolted the shock top and bottom. I unbolted the adjuster from the bottom of the underseat pan and worked the hydraulic line out of the comfort kit duct. I could get the shock down about 4 inches before the line from the compression adjuster was taut, and I could hold the adjuster up enough to keep it above the shock. I did all this, disconnected the line at the back of the adjuster, and used a small bungee strap to hold it up so the oil didn't run out. When I first looked into the connection on the adjuster, it appeared to be completely full. As others have suggested, I took a wooden skewer and pushed down and the piston in the adjuster went down about 1/2 inch or so, lowering the oil level. It took a pretty solid push to move the piston. I added fork oil (I read somewhere in one of these threads that was the preferred fill) until it ran out, and then reconnected the hose. Before tightening it down, I gave the adjuster about one complete turn until a little oil started to weep at the copper gaskets, then I tightened it down securely (the idea being to get any air out of the system). I put everything back together. Now, instead of taking 6 full turns on the preload adjuster before I feel any resistance, I feel resistance after 1 turn. That seems like a pretty big improvement. I figure this equates to having 5 more turns of available preload when the bike is fully loaded too, which is good to have with two adults and 3 bags full. |
