Full Floater Suspension

[Nicholaschase29]

Hi, I have a 85 gs 700E with Full floater rear suspension. The damper adjust knob is stuck in the 1st position. If i try to turn the knob, it progressively gets harder to turn. I turn it about 1/8 turn, but I'm afraid to turn it too hard, for fear of breaking the plastic gears inside. I'm not sure if the cable is frozen, or if there is some mechanism inside the shock that needs to be freed up. Just wondering if anyone had any ideas, or had this problem before, or is there some way to disassemble the shock?
Thanks in advance,
Nick

 

[Dink]

Be VERY careful of the gear on the shock, it is irreplacable!!!!
It very well may be the cable frozen, it can be removed and freed up.
I would also suggest removing the gear and flushing the housing out and then pack it with grease.

Dink

 

[jetta90]

Good question Nicholaschase29, i can't provide any answers myself but i do have a 1984 GS 750E i recently purchased and I have the identical issue as well. I'm going to strat by cleaning things up on the outside and work my way to taking a look at the cable and bottom shock housing.
I would think others have had a similar problem and will want to chime in with intsrtuction on how they resolved this issue.

 

[Nicholaschase29]

I took the knob off and sprayd pb blaster down the line, but it didnt do anything. I would put the bike on the center stand to get a better look, and possibly disasemble, but does not have one. I think the PO took it off so the pipes would fit. I'm really turning it pretty hard too, but it's just the cable flexing I think. When I bought it it was stuck, so I dont know how long ago it was moving. Can you remove the cable from the shock?
Thanks,
Nick

 

[Nerobro]

The preload on these shocks are hydraulic aren't they? The 550's are hydraulic. I don't know how the damping adjustment works though.. might it be acable?

 

[Nicholaschase29]

the put spring preload in, there is a hydrolic adjustment, for the damper it spins a cable.

 

[Dink]

Yes you can just un-screww the cable both ends.

Dink

 

[jetta90]

So, since my post above mentioned I also have an issue of this nature I decided I would start taking things apart last night.
I found the inner cable to be seized up, and the little gear found at the top portion of the cable where it fits into the adjusting mechanism has several teeth missing (not good).
Heads up on this, there is a little rubber plug that fits into a hole at the bottom of the shock, just to the left of where the cable fits in.
Pull the cable and plug out of the shock, you can use a screw driver to move the little wheel where the cable would normally fit in. When turning the wheel you can hear the "click" when you go up to the next adjustment.
Watch the little window where the plug fits in, as you turn the wheel from the cable port you will see the mechanism turn in the window where the rubber plug was.
Watch that little window as you click it through the 4 settings. You will see just the mechanism (white plastic) turning as you click. The color of the plastic will change to red (in my case it was just a very light shade of red).
I think that the adjustment setting where you see some red in that port equates to the number 1 position (red) on the adjustment knob on the frame.

I think my cable could be servicable but the little gear is definately not.
So, i adjusted the shock manually to be at the 4th position.

 

[leeham]

replace the shock??

replace the shock??

can anyone offer a good repalcement shock that will fit straight in to this model

i am thinking mine is a bit old and tired and i would like to upgrade to something more modern.

any ideas

 

[Nerobro]

you should be able to throw in a GSXR shock. anything from 98 on up or so.

 

[Billy Ricks]

The shocks that are like what came on '97 GSXR750's are the right length for the 700/750 models. It is in fact about 1/4" longer than stock. Mount it upside down with the reservoir to the rear and use some bronze or brass washers between the shock clevis and the cushion rod linkage for the Full-Floater.

In a week or so I coud have good adjusters and gears available from a stock shock. The shock itself is toast and needs to go in the garbage.

 

[Nicholaschase29]

Merry Christmas!
I finally got my shock apart, and the cable does spin freely, I looked into the shock and noticed a white plastic disk with the square end on it for the cable, I removed the white plastic peice and behind it was reddish orange... crap, for lack of a better word I sprayed pb blaster into the shock but i'm a bit stuck here. Anyway, I never did get the shock removed from the bike because the center stand was removed to make room for the pipe. So, I am currently working on the shock while it's on the bike. I would also take pictures, but I left my camera at my grandmas yesterday. Further instructions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Nick

 

[Billy Ricks]

The plastic piece the cable fits into should have a pin sticking out of it which when rotated changes the damping setting. You have four positions on your adjuster. The first position should show a red dot in the inspection port that has the rubber plug in it. The piece you see rotating with the red dot has four pins on it, one for every damping setting. You may need to use a Q-tip with some solvent on it to clean things up enough to see the red dot.

 

[ScottMc1100L]

Bump..Nick, so how did you make out? Fixed?

... I would put the bike on the center stand to get a better look, and possibly disasemble, but does not have one. I think the PO took it off so the pipes would fit. ...
Thanks,
Nick

I hear you, same bike same problem. I picked up a center stand off of eBay. Does your pipe at least allow you to change the oil without removing? If so it's better than mine!

 

[Nicholaschase29]

Here is what I did....
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...MEWN:IT&viewitem=&item=270073586641&rd=1&rd=1

Once I remove the shock I have now I will try to save it, although it looks pretty bad in there.... I will let you know once I get it out.

I havent tried to put a centerstand on my bike, actaully I think it might work with my pipes because I have a rubber stop on my pipes which I think is for the stand...
I would rather not spend 30 bucks, to find out it does'nt fit.
Thanks,
Nick

 

[Billy Ricks]

The stocker you picked up looks great.

 

[Nicholaschase29]

Thanks, Haven't got it yet, Getting excited!

 

[Nicholaschase29]

Well, I got it the other day, The small gear that drives the dampner cable is stripped out. Also, the dampner cable is frozen... Above all, The shock does not really compress when i push on it. This is my main concern, because I could use parts from my shock on this one. I have the spring tension set to 1 and put it on the 1 dampner setting. (using my old cable and dial, and gear) I put a hand pump C clamp on it and squeeze. (one of those c clamps on a rail and you squeeze it multiple times to clamp it), it only moves about 1/2 inch and then stops. This is with alot of force too, as hard as I can squeeze. Do you think that if I put it on my bike that it will free up over time? The reason I do not use my old shock is if you look in the hole where the dampner cable connects, it is all rusted and gross in there, and does not move. Do you think that I could put like some diluted muratic acid in there? I'm not sure, but would assume that the rest of the mechanism is frozen up in the shock too, but I do not really know how these shocks work. The spring preload works great though.
Any thought would be appreciated,
Nick

 

[Kurtb5]

I have the same problem, the cable is totally rusted out at the base of the shock. I have another setup but the bike was in a crash. Does anyone know what I have to do to replace the shock. ie. special tools and any danger if the shock is released.

Thx Kurt

 

[Billy Ricks]

Nick,

It's common for the bottom end of the shock where the damping adjuster is to look like hell. The rust is from the pins used to move the adjuster. Just spray the area out with WD-40 and look closely inside the shock. You should be able to see 4 pins sticking out facing down inside the shock. You should be able to use a screwdriver to manually rotate that. Remove the rubber plug at the bottom of the shock and rotate the pins where the cable fits if it will move. Position one will show a red dot through the hole where the rubber plug was.

The shock you picked up looks decent. I wouldn't expect it to compress much just using your mass or a clamp. The spring is pretty stout and the damper is under about 250 lbs of nitrogen pressure normally. I'd at least mount it and see how it works. You can make manual damping adjustments if you need to. I'd probably just use postion 4 and forget about it.