Just got back from a ride around the ophir gold fields. Fairly bumpy stuff but all just crawling along.

Got back and noticed oil all over the right side of my wheel, swing arm, shock...

What a pain. I'm miles from home.... And the shock is only 6000kms old...

The shock has a 3yr 30000km warranty.... But they are in the UK and I'm in orange NSW...

Bugger.

I know it would be unwise to ride.... But how unwise?  

This is the same thing that Uli had go. Get onto Adrian at Realm Eng and tell him to fix pronto, he is the guy Uli dealt with and finally got something done.  Mention Ulrich Grabau and that you know what happened to his shock so they cant say "oh we have never seen that happen" as many of those mobs do.
They very obviously have QC problems.

If you are worried about riding I would just put some rag round the shock to stop any more oil getting on the wheel and take it easy and remember your braking wont be up to scratch either.

agree ...no real big problem Floyd ...to get home at least ...just be aware of the different damping available now

good luck

Thanks guys. Good to know it's OK to ride it with care.

Still a massive pain in the proverbial as I no longer have a home!

The k and all it can carry is my home as of a few days ago. I am on the road for the foreseeable future. Well into the new year at least. 

I imagine the shock seals will have to be replaced by someone who knows what they are doing and has a suitably equipped workshop....a challenge here in central west NSW I'm guessing...

Damn Floyd.
Send a pm to Ainsjac (stan) he lives in Dubbo and has a cow and a bull.

See if you can use his address and shed. I am sure he will be ok with it. He is after all a really nice guy.

Just watch out for the cow.

Have a shed, 2 bikes, one scooter and some spares...let me know.

Thanks for the offer mate. We'll see what realm say in the next day or 2.

They are not the greatest communicators that's for sure. They have only responded to one of my emails and insist that the failure must have been caused by the user... But if the shock is going to fail after a bit of dirt road riding then it's pretty useless for Aussie conditions....

I should be able to get a seal kit out of them but then I need to find  local to rebuild it or hope to Christ they have some good  documentation so I can attempt it. 

I'm just venting here I guess. Just rather disappointed is all. Im on the road, fully loaded and bouncing like a dam kangaroo... makes me sea sick.

Between you and me I wish I'd forked out the extra cash and got the Aussie made unit some one recommended to me. 

Rant over.

Just ask them what the point of having a SHOCK ABSORBER if you not supposed to take it where it will be subjected to SHOCKS from bumps in the road.
I sure wont be recommending them again.

Floyd, I'm happy to send you that seal kit. It consists of a largish "O" ring and a plastic doo-dad thing (Got no idea what it is or does). I think that you are correct in that it may need a specialist shock repairer to look at it, and I gather from previous posts on this thread that you are not over-endowed with workshop facilities. You would need at least a vice to hold the thing while you undo that special nut where the shaft enters the body of the shock. Possibly a special tool required to undo that nut.

I reckon the best option is to get a replacement shock. Col (lives at Orange, but no longer of the K fraternity, due to a major get-off about a year ago) definitely has a spare OEM shock, which I borrowed, pending the arrival of my RAM shock. I dare say he would be happy to lend it to you. Or, there may be other members of the K fraternity that may lend you a replacement unit.

Just thoughts...

Rickmeister.

I think I might have the shock you speak of, I collected all of Col's bits. I have a few anyway if you want one.

RicK G wrote:Just ask them what the point of having a SHOCK ABSORBER if you not supposed to take it where it will be subjected to SHOCKS from bumps in the road.
I sure wont be recommending them again.

Hate to disillusion you, but despite the common name 'shock absorber', it aint.

The correct term for it is a damper.

Nevertheless, it should be capable of taking the loads we put on them, especially since RAM asks for the expected use of the 'shock' - your weight, typical luggage weight, pillion frequency etc.

Communication for problems obviously needs to be improved as well. 

Cheers,

Bill

Floyd, when I put my K75 on the road I didn't want to spend up big on a shock at the time so I sent my original BMW (supposedly non-rebuildable) unit up to RAD Shocky Repairs in Brisbane. They did a rebuild including rechroming the shaft for about $240 I think from memory. I've done 12,000km on it since end of January on a variety of roads and it's fine for me. Just a thought if you get hold of a worn out original for not much.

Cheers

good advice gaz

rad certainly do a good job   ive had them rebuild 2 shocks ...and nothing surprises them ...just a pity it is a new unit that has let go from a highly regarded supplier

good luck Floyd

Floyd, I've got an original shock that needs rebuilding if it's any use. It's "frozen" or seized but your most welcome to it.

Hi, did anyone try Betor from Spain? Price is better than RAM, 2 years warranty?

http://betorspain.com/es/

Thanks for the comments and offers guys. 

Here an update....

I'm riding to my parts depot in dural to collect an OEM shock I have. Will swap my ram one out for it and post the ram to rad in Brisbane. (Hopefully) realm will post a seal kit to rad. 

Rad have given a rough quote of $80 to put the seal kit in.

So.... $80 for the repair, $40 for postage and $30 for fuel to dural and back.... $150... yay

On top of that realm aren't replying to me.... Double yay.

Ok back to my Pogo stick

Grrr damn Murphys law...

Got to dual to discover what I thought was my OEM shock was in fact a heavy duty ikon sick for a k100 sidecar rig. Was to long and to heavily sprung. When fitted it made my wider than normal tyre rub on the centre stand.

So... Rossko saved the day. I have his spare OEM shock fitted ( thanks for holding the umbrella during Australia's fastest k100 rear shock swap) and the bike is so much better now!

Off to the post office with my ram

floyd wrote:Grrr damn Murphys law...
So... Rossko saved the day.

Yes, we are a band of brothers.
Why do you think Rosskko avatar is full of stars? They are earned.
As always, good to see members helping each others.

Crazy Frog wrote:

floyd wrote:Grrr damn Murphys law...
So... Rossko saved the day.

Yes, we are a band of brothers.
Why do you think Rosskko avatar is full of stars? They are earned.
As always, good to see members helping each others.

Indeed CF.

Rosskko deserves another star. He even gave me a pair of circa 1981 wet weather pants to keep me dry on the way home. 

Hate to disappoint you floyd, but those pants weren't wet weather pants, they were his disco pants, did he leave 
you with the rubber thong as well??

euuuwwww  !!!

how could you bob ...?

This thread is taking an interesting direction. Lederhosen....?

This party is getting rough. I will have to find my trousers and go home.

RAM shock repaired, refitted and doing wonderfully.

Realm (UK) shipped a seal kit to Aus for free. I got RAD Suspension in Brisbane to rebuild it. Cost $80 and is like new. Bloke at RAD was a gent too.

Floyd, you should investigate whether there is a shock boot available that can fit over the exposed shaft of the shock. That works like a fork boot and keeps the internals clean, free from road dirt and debris. After All you're off-roading with a road shock that wasn't designed for that environment.

robmack wrote:Floyd, you should investigate whether there is a shock boot available that can fit over the exposed shaft of the shock.  That works like a fork boot and keeps the internals clean, free from road dirt and debris.  After All you're off-roading with a road shock that wasn't designed for that environment.

Good call brother. thought this myself a while back.

The shock repair bloke said there was lateral marking on the shaft but that this was caused by the type of seal they use in the unit, not by grit etc getting in there. But a gaitor of some sort would be a splendid idea.

I also wonder if I could have inadvertently wrecked the seals by having the preload and dampening settings far removed from ideal, and then ridden hard off road (possibly while loaded)...I dont know enough about the technicalities of shock operation to know weather or not this kind of thing could damage it. 

Anyways, its back on now and I think I have it pretty close to "well set up". The ride is smooth enough, it handles as if (almost) on rails even when loaded, get no weaves to speak of, when I take my hands off the bars at speed there is no handle bar wobble etc etc. 

Happy chappy. And the $80 RAD charged me is a pittence compared to the $200 - $300 some people in the Southern States were quoting....

robmack wrote:Floyd, you should investigate whether there is a shock boot available that can fit over the exposed shaft of the shock.  That works like a fork boot and keeps the internals clean, free from road dirt and debris.  After All you're off-roading with a road shock that wasn't designed for that environment.

This is what I do.



BSA Bantam fork gaiters.

Paul.

sidecar paul wrote:

robmack wrote:Floyd, you should investigate whether there is a shock boot available that can fit over the exposed shaft of the shock.  That works like a fork boot and keeps the internals clean, free from road dirt and debris.  After All you're off-roading with a road shock that wasn't designed for that environment.

This is what I do.



BSA Bantam fork gaiters.

Paul.

Cheers Paul.

Would THESE be the ones?

stunning idea ....yet again paul

cheers

Yes Floyd, those are the ones, just cut them shorter to fit......and don't forget to put a small hole at the lowest point to allow the air to escape when the bellows are compressed and also act as a drain.

Paul.

Some poor bellows maker is going to be mad trying to work out the sudden huge increase in demand for Bantam gaiters.......

Thanks Paul....Got the BSA Bantam gaitors today from a classic bike shop in Sydney. On a side note, they had some gorgeous Tritons on the showroom floor....mmmmmm

Had to cut it a bit to fit the RAM shock, but so far so good  Also used a bit of 'emergency tape' to seal the bottom up against the shock body, as it wasnt quite a perfect fit and I didnt want it to come off when the shock pumps up and down. 

Paul.

looks the goods Floyd

yet another great tip from  SCP

ride well guys


oops just saw that you put the holes for breathing at the top Floyd

to the bottom mate ....as scp said  as a drain

might be easy to drill a small hole towards the bottom though ....all is not lost...

That's how they came mate... Top and bottom

sorry if I didnt see the bottom holes

cheers

charlie99 wrote:sorry if I didnt see the bottom holes

cheers

No drama!

:flower:

Just to emphasise the advantage of keeping forks and dampers gaitered, I dropped the fork legs off my solo today and, under the gaiters, the fork tubes are like new.  



Paul.