by JimDirt » Sun Nov 03, 2019 5:26 pm
Usually when the Nitrogen depletes , the shock will get "springy" like a pogo stick , real fast compress and real fast rebound , like it is just relying on the spring and nothing else to compress/extend , if its not doing that the Nitrogen is still holding , but does not mean it has full pressure .... though a refresh of it would put some life back in .... as we all mentioned , the oil becomes worn just like the forks , so most of us just do "regular" maintenance on the shock when we do the forks .... in terms of difficulty , its no worse than doing a complete teardown (cartridge rebuild/bleeding , as well as fork seals and oil) on your forks ... the only difference being the Nitrogen and the precautions needed in disassembly and assembly ... other than that , it is pretty much straight forward and is detailed in the Owners Manual , as well as the Honda Service Manual .... As long as you make sure you release the pressure at the schrader valve before disassembly , the rest is just like the forks ... then when reassembling , make sure you get the clip for the shock seal in good , as well as the one for the bladder so they do not blow the shock apart when it is charged/pressurized and you should be fine ....
2020 CRF450R
2006 CRF450X
Weiser , Idaho