I need some help/advice.

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B.ward81

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I recently acquired a 1982 goldwing aspencade 1100. Test rode like a charm. When I got it home I started tinkering with the air ride suspension. I adjusted it a little bit. Now when I hit bumps at a speed above 10mph or so I get this nasty clunk from the rear end. It was even worse with a passenger on it. Please help?
 
I guess tinkering may have been the wrong word to use. I adjusted the air pressure using the control panel on the gas tank.
 
I always went with the pressures on the gauge, about 30 something on the rear and a little under 20 on the front, just didn't redline either.

But now it seems I've been wrong all along, apparently the rear should be about 20 and the front no more than 6.

Did that, and no difference at all!

Bottom line. I never burst anything and the bike runs great whatever I do.

Just play with it and see what happens.

And PS. You CAN adjust it on the fly, been doin' it for 15 years!!
 
[url=https://classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=178075#p178075:w9mmenye said:
chilidawg » Mon Aug 01, 2016 9:43 pm[/url]":w9mmenye]
I always went with the pressures on the gauge, about 30 something on the rear and a little under 20 on the front, just didn't redline either.

But now it seems I've been wrong all along, apparently the rear should be about 20 and the front no more than 6.

Did that, and no difference at all!

Bottom line. I never burst anything and the bike handles & holds pressure whatever I do.

Just play with it and see what happens.

And PS. You CAN adjust it on the fly, been doin' it for 15 years!!
Click to expand...
 
And yes you feel the clunk. I had a buddy ride behind me and said he couldn't see the bike bottoming out. But it definitely is a rough ride.
 
Strange then, how it rode good on the test ride. There's nothing the PO could do to to fool you temporarily, you've just got to find that sweet spot again, and like I said you can adjust it on the fly, whatever the sticker says.
 
Also, check all the rear suspension fasteners - upper and lower shock bolts/nuts, swingarm pivot bolts, final drive-to-swingarm nuts, axle nut, and brake caliper attaching bolts. The exhaust system supports as well. Oh, make sure the center stand is fully raised and held in place by its spring. Lots of other things could be loose...saddlebag brackets, trunk bracket or lid, fender...maybe something is bouncing around in the trunk or bags...
 
I checked all of that first. It is in the shocks for sure. Do those things wear out quick? This thing only has 22,000 miles and has been just sitting for almost 2 years
 
Depends on the load. The Rats Nest had 30k miles on it and after another hard 6k I had sagging rear shocks. Also is it possible that you have a 122k and not 22k. The only way I was confident in that my mileage was only 30k is when Steve83 checked the waterpump it was still an original Bakelite one.
 
It's only 22k. This thing is so clean. Only one owner. Very confident that it's only 22k. I'm wondering if the seals in the air shocks are dry rotted or something from setting.
 
Does it hold air pressure?
As you know the adjustment console has a pnuematic switch for front and rear.
Maybe it doesn't close fully after your "tinkering".
Maybe PO didn't touch it for years and rear shocks held air?

In my case, the rear shock didn't hold air. I changed o-rings as best I could but didn't fix the bottoming.
Now I have Progressive rear springs installed and with that no bottoming even with low pressure.
 
It slowly looses air. What are the progressive rear springs? I also thought about removing the rear air ride and going with a standard spring set up. Any suggestions?
 

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