GB.. I flirted with that idea too... but didn't trust my epoxy skillz and was already spending money on Gold Valves, so I went the easy route... LOL

 

Without a needle how do I get the pressure out of the shock?
Any ideas?

Thinking of going to the vet to see if they'll sell me a needle. (They probably will laugh and kick me out)

RM14

 

You HAVE to use a hypodermic to safely discharge the bladder. I'd try your local pharmacy, just try to not look too strung out...

 

Tractor Supply or most any farm center/coop type place should have a selection of needles for ag use and you can usually buy singles. (I live in the sticks... city dwellers mileage may vary.)

 

I wrote a post a day or towo ago and got a message that the admin needed to review it before publishing. Haven't seen it yet so I'll try again...

I found a needle, well more like a tip out of an oil bottle sitting on my work bench. Ground a point on it and it worked just fine to let the pressure out.
There is a cup inside the cap that holds the rubber plug it would be perfect if I can drill and thread it for a schrader valve. However the valve I have is much to big to make use of the cup material. By the time I drilled it out there would be no material left for the threads to bite. I'm going to look for a schrader valve with a smaller OD. If I can't find one I'll drill for the one I have and use JB weld as locktite.

Is there a Thread or source for info on valve stacks, or does anyone have any recommendations?
I find the rebound is okay but the compression needs help.

RM14

 

Sorry brother, can't help you on the stack. I went with gold valves front and rear. The stock forks are said not to flow enough oil to be worth changing shims, but the shock may be ok. Hopefully someone who has messed with the stack on the stock shock can chime in. Good job on the makeshift needle.

 

Yes, gold valves in front really makes the rear feel lacking.
The gold valves are nice and flow way more oil but no clicks is killing me. I can't believe they didn't add the damn ball and detent.

On the "needle", after I had the shock disassembled I had to run to the local Ace hardware to get a key made. Well low and behold there on the wall was a grease needle. No idea what uses a needle to grease but it would have worked for the shock bladder. . 6.99 all day long.

RM14

 

Shim Stack
Which shims that will go into the stack depend on the spring weight, your riding style,and terrain. I did reshim my shock but have the advantage of the clickers to help tune it. And mine is in a KLX300 which was known to have slow rebound and slightly sharp compression.

Ride on
Brewster

 

Thanks Brewster, the clicks are not on the fork gold valve. The shock has them thank goodness.

If I start with the stock shim stack. What kind of changes would I notice. If there are 6 face shims would adding one with the same dimensions be noticeable or would I need to add 5 to feel a difference. How little change is noticeable?

I have only worked on The front end of this bike, gold valve, work in progress. Also a DRZ400 front and rear with the help of an excellent thread on Thumper Talk.

My suspension skills are non existent but I can read and follow instructions.

7.0 spring
230 lb rider
I ride the thing everywhere but I want the suspension set up for single track and fire roads.
I'm 54 so no big air or crazy high speeds.

RM14

 

What I ended up with won't work for you. I was 155 lb and have a 5.4 spring on the shock. I went through about 10 different shim stacks to see how they affected the ride before settling on the final one..............and that may not be "the best".
Ride on
Brewster