Prolink shock help.

[NRD]

I have just had my '83 Honda prolink shock rebuilt and I have the spring off. With the shock itself I can quite easily compress the shaft into the shock body and it rebounds very, very slowly. Is this normal or should I take it back to the guy who rebuilt it? Thanks.
NRD.

[motomaniac]

With these early Honda shocks you need to align the holes in a plate that controlls the dampening as you resassemble the piston assembly .If the holes are not aligned the oil wont get through - hence the very slow rebound.
After 83 the used a different system with a tapered needle that doesnt require any alignment.

[Hoony]

hey Moto, so do you rebuild your own shocks?

[motomaniac]

hey Moto, so do you rebuild your own shocks?

Yep. After a few mishaps like the one above I started doing em my self about 30 years ago.

[evo550]

What is the rebound on the shock set at ?
If it's set at the stiffest it wont go anywhere fast, ever with the spring on.
Try making changes to the rebound settings and see if that makes any difference.
I remember my '82 480 if you set the rebound damping at it's stiffest and pushed down on the rear, it just woundn't return.

[motomaniac]

What is the rebound on the shock set at ?
If it's set at the stiffest it wont go anywhere fast, ever with the spring on.
Try making changes to the rebound settings and see if that makes any difference.
I remember my '82 480 if you set the rebound damping at it's stiffest and pushed down on the rear, it just woundn't return.

Thats right. The first 3 settings have holes -bigger to smaller ,the 4 th setting is blocked off, no hole.If plate with the holes isnt lined up properly you will have no holes lined up what ever setting you try .They will all be the same as the 4 th setting which is pretty much unusable.

[monaro308]

Another thing to check is what oil went into the shock....I've just done my shock and the clymer manual recommends 5w oil and 142psi Nitrogen.....and i almost fell for the rebound holes not lining up in the shaft trick after doing up the locknut at the top....anyway after fitting it all together i have the same problem with a slow rebound on the softest #1 setting....i've checked alot of the other shock sites and they recommend 2.5W in the shock.
So i'll pull it down again and try 2.5w in the next few days and see how that feels....you may have the same problem.

[NRD]

Thanks guys. I have tried dialling in and out the adjustment on the resevoir and it seems to make no difference where I have it. The shaft takes about 40 seconds to extend after being completely compressed. Also I tried the adjustment on the bottom of the shaft and it also makes no difference whether I put in on 1, 2 or 3.
Cheers
NRD.

[ianscr250]

keep in mind the  shock itself controls the wieght the spring carries the weight

[motomaniac]

Thanks guys. I have tried dialling in and out the adjustment on the resevoir and it seems to make no difference where I have it. The shaft takes about 40 seconds to extend after being completely compressed. Also I tried the adjustment on the bottom of the shaft and it also makes no difference whether I put in on 1, 2 or 3.
Cheers
NRD.

thats what I was saying.

[TT5 Matt]

has the shaft been rechromed/reground back to std size?what happens is the rechromers plug all the passagers in the 4 stage rebound oil circuit with hot wax and needs to be poked with fine wire/blown out with compressed air,with 3 holes in the adjuster shaft with the largest hole offering the least dampening on the rebound stroke