[rear shock] - ATV Riders Forums - Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Polaris, CanAm, Arctic Cat, Kymco ATVs

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rear shock
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Posted by: OScousin

hey guys i have an rm250 and my shock needs recharged my friend told me i can just put air in it, will that work. please reply i need to know thank you

Posted by: AtvMxRider

No! It is charged with a gas(nitrogen I think)

Posted by: sly400ex

Do not put air in it, mxrider is correct!!!

Posted by: crookedeyemoto-x

Shocks have to be charged with the right amount of nitrogen, you cannot just put air in it although i know that the way it is set up on the shock it looks that way but trust me you cannot do that

Posted by: OScousin

what will it do if i put air in it i just thought if i put a little in it it would stiffen it some cause after they put the nitrogen in they put a little air

Posted by: Predator36

What happens if you use air?? Most shocks need from 150 lbs to 200 lbs to keep the oil from foaming. Pushing foam thru your valves instead of oil makes for a soft shock. If you put air in at say 200 lbs - everything will work fine untill you use it. #1 problem is that a shock heats up when you use it. This causes the air to expand and the shock pressure goes to high. Nitrogen is not as sensitive to temp changes. That is why in many forms of racing they use nitrogen in the tires instead of air, so that the tire pressure stays the same for the entire race. Yes I have done this on my quad for TT racing and loved the results. #2 and possibly even more critical is the fact that with air you will have condensation problems inside the bladder area.

So yes you can use air. You can also race your dads riding lawn mower at the next MX race. Possible but not cool.

Posted by: Quadfather

You'd probably have better luck with mayo.

Posted by: OScousin

what are you talkin about mayo thanks for the replies guys

Posted by: QuadTrix6

mayo ???? LMAO, get a new shock :blah

Posted by: honda400exrider

umm im pretty sure that nitrogen consists of alot of air... but im not sure... but i havent heard that u can simply put air into a shock to stiffen it.

Posted by: DUNEZRUNNER

When I bought shocks for my sandrail, the manufature told me that I should use nitrogen but if i couldnt find any that I could use air until I found me some. I would guess that this would also hold true for a quad, but if I did use compressed air I wouldn't run it any longer than I absolutely had to. Just put nitrogen in it and then there will be no worries

Thomas

Posted by: trickex250

how do u know if it needs recharged? will it bottom out alot and not decompress itself?

Posted by: Ramin

quote:
Originally posted by honda400exrider
umm im pretty sure that nitrogen consists of alot of air... but im not sure...

Actually.. Nitrogen in its natural state is just plain N2. Air has nitrogen in it, but I highly doubt it just happens to be the correct mixture for a rear shock.

Posted by: ridered03

is it just me or does preadetor36 know everything about every thing, man that guy is smart!!!!

Posted by: KandK952

as a matter of fact putting air in will stiffen it, but not for that long. it will all escape from the shock so you will to do it everytime you ride, maybe a couple times while riding. so in the long run it will just be a pain.