riding question

[mtnsurgtech]

While this may seem a bit odd Ill ask anyway. I live near asheville nc and right now they are doing a lot of road work on the freeways around the city. The problem is that when the come to the overpasses there are either four or five inch drop offs or three or four inch ledges you hit. When i can see them coming i slow down and do my best to lesson the hit on the jump up ledges but even with that I get a major bump. It sounds like the the tire bottoms the shocks out and it may very well do that I dont know for sure. My question is can this pop a tire? Is the big thunk I hear the shocks bottoming out and just doing there job? Its bad enough with just me but when Im two up its down right scarry. Just curious if there is a riding technique that can help with these? You can only slow down so much before you get run over lol. Anyway thanks for any input

[mtnsurgtech]

No I have regular air shocks (progressive on the front and rear). The tires aren't rubbing at all thats the first thing i checked. It just a matter of hitting a solid right angle bump at highway speeds. Either the tire is being compressed to the rim (no signs of that on either rim) or the shock is bottoming out. Im just concerned it might blow a tire.

[Ed Z]

I had rebuilt the OEM rear shocks with the Progressive springs and dampers... I too was having issues with bottoming out unless I pumped the shocks up to near max pressure... But then the ride was very hard... I just rebuilt them again and ended up using the OEM larger spring with the Progressive inner spring as it was larger than the OEM one... I also went back to the OEM dampers as well... To get a firmer dampening I used 15 weight fork oil (10.9 oz) in each shock... After taking a rather laong rode test, I found this setup to be by far the best ride the bike has ever produced... Even with the air pressure down in the 1/2 to 3/4 max range it never bottomed out, but yet offerred a nice smooth ride... Anyone considering replacing their shocks might consider just using the Progressive spring (inner one) and the OEM outer and keep the OEM damper... Use a different weight oil in em till you get the ride you like... The major problem with the Progressive dampers is they are a sealed unit with no way to change the oil in them... Where as the OEM dampers work much like the front fork dampers do (uses the oil in the shock body)... We (the wife unit and myself) are headed down to the Smokeys tomorrow morning, so I can report on the proformance on long rides when I get back...

[waltharper]

also you might try this, when you are hit these potholes try riding thur them on your footpegs as a dirt rider would do. it might help out he bike and you to ride thur them easier.

and like the last guy said, check your shock air pressure. ~O)

[neoracer]

defienitely sounds like the shocks are bottoming out but also that the rubber cushion that is also at the top of the dampener has also gone bad and instead of being rubber is now of a jelly consistency,your only recourse is to rebuild shocks with progressive spring upgrades and replace the cushion with a polyurethane shock bumper
right now your only recourse to to slow down and pump those shocks up,or avoid that stretch of road

you might try calling the roads dept for what its worth and complain,you might even call and complain to whatever police dept handles that stretch of road,plus you could complain to an elected official too

[85GL1200I]

sad to say, but your best bet is to find an elected official who rides. That is about the only person that has some clout that may care to get something done.

Short of rebuilding the shocks, you can try standing on the footpegs (knees bent) and let your knees flex with the shock of hitting the uneven pavement. Just make sure you are good and stable on the bike, if not DON'T TRY THIS. Just let the bike take the beating.

[joe turner]

Try shifting down 1 or 2 gears stand on pegs twist throttle wide open as the front wheel is about to hit ledge jerk up on handle bars to help it wheelie over ledge, works for me.

[Granpah]

Is it possible that the center stand is hitting the road surface?

Although its retaining spring generally keeps it up into the frame, once in awhile riding over the steep sidewalk ramp connecting the roadway with my ancient driveway, if I drive up too fast the center stand hits the edge of the ramp. A similar thing happens when I drive my bike over the steel ramp onto the hydraulic lift. Judging by scratch marks on the ramp and center stand, it is the center stand that bottoms out as my bike "jumps" up onto the lift. :?: :?: :?:

[Feetup]

Your original question, could this damage a tire or rim, the answer is a definite "yes, it could". These are big ,heavy machines and although the springs absorb as much energy as they are capable of you are hitting hard enough to bottom the forks and shocks so the tire has to absorb the rest of the energy.
I'm not saying you have damaged your tires, only that you could. When the tire absorbs that much energy over a small impact zone the casing will spread outward and literally fold over between the sharp edge of the bump and the rim. This could fracture some of the cords that give the casing its strength. Again, I'm not saying you have, only that you could. I would put the bike on the center stand and place a jack under the engine enough to lift the front wheel and run my hands over the side walls as I rotated the wheel. Any swellings or bumps should be cause for suspicion. Check carefully for bruises and scuffs on the sidewall as well.
As far as the suspension goes, when the fork or shock travels rapidly to its maximum the passages that the shock oil has to travel through become rapidly smaller, cushioning the stop. There are no rubber stops in the fork, only hydraulic. Make sure your fork oil is fresh and at the proper level.
As far as riding over the bumps, your first defence is to slow as much as possible. The energy of the impact increases at approximately the square of the speed. Good riding practice dictates that the first defence is to scrub off as much speed as possible before the event. I know that on the super slab there is often a Kenworth grill in the mirrors but on that stretch of road staying alive might depend on finding a small traffic vacuum where abrupt braking is not going to be lethal. If you were to blow a tire or break a rim you would be in much worse condition if riding at speed. Someone mentioned avoiding that stretch of road. Sage advice.
Ideally, if you see the bump in time, (and you should) slow down as much as possible selecting the correct gear as you do, then, just before you contact the bump with the front wheel dial in a good measure of throttle to lighten the front wheel and get your weight low on the bike by standing on the pegs/boards with flexed knees as others have pointed out. Have a watchword with your passenger such as a shouted "BUMP!" and practice lifting your weight off the seat together. It's kind of like going dancing. It's good to practice emergency slowdowns with your passenger on a safe stretch of road. Some guru's advise doing it every time you ride so it will be instinctive when you need it. If you lighten the front end with the throttle make sure your passenger knows to expect it. I sure wouldn't want to be lifting my butt off the seat when the wick was suddenly turned up unless I was expecting it.

[keystone373]

[quote="Ed Z"]I had rebuilt the OEM rear shocks with the Progressive springs and dampers... I too was having issues with bottoming out unless I pumped the shocks up to near max pressure... But then the ride was very hard... I just rebuilt them again and ended up using the OEM larger spring with the Progressive inner spring as it was larger than the OEM one... I also went back to the OEM dampers as well... To get a firmer dampening I used 15 weight fork oil (10.9 oz) in each shock... After taking a rather laong rode test, I found this setup to be by far the best ride the bike has ever produced... Even with the air pressure down in the 1/2 to 3/4 max range it never bottomed out, but yet offerred a nice smooth ride... Anyone considering replacing their shocks might consider just using the Progressive spring (inner one) and the OEM outer and keep the OEM damper... Use a different weight oil in em till you get the ride you like... The major problem with the Progressive dampers is they are a sealed unit with no way to change the oil in them... Where as the OEM dampers work much like the front fork dampers do (uses the oil in the shock body)... We (the wife unit and myself) are headed down to the Smokeys tomorrow morning, so I can report on the proformance on long rides when I get back...[/quo

Is the 10.9 Oz of 15 wt oil per front shock as you mentioned is that Honda Spc ?? mine also rides hard on the front end was going to change the oil to see if it makes a difference, also my OME rear shocks are history I guess, they will not hold air but maybe 2 or 3 days.. plaining on replacing them with progressive 412's , but really need to know about front fork oil, my repair manual states Honda has no Spec's on the amount of oil. Thks for the help !

[Granpah]

my OME rear shocks are history I guess, they will not hold air but maybe 2 or 3 days.. plaining on replacing them with progressive 412's !

Last ditch attempt with rear shocks:

ONLY If you plan to replace them anyhow, it may pay to try the following. The rear shocks on my 85 Interstate were a little air leaky. So with my bike up on its center stand, I pumped in some of that emergency goop Fix A Flat Tire Sealer through the right side valve up to about 60 psi (the OEM recommended pressure is 0-57psi),


then pushed a couple of times down on the rear suspension to slosh the stuff around, and immediately went for a ride. It seemed to hold the pressure a lot better than it did before. That may have resealed them. Nowadays, I keep the rear shock pressure at 50 psi.

Mind you, someone here who's a REAL mechanic may bite my head off for this suggestion. But if you made a final decision to replace them anyhow, what have you got to lose?

[unionjack]

Slow down, shift your weight to the footpegs/boards, then pop the throttle when the front wheel is about to hit the bump and then roll off the throttle before the rear wheel hits it. This increases the length of travel the shocks have so they can deal with the bump without bottoming out, and it makes the bump less noticeable for the bike.