Good Information found here.

[espiros]

Thank you guys

[chief]

What Troll said... of course I don't have the air shocks any more, but I never found much difference in lifting or not lifting when I did have them...

[Troll]

I'm about your size, and ride solo 99.9% of the time. I bought a suspension pump designed for the job, and I have 25 psi in the rear suspension with the rebound damping set at 4. Everybody is going to like different settings, but for the way I ride, this works out just fine. The theory is that you raise the bike up and extend the shocks to max and then adjust the pressure...I used to do that, but I found that it didn't make any difference in the pressure in the air chamber. Don't use a tire gauge, you'll lose half the air checking it, and don't fill with a compressor....

[espiros]

Guys,
Excuse my ignorance but.....How do I check the shocks air?
I was told that I will have to lift the bike to do so.....Any ideas how to do it?
And.....Been 220 pounds, how many PSI should they be?

[chief]

Yeah, remember... the shocks are setup out of the factory for a 175lb rider. When I first rode the drifter, I thought it was a real pig in the twisties... after I learned about the air settings I adjusted the bike and it worked fine.

So, YES DO CHECK THE AIR!!! That's where you will get the best tuning. Of course, I changed my out to progressive 440's... based upon the riding we did back then. Now, since this is primarily solo, the stock air shocks would have worked fine for me. (My wife only rides in her lounge chair on the goldwing nowadays!)

[Troll]

There are several advantages to using the Dex...The detergent in it keeps the insides of the fork clean, it has a seal preservative in it, and most of all, it's viscosity is thermally stable. Stared using it in my '49 pan about 1970, and that's all I have used since. I had to replace the fork seals on my '78 E-Glide at 225,000, and I had  one start to leak on my '80 TourGlide around 160,000. I never had a for seal leak on my Moto Guzzi or BSA at all.

[cincydrifter99]

We started using Dexron II fluid in the forks of bikes in the early 80's I was told it has a 7.5 viscosity  compared to either 5 or 10 or trying to mix the 5 and 10. Always had good results with the Dexron II.

[Kimbershooter]

Thank you Troll. I am a cowboy size myself and I am still experimenting with the shocks. I have not checked the air pressure yet, but I am looking at getting a mc jack stand of some sort to facilitate airing tires, shocks, etc. I appreciate the kindness of your comments. Have a great ride, next time you leave the bat cave.

[Troll]

Remember, the adjustment you see is for rebound (shock extension) damping.....the compression damping is fixed, but the "feel" can be altered by increasing air pressure. I am running solo, and have 20 psi in the shocks and rebound set at the max, 4....It seems to help a bit with shaft jacking and chassis pitching on hard braking, but that's just me. I put progressive suspension springs in last winter and changed the fork oil over to dexron auto trans fluid (had that in my H-Ds and my Moto Guzzi for years) THAT made all the difference in the world. The front end is now supple over bumps, not jarring, and the rear seems to stay planted better, and not skate anymore....

[Kimbershooter]

Hey fellow Drifter owners. I asked my dealer (Kawasaki) if there was any adjustment to my factory rear shocks on my vn 1500 Drifter. He said he didn't know. There was a Drifter sitting on the floor (for sale) and he went over and looked at it. (This guy was their 'best' parts counter guy.) He stood looking at the shocks a little while, then came back to me and said 'no'.

1) Maybe the shocks on the other bike had been replaced.

2) Maybe he flat out didn't know what he was looking at.

3) Maybe I should have asked one of their 'best' mechanics.

4) I know I was lucid and did not dream any of this up.

My point is, I feel like the sun broke through the clouds when I found this site and joined. Thanks a million times over for all the information you fellows share!!

You answered my shocks question without even knowing it!!