Its been quite a while since ive been on here but I was wondering if anybody has some information I would need. We have a customer with a 2002 Prarie 650 and his rear shock has blown. I did some searching on here but found only that many others have had the same problem.We are a Yamaha and Polaris service center and do not have access to to kawasaki specifications. I was wondering, does anybody have or know where I can find the rear shock specifications such as the piston depth, oil volume and nitrogen pressure? also, is there an online search engine where I could look up parts for this shock? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I have been trying to find out this info to post it on my website, since the 650 shock is horribly expensive.

However, one guy claims he had his shock fixed by a guy that specializes in shocks. You may be able to find shock absorber specialists yourself in a larger city.

This is what KRabid650 told me. I don't know if it is good info or not, nobody has told me anything.

 

Nyroc:

I just overnighted my shock to the contact that Krabid gave you on your site. He's going to rebuild it for me. He claims that you cannot buy the parts to rebuild it because Showa (the shock manufacturer) doesn't sell the parts. This guy has the parts custom made (they do it with Warriors and Banshees too that are supposedly not rebuildable), he's going to recharge the shock with oil and nitrogen as well. He sounds like he knows his $hiet...

He said that he has rebuilt 6-8 of these shocks off of 650's in the last 2 months. I guess us mud riders should be ware...when mud gets up on and around the shock, the movement of the shock pushes/packs the dirt/mud against the bump-stop on the bottom of the shock inside the spring...when you ride hard and get close to bottoming out/hitting the bump stop, it actually drives the mud/dirt up into/past the seals, ruining them. Thus the oil leakage that is occurring. He said as part of general maintenance to (1) wash the shock thoroughly and if you can, move the bump stop up off the bottom and clean all around it to remove any debris, (2) change the oil in the shock every 40 hours or so of use, and (3) buy shock-wears covers to put over the shocks for protection. All of which makes sense, except for the changing of the oil since it's under 200+ psi of pressure...talk about a super soaker....

Went to the stealership on saturday, they only have two parts for the rear shock: the top and bottom mounting bushings and the entire shock itself. I'm not sure about the bushings...but the entire shock was $749...I told the stealer to fly a kite near some electric poles...paid $12 for a new oil filter and screwed. I hate that place...I have more fun at the dentist, at least there I have a $10 co-pay.....

Parker

 

Thanks Parker! That is awesome. Now we really do have an option.

Info like this is awesome. I stick these tech tips into a cheesy looking text file and make it available to the public. I back it up and send it to my brother's house for disaster prevention.

That way the next guy with bad shock might just see it on my website and have a much easier (and cheaper) time fixing it.

I noticed the P700 rear shock has a mud guard.

 

nyroc,

The info I gave you is correct.

I also got parts from MX-TECH to repair to rear shock on the Prairie 650. I've done a few shock repairs with success. Parts a little hard to come by but the info is even harder to get to repair those shocks.

 

hey guys, thanks for the help so far, what is the info on the rear shock? or where can i find it?

 

Add my rear shock to the list of ones gone bad. 985 miles and it is blown. However, I do not know if Showa intended it to handle mudding one minute, then going airborne off a dirt pile the next. Like Parker said, you just end up pushing dirt and mud up past the seals. KRABID - I'll be in touch for the rebuild.....

 

Hi there AM
Sorry to here one more problem with your quad.

Let me know if I can help
Ken

 

modedwarrior, the info is at that link I gave you in my first post. That is the Phone for Steve Mathewson.


KrabidKVF650, what is MX-tech? Should I post info about them on my shock absorber fix page?

 

Hi nyroc
Mx-Tech is another source for shock parts. They helped me out when i needed a bladder for a Kawasaki shock in a hurry and I couldn't find it any where else. Not sure if they do repairs or just parts. I can give you a phone number but not sure if I can post it here.