[Longleaf]

Hi everyone,

The rear shock on my '03 EC200 makes popping sounds when it gets hot, and I was planning to take it off and send it to a suspension shop for a rebuild. I would prefer not to lose a month of riding, though, and am looking at buying parts to rebuild it. The charging gauge is expensive and seems to be the biggest stumbling block. Any suggestions on where to get one/rent one/ask someone to borrow one?

I'm 125lb with gear on, so I know the OEM spring (which I assume is what I have) is too stiff. Is going to a softer rear spring, considering that my forks will retain the stock springs, definitely the right move? Is there anything about the rear shock that would need to be done differently for a lighter spring that might justify sending it out for a professional rebuild vs trying to do it myself? Unsurprisingly, the rear suspension feels very stiff when I bounce on the seat, we can't get the sag and preload settings to all work out (to get enough sag, there's too much preload), and the rear of the bike tends to jump off of obstacles if I don't keep my weight back to fight it a little. Is this definitely a problem related to spring rate, or might some of this be resolved by having a properly functioning shock and getting the settings dialed in?

We recently rebuilt the forks and put everything back to the stock settings. I'm sure they still need some adjusting, but they feel markedly better than before (they basically had no oil) and I'm content with them as they are for the time being.

Thanks in advance for any advice!