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Tried putting the bike up on my jack, didn't make any difference. I've since bought a different pair of snap ring pliers but haven't gotten around to trying them yet.
Interesting thread - what year(s) are we talking here that one needs to dis assemble the RAP part of their suspension? Showa is a pretty good system - shame this is a problem.......Warranty?
I got around to doing this today. That snap ring was a pain to get off. I have some good snap ring pliers, but this retainer ring doesn't have the ears/holes to get ahold of. I had to custom-grind a sacrificial screwdriver to use as a pick/lever.
I applied a liberal amount of marine axle grease on the plunger contact point and the threads. I reassembled and tested...feels pretty good.
Thanks to @Cootey for the helpful info and pictures.
Last edited by HuntWhenever; Dec 9, 2020 at 10:55 PM.
Ok, I've found the issue.
The threaded adjuster "bolt" acts on the hydraulic piston and isn't very well greased from the factory, as suspected.
I dismantled the adjuster further to see this:
i cleaned up the face of the bolt and applied a very heavy grease to the bolt and piston. I reassembled and there you go. Smooth as new!!
To get this apart, you need to back the adjuster completely off, remove the snap ring (make sure the spring for the adjuster clicker is also out) and pull the adjuster assembly out of the housing.
Reassemble the unit making sure the two grooves either side are lined up, and the hole for the clicker spring is at the bottom.
Hope this helps someone in the future 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Resurrecting an old thread.. Could you avoid the snap ring difficulty altogether by just backing the bolt completely out and squirting grease into the bolt hole and then putting the bolt back in never removing the adjuster assembly or is there more to it than just a bolt running through a disc?
Don't know about that, but I never did get my snap ring to come off. The adjuster is where I need it to be so I guess it will be a problem for the next owner, if they need to move it. What little factory grease may be left there should be good and dry by then.
Resurrecting an old thread.. Could you avoid the snap ring difficulty altogether by just backing the bolt completely out and squirting grease into the bolt hole and then putting the bolt back in never removing the adjuster assembly or is there more to it than just a bolt running through a disc?
Nah, it has a mushroom head on that side so it turns on the piston like a bearing. But its not very well lubricated. I just bought a brand new Sport Glide and it has the same drama already, funny this thread should pop up again!
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