I have an 04 ELC that I bought last May and have noticed that during this cold snap the air pressure in the rear shocks goes from 35psi down to 10-12psi in a few days. I do not have a garage but keep the bike covered. Normal or not?

 

That sure does seem to be a lot of air pressure for a rear shock. (35psi) I would say that it's not norm.

Are you using a small low pressure pump to put air in the shock?

 

I'd leave it a few more days and see if it continues to go down, if it does ten I would suspect a leak. I can see losing a few psi's in a few days due to the cold but that seams like alot. Take some soapy water in a spray bottle and spray it around the air line fitting and see if it bubbles up. If there is a leak you should find it that way.

 

The previous owner, the original owner too, had 11" shocks installed when he first bought the bike. When I bought the bike in May of this year, the dealership guys told me I could run up to 45-50psi riding two up. When its just me about 35 psi is comfortable. During this past summer it would hardly loose any air pressure for weeks and yes I am using a 60 psi low pressure hand pump. Seems to be a cold weather phenom.

 

It is difficult to say exactly what swing in pressure will be without knowing the temp difference and the volume of air in the shocks, but the ideal gas law does state that for a fixed volume the pressure is directly proportional to temp.

That is why you should always inflate your tyres at ambient temp. Are you measuring this in a warm garage or freezing conditions?

Does sound like a lot of difference though

 

I now Temp Changes will effect air pressures in shocks and tires, if you had a leak in your shocks it would go to zero, there is very little air volume in the air shocks to begin with.

 

This is a problem most bikes have in winter storage ,Small leaks occur from sitting in cold storage . the seals tend to dry up. I think with warm weather and riding time increasing your problem will stop.

 

do yourself a favor and get the small pump that's designed for the air shocks. an air compressor is the wrong thing to use for filling your shocks. i can adjust the air pressure through the regulator on my quincy air compressor, but wouldn't think of using it for airing up the shocks. the little harley pump that goes "psst" is the right thing to use for your shocks.