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I have done a clean up and oil change on a set of 2011 Rockshox Lyric R solo air forks( see bottom of post for oil volcume chart). Feels nice and smooth but there is a now a top out clunk when I pull the front wheel up quickly or if 'popping' off a rock / take off.
I had a similar issue with a set of old Fox Float 32 forks recently. Both are open bath dampers. With the Fox one the issue was I did not have enough oil in the open bath damper. Now its great.
With the Rockshox Lyric I can't get it right. When I bounce up and down to cycle the oil it seems to improve but then goes back to being clunky. I've added more oil which after a few rides resulted in me having less travel. Just wondering if I've missed a step or not done something rockshox specific. I've seem people write about 'cycling the fork through the damper'. I do this to get all the old oil out and at the very end after new oil in and the fork has been pumped back up to correct pressure. Also heard people talking about the negative air chamber...
Any help would br greatly appreciated!
Many thanks. Dan
FORK: ROCKSHOX LYRIK R 2011 OIL VOLUME LEVELS
Rockshox Lyrik R 2011 oil volume levels
Damper (Drive Side) Spring (Non-Drive Side)
Upper Tube Lower Leg Upper Tube Lower Leg
Volume (ml) Oil wt. Volume (ml) Oil wt. Volume (ml) Oil wt. Volume (ml) Oil wt.
145 5 15 15 6 15 15 15
2011 Rockshox Oil Chart PDF (www.sram.com)
Sounds like it might be air trapped in the lowers. When I put my lowers back on I find I have to compress them down quite firmly before I cinch up the bolts to let all the air that trapped in there.
Maybe try turning the bike upside down, undoing the bolts for the lowers(but not actually removing them) and see compressing them down to see if there is any air in there.
Thanks for the advice. Sorry to be a bit thick but is this the process.
-Turn bike upiside down
- Should I be letting the air out of the fork?
- Undo the bolts.
- Compresss the fork and if there is air in there it will be squeezed out.
- Keep the lowers pressed down whilst doing up the bolts
Cheers
Sorry was typing that on the train 🤦♂️
Yeah let all the air out of the fork
Turn it upside down.
Undo the bolts as if you were taking the lowers off.
Push down on the lowers to try release any trapped air inside lowers themselves(if that makes any sense)
The MBR video on lower leg service on YouTube recommends this, might be a lot easier than my terrible explanation!
No worries at all! I've given that a go but doesn't seem to have worked unfortunately. I'll give it one more bash though.
What I have noticed though since servicing the forks is that I cannot let the air out of the fork all in one go with the fork at full travel .I have to switch to reduced travel (reduces it from about 160 to 140) and then all the air comes out. Never used to do that. Just wondering if it is linked to my top out clunk?!
Strip the air side. Did you take the air shaft apart at all?
If you did, I'd guess that is not been reassembled right, or there's excess grease in the transfer port dimple.
Edit.
No dimple. Check out looks like page 11
I took the air shaft out and greased it. Maybe I put too much grease on and to be honest I didn't use sram butter. Used some stuff I had lying around which might be too thick. Will clean it all up and see if it sorts it. Thaks for the advice.
Edit:
On page 16 of the manual: servicing the air spring: I took the spring out of the top rather than the bottom as I don't have any circlip pliers. Any ideas if this would make a difference?
There should be a pretty hefty top out bumper. You can see it on page 17. I'd guess at something wrong with the stack assembly. Have you compared to the pic at the bottom of page 17?
Mine had been modified to reduce travel but it had been done incorrectly by the previous owner. They are much better now that has been corrected
Just been thinking about it. The shaft shouldn't come out the top. The base plate sits on a little step inside. It can only come out the bottom. Or are you leaving the base plate in situ? If that is the case maybe the negative bumper has come off. I'd get some circlip pliers and take it out properly. Then compare it the pic on page 17
I'll take it apart again and have a look. I took the air spring out the top as I was following this video. I'll follow the manual this time.
7 minutes in is where he removes the air spring