Can you air up the air shock without the on board compressor?

[Brett1991]

Is it possible to air up the rear air shock without using the onboard compressor? My compressor is dead and the spring only ride is killing me - - and my wife. Any suggestions?

[Fatwing Chris]

Sure,but you would need to mount a valve somewhere that you could get at to add air from an external compressor or a hand pump.The 1100 and 1200 Interstates didn't have an on board compressor,they had a valve behind the right side cover.You would need the valve either off of one of those or go to a car shop and get the fitting and line off of an aftermarket air shock set-up.

[Bluewaterhooker0]

I can't say for sure, because I never tried it, but I have assumed that the accessory hose in the right saddle bag is connected inline with the pump and shock. There is no switch mechanism for choosing to either fill the shock, or fill a tire, that I am aware of. So, I would assume they are all under equal pressure, and linked together. If so, you should be able to fill the shock through that hose. An adapter, maybe male/male would be needed to connect it to an external air hose, but it might be worth a try. You might also try repairing your old onboard pump. I have read of guys taking them apart, cleaning, check brushes, and reassembling in order to fix them. Not that hard from what I read. Handy to have.

[WingAdmin]

Technically this is possible. The air outlet connection is right after the air drier, and is connected (through the drier) to the valve assembly that goes to the rear shock.

Rear air suspension diagram

If you connected a low volume compressor to that air outlet connection, then held down the pressure adjustment buttons (which operate the solenoid valves) and ran the compressor that you connected, it should pump air into the shock just as if it was coming from the on-board compressor.

[Fatwing Chris]

Jeez my 1500 only been gone for 2 years and I forgot all about the hose in the saddle bag.Never had to use it,so I guess "outta site outta mind".That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

[Brett1991]

Thanks fellas.....I'll try that this weekend.

[Brett1991]

Worked like a charm! Softened the ride and made one heck of a difference! Thanks fellas!

[Amerman33]

Hello there, I am looking to confirm before damaging the system further.
You can air up the rear shock system with the offboard air compressor through the air hose in the saddle bag and pressing the air buttons at the same time?

I have spent every weekend for a couple months going through this bike, I just want to take a couple rides before working on the onboard air compressor.
1997 gl1500 aspencade sat for almost 10 years not running. It runs great now
When I press or hold the air increase button, nothing happens. No new noises no new
pressure.

[Rambozo]

Have you followed the instructions in the manual?
1. Bike on center stand.
2. Ignition to ON, ACC, or P.
3. Hold P.CHECK button in.
4. Press INCREASE or DECREASE to adjust pressure.

[Amerman33]

Yes we were able to get it functioning correctly.
It was a relay
But I was just curious incase we couldn't get it working. Or if I'm road side an the compressor fails or something unique haha.
It's been sitting for ten years, but won't be sitting much if I can help it

[Rambozo]

Not sure if that is possible or not. It would depend on what check valves are in the system. The outlet only operates with the key in the P position, and when it is active the suspension is not connected. So, I doubt you would activate the outlet. That Honda used a Schreader valve as the output, makes me wonder. It should be pretty easy to check. However, there is nothing in the manual about that, and with only a single air spring, you can ride it with zero air pressure to limp home. So, it's not like it would strand you if you blew out a line or valve.

A quick search for the air diagram and it looks like you can do that as the outlet is plumbed right to the compressor outlet. So, the system will work with either the on-board, or an external pump.
viewtopic.php?p=165393#p165393

[paseandoconhonda]

I'm going to try what you suggest. In my case it inflated well until I removed the shock absorber to change the seals and now it only reaches 22 psi, the pump makes noise, but it doesn't inflate more than that.

[paseandoconhonda]

Hello friends, well, I disassembled the entire air distributor, it was probably filled with a lot of oil due to the years. Every time it is deflated, a little oil from the shock absorber goes into the distribution channels. Even so, my on-board compressor takes a long time to inflate beyond 15 PSI and almost does not exceed 20. Solution, connect my portable inflator to the auxiliary outlet and at the same time that I inflate with the dashboard controls I also inflate with the hand inflator. This way I was able to quickly reach 34 PSI, which I think is ideal for now. This with the center foot placed. We'll see what happens later.