rear shock problem?

[pinero]

as i was removing my rear wheel yesterday, i noticed the bottom half of my rear shock was wet and covered with junk. i have noticed that the suspension is kind of hard (especially when riding over train tracks and similar objects), it's never been very good, but good enough to ride...... . i've got 40K miles on the bike. is it time? i've been waiting to install Ohlins.

[tbarstow]

Its blown, and you'll probably find that the front is as well. Time to change them out.

[pinero]

i inspected the front one...... it looks ok, not leaking..... but i'll probably get much better results by replacing them both...... thanks

[DavidTaylor]

Its blown, and you'll probably find that the front is as well. Time to change them out.

Yep, I would agree the rear is toast. The stock front is a throw-away item, so if you were thinking Ohlins I would highly recommend doing that. I've had them on my last 2 LTs and wouldn't ride them any other way.

[meese]

BTDT, blown rear shock and all. Get the Ohlins or Wilburs and be done with it. You will feel like you've gotten a new bike.