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Anybody out there do their own shock recharging? I want to rebuild my own shocks this year on my bike and my snowmobile and I really hate sending things out to get things done when I could do it myself. I don't mind spending money on tools either as this certainly is not going to be the last time I'll be rebuilding my shocks or working on tuning them. Anyone know of any good kits out there or have a list of tools I'd need? Also any pitfalls I need to be aware of? Thanks!

To get it done really well on many shock models requires a vacuum pump and bleeding setup to bleed it quickly and fully, but it's not mandatory the majority of the time. A hand operated vacuum pump and a DIY adapter can do similar.

A basic nitrogen charging setup with a no loss type air chuck can be bought fairly affordably, and on KYB shocks with a bleed port on top, it's really pretty easy to purge all air out of the oil, so the nitrogen fill / regulator setup plus a small nitrogen tank is all you really must have.

Something like these with a no loss chuck is what you need, plus a small nitrogen tank (welding supply store) and regulator.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/196543676309

https://www.ebay.com/itm/167701426648

https://www.ebay.com/itm/165378066486

I have almost the same setup here (1st link), and a hand operated MityVac Silverline Elite vacuum pump. I've thought about making a pro bleeder setup using my HVAC vacuum pump, but like I said, especially with the KYB shocks with a bleed port like the '95+ KDX's, a vacuum pump is not required.



I believe @KDXGarage has quite a bit of shock rebuilding experience and could add some more to this conversation as well.

SAFETY GLASSES AND AN APRON!!

WEAR AN OLD SHIRT!!

I had oil in my eye working on a YZ250 shock, even wearing glasses. Consider a shield.

I don't know how oil always seems to get on my shirts. I threw several away.

I bought and assembled mine in 2005, so I am not sure what it would cost now or if the same parts are sold.

I got a tank and regulator from a local AirGas. I got a Race Tech nitrogen chuck. I got a local shop to make me a custom hose. I guess my tank is about a 4 liter or 5 liter??

One extra I bought a few years ago, but have not used yet, is the DRC cup. KYB sells them in Europe for big money. It is like what is shown in the manuals. It is a bleed cup.

I have Race Tech seal bullets, seal head push down tool, bladder cap pullers, shock bushing drivers and pick tool. They make great tools.

Read up on drilling out the peens on a KDX shock. I think I wrote it out years ago.

You have to use a lossless chuck.

Thanks Chuck78 and KDXGarage!

I'm actually going to post up a list of what I "think" is what is needed to do a shock service/seal replacement regarding parts and basic tools to do the job. I did a search on here to try to figure out all of the parts needed to rebuild the shock but did not find a definitive list of what is needed, but maybe I missed something. I am putting together a list of what I found in my searches on here and will write up the results of what I found and the corresponding parts out there in the world available to purchase to maybe get a current list together to help KDX riders out in the future who want to tackle this.

After going through a few different videos out there, nothing really seems too complicated with any part of the basic rebuild and don't see any reason for anyone to not do at least a basic rebuild by themselves if they are any way mechanically inclined, other than they would rather just outsource it..... Obviously redoing shim stacks, Gold valves, etc. is a different deal altogether, but a basic rebuild seems pretty straightforward.... but then I'm known for my occasional unrealistic optimism....

GOT WOODS? wrote: 12:19 pm Feb 24 2026 Thanks Chuck78 and KDXGarage!

I'm actually going to post up a list of what I "think" is what is needed to do a shock service/seal replacement regarding parts and basic tools to do the job.

I did a search on here to try to figure out all of the parts needed to rebuild the shock but did not find a definitive list of what is needed, but maybe I missed something.

I believe @KDXGarage just recently posted a list somewhere, it may have been on another forum or KDX group, of all the OEM part numbers from KYB for all of the actual '95-'06 KDX shock parts required in a rebuild.
I believe he also used to compile kits of all these OEM parts and package them as an OEM rebuild kit, selling them to members if I recall correctly, since these parts were not immediately available in the USA from Kawasaki or even other sources, and required shipping from overseas, which is a lot cheaper when it's bundled up bulk parts purchase.

A few of the parts maybe no longer available from the KYB distributor though is what I recall the response being.

Teknik Motorsports out of Australia is most likely place to get all of this OEM KYB at least. Genuine Parts App from Europe is another, but I know they mainly specialize in late model parts from the past decade, KYB & Showa.

GOT WOODS? wrote: 12:19 pm Feb 24 2026 Obviously redoing shim stacks, Gold valves, etc. is a different deal altogether, but a basic rebuild seems pretty straightforward.... but then I'm known for my occasional unrealistic optimism....

If you still have the stock valving in the shock, I would highly recommend at least doing some restacking of the shims to revalve it with the stock piston, but a Race Tech Gold Valve shock kit is going to be a lot easier and will end up with pretty accurate results on the first attempt.

The stock shock valving is far worse than the fork valving. I just learned to live with it after many years initially, but going with a different valving setup is a night and day difference. I had my fork set up to soak up all the trail trash and rough terrain irregularities, but occasionally I would get the whole back end of the bike tossed out extremely hard sideways when going through significant rock gardens.
Valving it a bit more plush initially makes a world of difference, as well as having the correct rate spring for your weight. Stock is set up for about a 185lbs rider, yet as you may know, the forks are set up for about a 125 - 135 lbs max rider.

Technical Touch USA was / is the USA KYB distributor. They had all the parts a few years ago.

bladder
bottom bumper
nut
piston band
piston o-ring
seal head

Can the seal head be rebuilt? Yes. Would I want to do it? HECK NO!! It is horrible! One needs to undo the peening on the bottom. I tried for a while 20 years ago. NO THANKS!! I just bought KYB complete seal heads.

Read up on grinding or filing the nut edge off, as it is peened over the shaft threads. Put grease in the shaft end to keep shavings out.

Maxima Suspension clean is awesome, but use it as a final rinse, CRC Brakleen and VENTILATION are great for cleaning the metal parts.

44 mm piston band and corresponding o-ring. The actual o-ring dimensions are not 44 mm obviously.

CLEAN the threads with water/soap or WD-40 or SOMETHING before loosening the collars, as they may have decades of dirt down in them.

I built my own setup. Machined a manifold from aluminum and anodized it. Lossless chuck is a have to have. Regulator and gauges can be found at any welding shop. That little tank lasts me a LONG time. Probably 100 shocks or more.

Slick_Nick wrote: 10:13 am Mar 04 2026 I built my own setup. Machined a manifold from aluminum and anodized it. Lossless chuck is a have to have. Regulator and gauges can be found at any welding shop. That little tank lasts me a LONG time. Probably 100 shocks or more.

IMG_2740.jpeg

Nice work there, Nick!

Also, that's one heck of a wall mounted shop power strip, with two fold down spotlights built-in!

Chuck78 wrote: 07:13 am Mar 05 2026

Slick_Nick wrote: 10:13 am Mar 04 2026 I built my own setup. Machined a manifold from aluminum and anodized it. Lossless chuck is a have to have. Regulator and gauges can be found at any welding shop. That little tank lasts me a LONG time. Probably 100 shocks or more.

IMG_2740.jpeg

Nice work there, Nick!

Also, that's one heck of a wall mounted shop power strip, with two fold down spotlights built-in!

Costco special!

After a hiatus I'm finally back to the shock project. This is what I will be ordering from Partzilla for the shock rebuild. Does anyone have any feed back regarding the quality of any of the parts or if I am making any mistakes? Thanks in advance!!

What country are you in?

If USA, I would check on Technical Touch USA to see what they have. That is high for a bladder and a little high for a bumper.

bladder PART # 120104600101

bumper PART # 120341400101

nut PART # 120181200401

piston o-ring PART # 120224400101

piston band/ring PART # 120214400101

seal head PART # 120244400101

THANKS KDX GARAGE!
That trimmed off about $30!
Per your previous advice I had gone to Technical Touch but it kept/keeps telling me that those parts wouldn't fit the KDX220 so I went elsewhere, researched the part numbers I thought I needed, but then couldn't find a place that carried everything. I never circled back to Technical Touch when I rounded up what I thought I needed and I'm now just disregarding where it is telling me the parts won't fit a KDX220. Thanks for the reminder on the nut!

Nevermind.... Shipping ends up being $83.00. They are out of Canada so I'm guessing that's kicking the cost of shipping into the stratosphere....
The search continues....

NEVERMIND X 2....
Turns out the checkout page automatically defaults to 2nd day air for the shipping cost that it calculates at first. The other shipping choices are listed further down the page. Regular shipping is $19.00. I wonder how many sales they lose to this? I was back over to Partzilla and ready to place my order with them when I jumped back to Technical Touch to confirm something and the shipping chart caught my eye. Also, I misread the address for TT and it is Ontario California, not Canada...

Here is the final order through Technical Touch for all the parts I am assuming I need to rebuild my KDX220 shock. I ordered the KYB oil through RMATV as it was $10+ cheaper and I have an order coming from them anyway in the near future....

Here is the nitrogen gas setup I purchased. Haven't used it yet but it looks like pretty good quality.
After I have all the parts/tools I'll try to put together a comprehensive overview of the process so others might have an easier time of rebuilding their own shocks.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/165400437188

I see you found the two clips. Nice find!

Great job on getting it all together.