QA1 70 series User manual

70/82 SERIES SHOCK TECHNICAL MANUAL

Item
Part No.
DESCRIPTION
Item
Part No.
DESCRIPTION
1
9007-106
Snap ring
18
9053-120
6" compression tube (82/70)
2
SIB8-101PK
Bearing/snap ring kit
18
9053-115
7" compression tube (82/70)
3
9036-105
Aluminum loop assembly (82)
18
9053-130
8" compression tube (82/70)
3
9036-103
Steel loop assembly (70)
18
9053-129
9" compression tube (82/70)
4
JNR7A
Aluminum jam nut (82)
19
9014-155
Basevalve bolt
4
JNR7S
Steel jam nut (70)
20
9014-155
Basevalve bolt seat
5
9028-131
Rod, Piston - 3"
21
9015-107
Basevalve replenish disc spring
5
9028-132
Rod, Piston - 4"
22
9055-151
Basevalve housing
5
9028-133
Rod, Piston - 5"
23
9014-154
Basevalve nut
5
9028-134
Rod, Piston - 6"
24
9782-213
82 series 3" body tube (2 piece silver)
5
9028-135
Rod, Piston - 7"
9044-114
Body/base o-ring
5
9028-136
Rod, Piston - 8"
9062-134
2-piece body base (black)
5
9028-137
Rod, Piston - 9"
24
9782-118
82 series 4" body (1 piece red)
6
9044-115
Travel indicator
24
9782-210
82 series 5" body tube (2 piece silver)
7
9014-153
Closure nut
9044-114
Body/base o-ring
8
9046-103
Wiper
9062-134
2-piece body base (black)
9
9005-133
Seal retaining washer
24
9782-211
82 series 6" body tube (2 piece silver)
10
9044-114
Closure nut o-ring
9044-114
Body/base o-ring
11
9042-113
Piston rod seal
9062-134
2-piece body base (black)
12
9054-112
Gland assembly
24
9782-212
82 series 7" body tube (2 piece silver)
13
9027-112
Valve stack plate
9044-114
Body/base o-ring
14
9042-114
Piston band
9062-134
2-piece body base (black)
15
9057-252
Piston
24
9782-215
82 series 8" body tube (2 piece silver)
16
9014-418
Piston nut
9044-114
Body/base o-ring
17
9052-105
3" gas bag (82/70)
9062-134
2-piece body base (black)
17
9052-106
4 - 5" gas bag (82/70)
24
9782-113
82 series 9" body (1 piece red)
17
9052-107
6 - 7" gas bag (82/70)
17
9052-108
8 - 9 gas bag (82/70)
24
9770-102
70 series 6" body
18
9053-132
3" compression tube (82/70)
24
9770-101
70 series 7" body
18
9053-131
4" compression tube (82/70)
24
9770-103
70 series 9" body
18
9053-114
5" compression tube (82/70)

NOTE: Before rebuilding or revalving your QA1 shock absorbers, your work area must be clean.
Shock absorber performance is greatly affected by any contamination (i.e. dirt, dust, rag lint, etc).
TOOLS NEEDED FOR REBUILDING AND REVALVING
Vise with soft jaws (aluminum or plastic)
Spanner wrench (Available from QA1)
Torque wrench with 1/2” socket
3/8” wrench or socket
Pick set
QA1 Shock oil (Part number SF04)
Rebuild kit and/or revalving kit
DISASSEMBLY
1. Check shock mount bearings for excessive play, replace as needed.
2. Clamp shock body eyelet in a vise, with shaft pointing up.
3. Fully extend shock rod from body.
4. Using a spanner wrench, unscrew the shock closure nut. (Shock is not pressurized!)
5. Use a pick tool to remove closure nut o-ring.
6. Remove shock rod assembly, gland, and compression (inner) tube by
pulling up on shock rod.
7. Remove gas bag from shock and set aside in area where it will not collect debris.
8. Pour oil from shock body and compression tube, watch for any debris in the used oil.
9. The base valve can be left in the compression tube and disassembled from the outside.
Use a 3/8” wrench or socket to remove the disk retaining nut. The bolt is threaded into
the base valve body from the inside so it will be retained. The internal disk and spring
need not be removed.
10. Clean the parts with mild solvent as necessary and set aside.
11. Clamp piston-rod eyelet in a vise with the piston pointing up.
12. Remove ½” lock nut to access piston valving. Remove piston and valving.
13. If not revalving, the rebound stack, piston, and compression stack need to be kept in its
original order for re-assembly.
14. Remove the gland assembly, and piston-rod seal from the rod.

Piston Dimple
Figure 2
Figure 3
ASSEMBLY
1. Inspect bushing for wear, and replace gland assembly if bushing is loose on shaft.
2. Reassemble shaft with travel indicator, closure nut, piston rod wiper, seal retaining
washer, gland o-ring, piston rod seal, and gland assembly. (See figure 1)
3. If revalving, read revalving instruction section first.
4. Place the valve plate onto the shaft with the small side facing up.
5. With shaft still in the vise, assemble the compression valving, piston, and rebound
valving. The compression valve stack is on the bottom of piston and the rebound valve
stack on top. It’s important that the piston is positioned with the dimpled side up facing
up. (See figures 2,3)
6. Place the second valve plate onto the shaft with the small side down.
Fi
gure 1

Figure 4
7. Torque ½” lock nut to 12.5 ft/lbs (150 in/lbs). Check lock nut for any loose burrs and
remove as necessary. Set piston rod assembly aside.
8. Reassemble base valve with the appropriate compression disks as determined in the
revalving instructions. Apply blue Loctite (242/243) to the retaining nut threads. Torque
retaining nut to 15 in/lbs. (See figure 4)
9. Place the shock body in the vise, holding it by the lower mount.
10. Pour ~1/4 cup of oil into the shock body.
11. Gently insert the compression tube and gas bag into shock body, base valve first. Verify
that the base valve has seated into base of the shock body properly.
12. IMPORTANT! Do not tear the gas bag or pinch it under the base valve.
13. Fill shock body and compression tube with shock oil to just above (1/16”) the top of the
compression tube.
14. Move compression tube around to free any trapped air bubbles.
15. Insert the piston-rod assembly, with piston wrap, into compression tube.
16. With the piston assembly submerged approximately 1”, tap shock rod eyelet with a soft
mallet. This opens the compression valve stack to release any air trapped inside the
piston.
17. Slowly cycle the piston rod up and down while holding the compression tube down with
your fingers. Continue this process until no air is present in the oil.
18. Use your fingers to hold the compression tube down and raise the shock shaft until the
piston is at the top of the compression tube.
19. Hold shock shaft near the top of the compression tube and slide the gland into the
shock body. Oil should come up around the outside of the gland.
NOTE: Remember we are attempting to build a shock without any air
trapped inside.
20. Keep shock fully extended. Push the closure nut o-ring into the outer groove of the
gland.
21. Install and tighten the closure nut.
22. Invert the shock and wipe off any oil over-flow.
23. Stroke the shock and check for smooth operation. Rough or jerky movement indicates
that air is trapped inside - repeat the steps above.

REVALVE INSTRUCTIONS
VALVING CHARACTERISTICS
Shock absorbers create dampening by flowing oil through restrictive paths - the more restricted
the flow, the higher the dampening force. Nearly all shocks use a combination of “bleed passages”
and “blow-off valves” to control the oil flow in both compression and rebound separately.
Bleed is typically controlled by the size of a small hole(s) or slit(s). The oil can flow easily at
low shaft velocities, but as velocity increases, the resistance rises progressively. QA1 shocks use a
single bleed hole in the piston, which is .020”. Smaller or larger bleed holes may be used to raise or
lower low-speed dampening, but be very cautious in tuning with bleed as this shock is very sensitive
to bleed changes. Unless you have access to a shock dyno it is best to stay with the standard bleed.
Blow-off is typically controlled by either a spring pushing on a valve, or a set of disk valves
covering a set of larger holes. Once the shaft reaches a certain velocity, the valves will open –
allowing a linear or digressive dampening curve. QA1 shocks utilize three sets of disk valves, two for
compression and one for rebound. One rebound valve-stack and one compression valve-stack are
on either side of the piston; the other compression valve-set is in the base valve. For simplicity, the
base valve stack is the same as the compression stack on the piston.
The following trends will help you tune your QA1 small body shocks:
LOW SPEED (0~1 in/sec):
The piston bleed hole size has the main effect. Larger bleed holes will lower the low-speed
dampening and will delay the blow-off to occur at a higher velocity. Smaller bleed holes will raise the
low-speed dampening –blow-off will tend to occur at lower velocities.
MEDIUM SPEED (1~10 in/sec):
Valve stack begins to open. The disk closest to the piston (.902” OD) will have the main effect.
Valve stack thicknesses determine the blow-off velocity and the slope of the dampening curve. Bleed
can affect the blow-off velocity, but the slope of the graph remains the same. The blow-off can be
more or less distinct depending on the amount of bleed.
HIGH SPEED (>10 in/sec):
The shape of the valve stack has main effect. Thickness, outside diameters, and number of
disks determine the shape of the valve stack. The smallest disk (.670” OD) acts as the pivot disk.
The pivot disk has a large affect on the higher speed portion of the dampening curve as it controls the
diameter where the rest of the disks start to bend.
You can use the graphs located at the end of this document to aid in selecting the proper valving for
your application.

*Note: QA1 strongly recommends using QA1’s 6000 series large body shocks when desired compression valving is 7 or greater.
How to use:
1. Choose desired compression damping at the top of the table.
2. Choose desired rebound damping at the left of the table
3. Follow across and down from the selected values.
4. Read the values in the intersecting box. The values are as follows: Compression stack, Rebound stack, Base Valve Compression Stack.
5. Look up the components needed to make each stack in the Valving stack table (See Table 2)
Table 1
0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 10.5 1 2 0.5 2 3 0.5 3 4 0.5 4 5 0.5 5 6 0.5 6 7 0.5 7 8 0.5 8
10.5 10.5 111212313414515616717818
20.5 20.5 121222323424525626727828
30.5 30.5 131232333434535636737838
40.5 40.5 141242343444545646747848
50.5 50.5 151252353454555656757858
60.5 60.5 161262363464565666767868
70.5 70.5 171272373474575676777878
80.5 80.5 181282383484585686787888
C R BV C R BV C R BV C R BV C R BV C R BV C R BV C R BV C R BV
Tie Down Easy Up
7 86
Straight
1 2 3 4 5
Rebound
0.5 Compression
Table 1

Valve #
8
.902" OD x .012 thk
.827" OD x .012 thk
.750" OD x .012 thk
.670" OD x .012 thk
.670" OD x .012 thk
7
.902" OD x .012 thk
.827" OD x .012 thk
.750" OD x .012 thk
.670" OD x .012 thk
6
.902" OD x .010 thk
.827" OD x .010 thk
.750" OD x .010 thk
.670" OD x .010 thk
5
.902" OD x .008 thk
.827" OD x .008 thk
.750" OD x .008 thk
.670" OD x .008 thk
4.902" OD x .008 thk .827" OD x .008 thk
.750" OD x .008 thk
3
.902" OD x .006 thk
.827" OD x .006 thk
.750" OD x .006 thk
.670" OD x .006 thk
Components
1 .902" OD x .006 thk
2.902" OD x .006 thk
.827" OD x .006 thk
0.5 .902" OD x .004 thk
Table 2
Example:
You want to build a 3-5 (3 Compression, 5 Rebound) valved shock.
Follow these steps:
1. Using Table 1, determine what valve stacks are used to build the
desired shock. In this case 3 comp., 5 reb., and 3 BV
2. Now look up the required valve stacks in Table 2 to determine
what disks make up each stack
3. The components used in a 3-5 valved shock will be as follows:
4. A few helpful hints:
-The BV compression stack will always be the same as
the piston compression stack
-The BV replenish disk will be the same for any valving
-The piston compression stack goes on first
-The piston is installed dimpled side up
-The piston rebound stack goes on last (closest to nut)
Disc 8-pack
(Sold only in 8 packs)
7855-159
9055-129
Disc .670"x.317"x0.006
7855-160
9055-130
Disc .670"x.317"x0.008
7855-161
9055-131
Disc .670"x.317"x0.010
7855-162
9055-132
Disc .670"x.317"x0.012
7855-163
9055-134
Disc .750"x.317"x0.006
7855-164
9055-135
Disc .750"x.317"x0.008
7855-165
9055-136
Disc .750"x.317"x0.010
7855-166
9055-137
Disc .750"x.317"x0.012
7855-167
9055-139
Disc .827"x.317"x0.006
7855-168
9055-140
Disc .827"x.317"x0.008
7855-169
9055-141
Disc .827"x.317"x0.010
7855-170
9055-142
Disc .827"x.317"x0.012
7855-176
9055-154
Disc .902"x.317"x0.004
7855-171
9055-144
Disc .902"x.317"x0.006
7855-172
9055-145
Disc .902"x.317"x0.008
7855-173
9055-146
Disc .902"x.317"x0.010
7855-177
9055-147
Disc .902"x.317"x0.012
Table 1
.670" OD x .008 thk
3Compression stack
5Rebound stack
Piston
.902" OD x .008 thk
.827" OD x .008 thk
.750" OD x .008 thk
.902" OD x .006 thk
.827" OD x .006 thk
.750" OD x .006 thk
.670" OD x .006 thk
.750" OD x .006 thk
BV Replenish disk (same
for all valvings)
BV 3Compression stack
.670" OD x .006 thk
Base Valve
.902" OD x .006 thk
.902" OD x .006 thk
.827" OD x .006 thk

8000 Series Shocks 1-4 valve code
-200
-150
-100
-50
0
50
100
150
200
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Velocity (in/sec)
Force(lbs)
Graph 1

8000 Series Shocks 5-8 valve code
-600
-400
-200
0
200
400
600
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Velocity (in/sec)
Force (lbs)
Graph 2