Help with Monarch rear shock

I recently purchased my first ever full sus and could do with some help in setting up the rear shock. It's a Rockshox Monarch R which I think is probably around 10 years old. First question I guess - is it any good? Even if it isn't, I don't want to even consider any upgrades until I have it set up correctly and spent some time riding it. It appears to operate as it should and doesn't have any obvious signs of leaking, so I guess that's a good start!

I had a search online and couldn't really find much info on the Monarch R - only newer versions. The modern ones seem to have guidelines for rider weights but mine just has percentages written on.

Basically an idiots guide is what I'm after

Re:

put some pressure in it and see if it holds it ok, assuming it's in the bike set it up by adding pressure so that when you sit on it it drops a bit, the red o ring is the set up guide so before you sit on it push that up against the wiper seal, once you've sat on it and then got off the red o ring will have moved to where your weight compressed the shock, this is "sag" , add or remove pressure until the desired amount of sag is reached, the percentage lines are a guide, depending on the riding most companies suggest between 20 and 35 percent.

that said i prefer less sag, and remember "sag" is personal preference, don't be afraid to experiment to get the bike to feel how you want it to, also remember though that too much sag will affect the head angle , slacker, and not enough sag will steepen the head angle so it's worth bearing this in mind.

service is easy, remove shock from bike, let out the air (remove valve core for safety) clamp the top bush in a vice (with soft jaws) then unscrew the main can by hand, remove can, clean off old oil, then liberally drip something like fox fluid over the seals etc, the shaft and some inside the can, then wind on the rebound adjuster to slow the shock, put the air can back on, push the piston up and slide the can up as you are doing this, hold the shock as closed as possible and wind the can back on to the threads, do it up tight with no more than your hand strength, once done up you canthen wind the rebound off, replace valve core and re-inflate.

Re:

Thanks mate, that was pretty simple. It certainly hold air in the short term. I'll have a couple of rides on it and see how things go before I think about servicing it.

The Pace RC38 LT's that came on it certainly feel like they need some attention :roll: