ASK THE MXPERTS: SHOULD THERE BE OIL IN THERE?

This is what is called the “balance chamber” on Showa SFF TAC air forks. The Showa balance chamber should have oil in it. But it shouldn’t be full.

Dear MXA,

I recently purchased a 2016 Honda CRF250, and when I checked pressures in my Showa air forks, I found oil in the balance chamber. Is this normal or a bigger issue?

You didn’t tell us how much oil you found, but the technical specs for Showa SFF TAC air forks call for between 10cc and 30cc of oil in the balance chamber. If you found a lot more oil than that in your bike’s balance chamber, you could have leaking seals between the external balance chamber and the fork’s leg. This would require professional help to fix.