Recumbent bikes are a ton of fun and the Vision R45 is the second that I've owned. I consider the Vision R45 a nearly perfect bike for me. Mine has front and rear suspension, aerodynamic wheels, a short wheel base design, and under-seat steering. It even has a fairly nice component group. There is only one problem: it is more than 10 years old and the company that made it (ATP) is now out of business.
I'm not about to buy another recumbent bike and if anything breaks on it, it is up to me to fix it. Recently I went about doing a complete overhaul on it to get everything back into top shape. Bike maintenance really isn't that hard and it is really enjoyable with the right tools. See this article for how I first got started doing my own maintenance.
One of the biggest challenges in overhauling the Vision R45 was rebuilding and servicing the suspension systems. The rear shock (a Cane Creek AD-5) isn't a problem as you can still get a rebuilt kit for it (with instructions). However, the front shock (a 20" Ballistic 600 AII) is another matter entirely. It seems there is almost no information about this shock online even though it was a very common shock for recumbents with suspension.
So, in the hope that it will help others, I'll share my complete rebuild instructions and even a tip to make a minor improvement.
