[Speed3Boy]

I finally jumped in with both feet this weekend. I have been thinking about the shock removal for a while but did not want to screw around with removing or loosening the swingarm.

So, first I removed the rear wheel and rear hugger.
Remove the front shock bolt, (5,6) this is a two part bolt you will need two 12mm Allens
Remove the rear shock bolt, (15)
Remove bolt (1) for rear knuckle, (Lever Set, Rear Cushion, 18)
Remove the two screw that hold the shock resi, (27)

This will allow you to move the shock forward and wiggle the Lever Set, Rear Cushion, (18) out along with the dog bones (Rod, Cushion, (10)).
Now the shock is pretty much free besides the preload adjuster hose. From this point I was going to use a spring compressor to compress the shock, remove the bottom spring perch, then slide shock out for the preload collar and just leave the collar in in the bike. However the hand held compressor I had would not work. Therefore I removed the the bolt that holds the preload collar hose to the collar. This allowed me to fully remove the shock. Then I removed the two bolts that hold the preload adjuster brackets and just fished the hose out through the top. There are two rubber grommets you have to navigate to get the hose eyelet out, not too bad.

Now that the shock is out she is going to Traxxion Dynamics for Revalve and Respring. I shall report back once the work is done and shock is re-installed.

 

[KoVeN]

impressive garage ! I wish I had half of your tools... one day ^^
thanks for sharing

 

[LArider]

@speed3boy, how long did it take you to do all that?

 

[simes007us]

My shop charged me 1.5 hrs to replace the rear shock.

 

[Speed3Boy]

@speed3boy, how long did it take you to do all that?

Maybe 45 min. A buddy and I were hanging and doing more bench racing then work but I would guesstimate about 45min or less of real work. It really went better than I anticipated.
Looking forward to the upgrade. The rear shock was definitely the worst part of the ride for me. I'm about 235lbs and it rattled me teeth a couple times.

 

[ReidMcT]

Are you saying that you can disconnect the hose and not lose any oil? That it can simply be re-attached later, and everything will work fine?

If so, it changes everything, making for much less work/hassle. I had assumed that disconnecting the hose would cause trouble.

 

[Speed3Boy]

Are you saying that you can disconnect the hose and not lose any oil? That it can simply be re-attached later, and everything will work fine?

If so, it changes everything, making for much less work/hassle. I had assumed that disconnecting the hose would cause trouble.

When I disconnected my hose very little oil came out. Obviously if any oil comes out then air is going in and you will loose some range of function. That is certainly one thing I am going to look at while the shock is off.
The remote preload adjuster is not a big concern for me. Once I have it set I will not be fiddle's around with it much.
I am going to see if a manual preload adjuster can be fitted or if the adjuster can be bled once I get the shock re-installed.
Ideally I would liek to have left the preload assembly in the bike and just removed the shock.
I will certainly let everyone know what my final results are.

 

[Speed3Boy]

Are you saying that you can disconnect the hose and not lose any oil? That it can simply be re-attached later, and everything will work fine?

If so, it changes everything, making for much less work/hassle. I had assumed that disconnecting the hose would cause trouble.

Just as another follow up. We measured the reload adjuster range before the rebuild just to see how much adjustment was lost during the removal. There was a range of 11mm still available in the remote preload adjuster.
I got my shock back last week but have not had time to re-install yet, hoping to get it back on tonight and take some measurements to see if we got the correct spring.
I will post up what I come up with.

 

[Chromo27]

Good write up and thanks for the info, I just used this when fitting a Nitron shock recently.

Mine however did not go so well so a few things to be aware of.

Removing the front linkage bolt (5,6) proved painful. It unscrewed from itself OK but was very difficult to remove from it's housing, I recommend lots of WD40!!

On removal of the shock and linkage I found the front needle roller bearings to be knackered. The 2 bearings have to be pressed out and back in, plus you'll need 4 new seals.

The front linkage bolt showed slight signs of the bearing failure but I was able to paper this out on a lathe.

So slightly more than 45 minutes for me!!

 

[Speed3Boy]

Good write up and thanks for the info, I just used this when fitting a Nitron shock recently.

Mine however did not go so well so a few things to be aware of.

Removing the front linkage bolt (5,6) proved painful. It unscrewed from itself OK but was very difficult to remove from it's housing, I recommend lots of WD40!!

On removal of the shock and linkage I found the front needle roller bearings to be knackered. The 2 bearings have to be pressed out and back in, plus you'll need 4 new seals.

The front linkage bolt showed slight signs of the bearing failure but I was able to paper this out on a lathe.

So slightly more than 45 minutes for me!!

Yeah the front two piece bolt is a bit of a pain. Once you get the two halves unscrewed, put a piece of 2 x 4 or pry bar under the rear wheel and move it up and down until you find the "sweet spot" that takes the pressure off the bolt. Once you get that the halves come out fairly easily. I've had mine in and out 4 times now so I've got down pretty good.

 

[Speed3Boy]

I've have also greased everything when putting back together. There is very little if any grease from the factory.
I'm hoping to have my final spring installed today. Slightly too stiff first go around.

 

[Speed3Boy]

Well, I finally got my shock back in the bike. WOW! What an improvement. Very happy with the final result. Ended up going with a 650lbs/in spring and I think it is perfect. I will get some sag numbers when I can get an "assistant" and some time.
I did make a little rubber plug to stick in the preload adjuster hose so when I was fishing back through the swig arm it didn't loose much oil. Only lost 1-2 mm of the range. Beats taking the swing arm off for sure.

 

[neill.yates_3800]

I finally jumped in with both feet this weekend. I have been thinking about the shock removal for a while but did not want to screw around with removing or loosening the swingarm.

So, first I removed the rear wheel and rear hugger.
Remove the front shock bolt, (5,6) this is a two part bolt you will need two 12mm Allens
Remove the rear shock bolt, (15)
Remove bolt (1) for rear knuckle, (Lever Set, Rear Cushion, 18)
Remove the two screw that hold the shock resi, (27)

This will allow you to move the shock forward and wiggle the Lever Set, Rear Cushion, (18) out along with the dog bones (Rod, Cushion, (10)).
Now the shock is pretty much free besides the preload adjuster hose. From this point I was going to use a spring compressor to compress the shock, remove the bottom spring perch, then slide shock out for the preload collar and just leave the collar in in the bike. However the hand held compressor I had would not work. Therefore I removed the the bolt that holds the preload collar hose to the collar. This allowed me to fully remove the shock. Then I removed the two bolts that hold the preload adjuster brackets and just fished the hose out through the top. There are two rubber grommets you have to navigate to get the hose eyelet out, not too bad.

View attachment 63969

View attachment 63977

Now that the shock is out she is going to Traxxion Dynamics for Revalve and Respring. I shall report back once the work is done and shock is re-installed.

Hi, i am having to replace the seals on my rear shock, obviously having to remove the shock from the bike. i cannot undo the bolt on the offside of the swingarm (the special bolt - item 1 on the diagram above) i am assuming that it is a right hand thread not left handed. i am guessing that it is probably corroded in situ. what sort of bolt is it ?
Thanks

 

[neill.yates_3800]

I finally jumped in with both feet this weekend. I have been thinking about the shock removal for a while but did not want to screw around with removing or loosening the swingarm.

So, first I removed the rear wheel and rear hugger.
Remove the front shock bolt, (5,6) this is a two part bolt you will need two 12mm Allens
Remove the rear shock bolt, (15)
Remove bolt (1) for rear knuckle, (Lever Set, Rear Cushion, 18)
Remove the two screw that hold the shock resi, (27)

This will allow you to move the shock forward and wiggle the Lever Set, Rear Cushion, (18) out along with the dog bones (Rod, Cushion, (10)).
Now the shock is pretty much free besides the preload adjuster hose. From this point I was going to use a spring compressor to compress the shock, remove the bottom spring perch, then slide shock out for the preload collar and just leave the collar in in the bike. However the hand held compressor I had would not work. Therefore I removed the the bolt that holds the preload collar hose to the collar. This allowed me to fully remove the shock. Then I removed the two bolts that hold the preload adjuster brackets and just fished the hose out through the top. There are two rubber grommets you have to navigate to get the hose eyelet out, not too bad.

View attachment 63969

View attachment 63977

Now that the shock is out she is going to Traxxion Dynamics for Revalve and Respring. I shall report back once the work is done and shock is re-installed.

Hey, speed3boy.. i see that you didn't remove the exhaust pipes. How did you get the male threaded bush #5 past the exhausts ? thanks

 

[neill.yates_3800]

Hey, speed3boy.. i see that you didn't remove the exhaust pipes. How did you get the male threaded bush #5 past the exhausts ? thanks

so tell me, when you removed the bolt that holds the preload collar to the collar, did you loose loads of fluid. i am assuming that the preload adjuster is hydraulic ?

 

[neill.yates_3800]

Well, I finally got my shock back in the bike. WOW! What an improvement. Very happy with the final result. Ended up going with a 650lbs/in spring and I think it is perfect. I will get some sag numbers when I can get an "assistant" and some time.
I did make a little rubber plug to stick in the preload adjuster hose so when I was fishing back through the swig arm it didn't loose much oil. Only lost 1-2 mm of the range. Beats taking the swing arm off for sure.

did you have to plug the shock absorber too as so not to loose fluid too ?