G'day All
Well today my New Ohlins Rear shock arrived, and I was going to get my Dealer to fit it, But, I got bored and decided to have a go on how to fit it myself. So here we go..
Make sure you have some quality stands to ensure there is little to no chance of the bike falling over and being damaged or worse falling on you and damaging you.
Also Ensure you have a way of supporting the weight of the Rear of the bike while you have the shock out, as your rear stand is only there to keep things stable, the Jack (as shown) is supporting the weight of the back of the Bike. The Cloth is to protect the bottom of the Engine.
Remove the Voltage regulator and dangle over the side of the bike, Also remove the Side plastic decorative panels (gives you more room to move, not removed in this pic)
PS: Ignore all the small Black wires, they are for the LED system as seen elsewhere on the DMF.
Remove the Emissions Canister, I marked the Pipes (there are only 2 on my 07 model) So when I put the Canister back in I knew where they go.
Now,
Remove the bolts for the rear brake master cylinder,
Then unclick the spring from the back of the rear brake Pedal, (You can see it in the bottom left of the photo, just above my finger)
Remove the rubber grommet/Bung from the Swingarm,
I then swung the brake pedal down and the Master Cylinder up so I could remove the Pin from there connection point.
#NOTE# Tie some thin string around the Pin, as you remove it will have to go part way into the swingarm lower shock access hole to give you enough clearance to remove it (long nose pliers help here), if you drop it in the swingarm, you will have a pregnant dog of time retrieving it.
(And no, it didn't happen to me)
The Brake pedal will want to swing up in your way, so use a little piece of electrical tape to hold it out of your way.
Using the floor Jack take the weight from the rear stand, just enough that the bolt should be easy to turn and remove from the top of the rear shock. Leave the Rear stand on the Bike! Just in case the bike should slide off the jack, The rear stand is still in place to make sure the bike does not topple over.
Now, allowing that the Swing Arm is hollow, I was strongly advised to tape all Sockets and Hex drivers to ensure they can't fall off inside the swingarm. Also wrap a single layer of Electrical tape around the hex end going into the bolt, as the bolt is about 40mm inside the arm, the electrical tape will ensure a tight fit and very little chance of the bolt falling off the hex driver.
Picture of driver extension in the swingarm, I would suggest supporting the weight of the shock, this will make it easier to loosen and remove the lower shock bolt. (This photo was taken during reassembly with the Ohlins in place, but the Idea is the same)
Picture of the Lower Shock Bolt removed (Not a bad Idea to give a clean and polish while it's out)
Finally, Lift out old Shock, and install new Shock and Put it all back together.
To make life easier, secure the shock base first, then, using the jack, you can raise and lower the bike to ensure the Top Shock bolt will just slide in very easily.
And here is the finished Item, Much better than the Showa, the rear of the bike feels much better and it handles the lumps and bumps on the road much better. The Ohlins is an Awesome shock.
Hope this Helps! [moto]
