Rear Shock

[rougeray]

Got around to changing the rear shock today. Was not as hard as I thought it would be. Got the bike up on the carbon-one-freestanding-lift-adapter and changed the oil. Pulled the left side front brake caliper to check the pads. Looked good even after 68,839 miles. Soooo on to changing the shock. Took the time to read up on what was the best way to go about doing this. As noted in several threads it was not necessary to remove the rear wheel but the passenger floor boards along with the plastic cover behind them had to come off, both sides. Loosened the nuts top and bottom and removed the nut that held on the air filler valve for the air assist. Then put the craftsman jack under the rear tire and jacked up till the preload on the lower bolt was removed and removed the lower bolt. Lifted the shock by hand till the upper bolt could be removed. Removed the shock and washed my hands as they were covered with oil and road dirt. Installed the new shock and lower bolt then raised and lowered the jack till the upper portion of shock lined up so the upper bolt could be inserted. I did use my mechanical fingers to insert the bolt as I could not get my hand in there. Once it was started I used a 3/8" extension to drive the bolt in place. Then installed and tightened the lower nut. Had to put the nut for the upper bolt in my right hand and snake my hand behind the rear lefthand crash bar and frame and start it by hand. For the upper nut you will need an extension and a 3/8" swivel as the bolt and nut are offset.

 

I did not have a problem getting the nuts loose as some people did. I also was able to lay on my side and look at the upper part of the shock and raise and lower the jack with my foot all the while looking at the the hole the bolt went through. This made it easy to align the shock with the frame. I would guess this is about an hour and a half job from jacking the bike up on the carbon-one-freestanding-lift-adapter till you set it back on the ground. The shock installed was the Hagon M62097. As I normally ride by myself and don't pull a trailer this is $399.00 model. They also make one for two up and trailer that is a little more expensive. Road it around the block and all appears ok.