Hey guys I'm not very mechanical but I have a Ohlins shock I need to put on the 51. Is this a job I can do by myself. It will be on a rear stand and I will be taking the stock shock off. Just wondering if I need any special tools or any advise to make it a lot easier. Do I need to compress the shock and what bolts should I take off first, if it matters. Any advise will help. Thx, God Bless.
If by "rear stand" you mean a normal stand supporting it by the swingarm, that won't work. The bike needs to be supported by something attached to the rear of the frame (like solid footpegs)
Other than that, taking off and putting a shock back on aren't that difficult.
Glad I checked because the rear stand is the only thing I have to support the bike. So the rear swing arm needs to be free and able to move is what your saying WATSKOO.
Glad I checked because the rear stand is the only thing I have to support the bike. So the rear swing arm needs to be free and able to move is what your saying WATSKOO.
Correct. Do you have aftermarket or stock rearsets? The reason I ask is you can use jack stands under the rearsets if the are fixed. You might try doing a search. I recall there being quite a few threads on this over the years.
One other way is to support bike with the rear stand. Place a scissor jack on the rear tire. Raise the jack to support the subframe. Remove shock. Simple as can be.
While you have the suspension unloaded and the shock out, I think you should check the condition of the needle bearings in the dogbone (link) and the triangle plates. These very important pivot-points need to be clean and greased (as opposed to dirty and dry and worn-out). I won't get in to how these items are serviced (it's pretty simple but must be done correctly), as I just wanted to alert you to the importance of doing it.
Also, you must set the total center-to-center installed length of the shock by turning the adjuster at the bottom. I forgot the correct length so you'll need to search or maybe someone will chime in. Most guys add about 5mm of ride height (an increase to the OEM shock length) to improve handling (just like adding a shim to the OEM shock mount), but too much can induce headshake, so don't get carried away. In the other direction, too little total height makes the bike a pig. So.....you need to mimic your OEM shock's length [center-to-center!!!] and then add the 5mm.
__________________ 2000 RC51 ~ 2000 VFR 800 ~ 2013 Corvette Grand Sport
Info on setting ride height here. I used regular tripod jack stands and placed them under the frame rails (you need to remove the bike's side stand to do this). Just put my bike on a normal rear stand first, and lowered it onto the jack stands.
I installed my Ohlins shock. Since I'm not that mechanical it took me longer than it should have. Followed everone's advise and (used jack stands, tie downs lifted the bike from garage beams). Took bike out for a quick run because I was running late. Bike seemed very planted but I have to get use to the ride height. I bought the shock used, had it serviced and changed spring by Dan Kyle. Told them to preset the suspension settings but they forgot to tell me what they set them to. I'll have my son post pic's later.
bringing back an oldie since I am going through this now (installing an Ohlins). Anyone considered just putting a metal rod through the swingarm pivot and placing jack stands under the rod? I had some long all thread that I just tried this with but it was bending pretty bad so I stopped. The all thread could have been thicker though (I think you may be able to do 1/2" through there, haven't measure yet).
You can also use a small jack from a car or truck between the rear tire and the rear fender/subframe. Use something to spread out the weight on the fender and you'll be just fine. You don't even need a rear stand to do it.
Installing a Ohlins shock.
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