Courtesty of www.mototips.com
Take the shock off the bike and the spring and then clean the crap out of it, you want NO dirt on it when you do this.
2. Tap the bottom out plate from the shock body, its at the end of the shaf towards the body, you will see where to put a scewdriver to tap it out. After you tap it out you should see the dust seal and the seal head. Use a zip tye to hold it near the top of the clevis and out of your way
3. Release the nitrogen from the bladder.
4. Take the Cir clip out and remove the bladder. Take a pair of pliers and pull it out because there is alot of friction between the bladder and resivior body, oil may spill out so keep the shock over a pan or something.
Empty the oil out
5. Push the seal head down and take the circlip out like before. You have to push the shaft down a bit so you can push the seal head down.
6. When the circlip is out put the shock in a soft jawed vice. It is ok to use a regular vice just be careful and clamp it on a solid part of the shock, and dont use alot of force no matter what type of vice you use.
7. Pull up on the shock shaft, and rock it back and forth gently, it will pop out so be prepared when it does. Empty the oil.
8. Take brake cleaner and clean out the inside of the shock body and the valving stack. Get it as dry as possible.
9. I can only speak for KYB shocks for this so do your research on this step before you go grinding away if you dont have a KYB. Take a bench grinder that is stuck solid to the bech. You will see the stamping on top of the bolt, now grind that off, look at the picture to see what angle you have to do it at. Try to stay away from the blot ass much ass you can, you dont want to go too deep. But you want to let the bolt come off the shaft smoothly with no resistance after it comes loose initially.
10. I find that a pen works well for this. Put the end of the pen into the shaft and turn the whole deal upside down, the shims and the valve will go onto the pen, dont let them fall off so put a ziptye around each one.
Ok, thats it for disassembly. Let me know if you have any questions. Actually try to take the shock apart before you ask a question as just reading the instructions seem confusing, but when you work on it if makes more sense
Assmebly
If you took your bottom out bumper and the bottom out plate off the shaft make SURE you put them on before you put the seal head and such on, dont forget that shit. Take your new seal head and lube up the shaft(lol) and the seal head up with shock oil, put it on slowly and lean it slightly to one side and it should go on. Race tech sells a seal head bullet that keeps any damage from happening with installing a seal head. But i havent used one and so far i am 2 for 2 with succes on not having them leak. The shop is 0 for 1, go figure.
Now install the shim and such in the same order they went on, dont flip them upside down or anything stupid on accident. Now use a new nut with a drop of loctite and tighten it to 15 ft lbs. Wait a while for the loctite to dry and then continue.
1. For KYB shocks you need a special socket to take off the adjustor cap near the top of the shock, but i found that using a vice and a rag does the job fine. You will get some scratches but its ok. Just make sure you dont clamp the high speed adjuster, clamp the one with the 4 indents in it, youll see it. Personally i dont take it off, i just turn it enough so that i see the black o-ring, then i turn it in untill it dissapears.
2.Get some 2.5 wt shock fluid and pour it into the bladder side of the body untill it is about half full, try to pour it smooth to minimize air bubbles. After you pour it take your hand and hit it with the palm side so that you force the fluid into the body side of the shock. It works, trust me. move as much fluid through this way as you can.
3. after this keep the shock body in the vice straight up and turn the cap that you loosended earlier untill it is tightened lightly, then back it out again. Do this about 20 times untill you dont see air bubbles come from the high and low speed adjuster inside the shock, once agian youll see what im talking about. MAKE SURE THERE IS NO AIR LEFT IN IT AT ALL. Tap the area lightly with a rubber hammer and then turn it to make sure, just make sure there is zero air inside the adjuster.
4.After you do this fill the bladder side up about 3/4 full of oil, and tie a rag around the bladder body to avoid making a mess. After this take the bladder and put it striaght into the bladder body, oil should spill out over all the edges, install the cir clip.
5.Fill the body side about a quarter full of oil then take some air and pressurize the bladder a bit, make sure it comes straight up and not crooked.
6. Tie a rag around the body side like before and fill the body side up to about where the cir clip is supposed to go, then put the shock shaft into the body. Push it in slowly untill it is completely submerged in oil.
7. Now push the shaft down quickly and up slowly, do this untill air bubbles stop coming to the surface. Tap the clevis with a rubber hammer to take more air out of the shims. Dont skimp on this part.
8. When all the air is removed pull it up about 3/4 of the way in the body, dont let the hole that you see go above the surface of the oil.
9. Slowly take the air out of the bladder, and add oil while you do so so that the hole doesnt go below the surface of the oil.
10. Fill the oil up to the top of the body, now install the seal head, put will have to get some force on it so i use the bottom out plate to push it down, once it gets deep enough into the body you can push it with your fingers. Put the cir clip on, but make sure that bitch is seated and wont come out.
11. Fill the bladder up with about 100 PSI of air and once again, make sure the bladder cap is evenly seated onto the cir clip. Push the shaft up and down a couple of times, check for leaks, it should go down smoothly and come all the way back smoothly, if there is air in it you will feel it.
12. Take the shock to the local tire shop and get them to fill it up with 150PSI of nitrogen and you are good to go. A tire shop will do it for free, a motorcycle shop with charge you, so screw them.
Some will ask about the final bleed of the compression adjustor, i dont do that and so far i have had no problems, that is why i say make sure there is no air in the compression adjuster when you initially fill it with oil.
Problems?
1. Why cant i push the shaft into the body when i try to bleed the valving?
Your rebound rod has been stuck into the hard position, first make sure that the rebound adjustment is all the way soft. If that doesnt fix it take something soft, like a clothes hanger with a blunt end and put it down, youll see it in those two holes right below the valving if it is stick open or not, you should be able so see through it.
2. It leaks.
Ok, calm down, first push the shaft up and down and each time clean the oil from the shaft before you push it down again, if you do this abut 15 times and there is still a decent ring of oil then it is leaking, sorry. Check the shaft to make sure there is no rusting or pitting and that its not worn out, if everything checks out then you must have ripped the seal head when you installed it.
3. It feels like the shaft jumps when i push it down and that it does the same thing when it rebounds.
There is air in your valving or in your compression adjuster. So try this. Discharge the bladde very slowly so it doesnt recede in to bladder body. Loosen up the compression adjuster ( the same one you loosened ealrier) untill air burst out. Retighten it and line up the peen marks. If it still doesnt work right then you need to take it apart and redo the whole thing, do worry as this doesnt take long, and you can get some more practice in to. you dont make to empty the oil if this is your case.
4. The shaft doesnt rebound all the way out
There is not enough oil in your body, or you have lost your nitrogen charge already. If the ladder is the case then you will need to buy a new bladder. they are like 25 bucks so its not that expensive.
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