Distortion's guide to rear shock removal (CBR400nc29)

[distortion]

I have got a new cbr600 shock and linkage for my cbr400 so i needed to remove the standard one ready to install the replacement.

This was my first ever attempt at this and to my suprise it went better than i expected anyway here we go

Here is a picture of things needed: you will also need something to support the rear wheel, you will see this in pictures later on.
https://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/zxr600zxr/DSCF0808.jpg
The sockets are 12mm & 14mm and the allen keys are sizes 9,5,3.
The lighter was used becasue my garage is a bit on the dark side and i couldn't find a torch

Once you have the tools you need its time to remove the parts needed to get to the shock. As you see in the picture my bike is pretty much stripped down as its off the road at the minuite.

https://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/zxr600zxr/DSCF0799.jpg

The next step is to remove the left side heel plate. For this you will need a size 5 allen key and in the case of mine a bit of strength.

https://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/zxr600zxr/DSCF0801.jpg

the next step was to get the rear wheel off the ground. I did this by putting two axle stands under the engine towards the rear. If you can get a friend to help you that makes lifting the bike onto the stands alot easier, otherwise you will need some strength to do it as i did. As i was using axle stands i decided to chuck a few box's on the other side of the bike incase she went over. To add to the safety on my side i used an old damaged carbon can to keep the bike from going over my side, which i jammed under the engine on my side.

https://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/zxr600zxr/DSCF0802.jpg
https://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/zxr600zxr/DSCF0804.jpg

Once you have done that and got the balance right the rear wheel should be off the ground. You will need something to support the rear wheel so that its easyer to remove the bolts from the shock. I found an empty 4L oil bottle did the job perfect.

https://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y260/zxr600zxr/DSCF0807.jpg

Once thats comlete your ready to undo the bolts and remove the shock. For this you will need a size 9 allen key and a 14mm spanner/socket for the top bolt of the shock. For the lower bolt you will need a 12mm socket and ratchet with an extension bar.

Once you have removed the bolts the shock should pull out. In my case it needed a crow bar and a little bit of gentle persuasion, I suppose thats not bad really for a shock thats probably 13 years old and has never been touched since new.

If this helps one person its worth the time its taken to write out And its not hard to do either.

I suppose you could use this technique on different bikes too.
Any questions either pm me or post in this thread and i'll do my best to help you out.

Distortion