Wilber shock install -Rear

[Peteoz]

Hey boys and girls......I've got the front shocks in after taking the tupperware off to get at the top bolts (without impacting the torn groin muscle ), so I thought I'd have a go at the rear. The Pitbull video is good, but I've got a Limited so the bags stop you from accessing the top bolt the same way as theirs. Has anyone installed a new shock on a Limited, or am I better off taking it to the dealer?

Pete

 

[cptjam]

Easy

Remove the 4 bolts, slip back, remove the 10mm bolts. The whole rear removes. Do the shock easily, reassemble. Joe

 

[Peteoz]

Remove the 4 bolts, slip back, remove the 10mm bolts. The whole rear removes. Do the shock easily, reassemble. Joe

Thanks Joe. I just pulled all the side panels and can at least see the top shock bolt now.....Sorry, but when you say "remove the 4 bolts", do you have time to elaborate on which 4 bolts? :thumbup:

Pete

 

[Highwayman2013]

To remove the saddlebags there are 3 screws inside the bag at the top and remove the plastic push pins and unplug the lights under the cowl behind the passenger seat. The bag comes straight off the side.

 

[Peteoz]

To remove the saddlebags there are 3 screws inside the bag at the top and remove the plastic push pins and unplug the lights under the cowl behind the passenger seat. The bag comes straight off the side.

Thanks Highwayman. Do you know if that will that actually give me better access to get a socket on the top shock bolt though? From what I can see now, it doesn't look like it will.

I will just have to see if I can work out Joe's instructions........they are probably super obvious after you have done it once, but I haven't done it even once, yet :thumbup:

Pete

 

[ABQSpyder]

Pete

Hey after you get your rear shock installed give a update on the Wilber's

Thanks

 

[Highwayman2013]

Thanks Highwayman. Do you know if that will that actually give me better access to get a socket on the top shock bolt though? From what I can see now, it doesn't look like it will.

I will just have to see if I can work out Joe's instructions........they are probably super obvious after you have done it once, but I haven't done it even once, yet :thumbup:

Pete

I think he's talking about an RT.

 

[Highwayman2013]

Thanks Highwayman. Do you know if that will that actually give me better access to get a socket on the top shock bolt though? From what I can see now, it doesn't look like it will.

I will just have to see if I can work out Joe's instructions........they are probably super obvious after you have done it once, but I haven't done it even once, yet :thumbup:

Pete

I just took off the Right side saddlebag and I could see the head of the bolt, but it looks like you could get a socket and extension on the top bolt with the rear aside panel off.

PS this is a great time to learn how to take things off your bike.

PSS You can unplug the tail light when you pull the bag out a couple inches.

 

[Highwayman2013]

 

[Peteoz]

I just took off the Right side saddlebag and I could see the head of the bolt, but it looks like you could get a socket and extension on the top bolt with the rear aside panel off.

PS this is a great time to learn how to take things off your bike.

PSS You can unplug the tail light when you pull the bag out a couple inches.

Thanks for all your help, Highwayman. I already have the rear side panel off and there are several metal brackets that prevent you getting a socket with extension in from the side. I may be able to see the 4 bolts (Allen bolts) that Joe is talking about, under the seat, holding a plate in place. I'll take them out first and see what it shows. Otherwise, I will get the dealer to do it when I take the F3 down to get Lamonster's rear wheel balancer installed. (Yes, I could do that myself, but bad knees make it hard and I would rather have them remove the wheel and do the realignment and belt tensioning.)

Pete

 

[rays hell]

shock

If I might ask, what are you replacing the rear shock with, and why ?

 

[Peteoz]

If I might ask, what are you replacing the rear shock with, and why ?

Replacing all round with Wilbers, Ray. Martin got me thinking......thanks Martin.:thumbup:

There is nothing seriously wrong with the stock shocks on the F3-L, but they are built to provide best results for Joe Average who weighs about 200lbs. I am well above that and the Wilbers are set for someone between 280 and 320lbs. They also have an easily adjustable damper if I am carrying a pillion. They also handle the potholed Aussie roads much better than the stock shocks. I am not looking to increase cornering speeds per se, but to provide a better cornering and ride "experience"

Pete

 

[Peteoz]

I just took off the Right side saddlebag and I could see the head of the bolt, but it looks like you could get a socket and extension on the top bolt with the rear aside panel off.

PS this is a great time to learn how to take things off your bike.

I believe I have a solution now, Highwayman, but no execution as yet. Undoing the bolts I thought Joe was talking about achieved nothing. Perhaps, as you say, he is referring to an RT.

i borrowed a thinner extension bar from a neighbour and this lets me get at the bolt through the side panel. Unfortunately, I need the same setup for the other side, but don't have a 2nd 15mm socket and extension. I will buy one today, and hopefully get the slippery little sucker of a top bolt out.

Thanks again for all your help.

Pete

 

[Highwayman2013]

Let us know how it works out.

 

[Peteoz]

Let us know how it works out.

Aaaarrrrrggggghhhhh. So I managed to get a 15mm socket with extension each side (must be only a 1/4" drive on the left side, to fit). Popped the bolt out and raced to stop it bouncing under the nearby garage freezer:shocked:. Removed the bottom bolt and out came the stock shock.
The reinstallation was accomplished (sort of) with much cussing and lost skin. Trying to get the new shock up under the frame and into its comfy little bed was not so hard, but keeping it there while you work blind trying to feed a 3" bolt through a tiny frame gap and into the shock hole was painful, to say the least. I was so excited when I finally did it that I ran upstairs to have sex with my wife, only to be reminded that I was married and there would be none of those "shenanigans":dontknow:

Disheartened, I went back downstairs and tightened the top bolt and moved to the lower bolt. Hmmmmmmmm. The stock shock has a small hole at the top and a larger hole at the bottom. A metal sleeve goes over the bolt and through the large hole, and two plastic spacers go over the metal sleeve to keep the shock centred. Unfortunately, the Wilbers shock only has a small hole at the bottom, large enough only for the bolt (not the sleeve), and did not include any spacers, so you can slide the bottom of the shock a few mm each way, which can't be right.

I am now waiting on a call back from the Wilbers dealer to see what the story is. What a bummer.....I had hoped to take the F3 for a trial run tomorrow.

Pete

 

[monkeyboymorton]

I was so excited when I finally did it that I ran upstairs to have sex with my wife, only to be reminded that I was married and there would be none of those "shenanigans":dontknow:

LOL!!!!

 

[papanorm]

Pete,
The best thing to do now is to pay your missus another visit and plead your case.

 

[ABQSpyder]

Pete
Amy update on your Shock dilemma?

 

[Peteoz]

Pete
Amy update on your Shock dilemma?

Not really, ABQ. The distributor is waiting on a response from Wilber technical. In the meantime, he has machined me two spacers to go over the 10mm bolt so that I can get the Spyder back on the road. These have just arrived and been installed, and the initial 30 minute shakedown showed a vastly improved experience over our potholed roads.

There is also a question as to why the new Wilber shocks were 10mm shorter than stock. They can be adjusted using the ride height adjuster, so this is not really an issue, but it's another question the distributor wants answered. Has the distributor ordered the wrong shocks? Has the distributor ordered the right shocks and the manufacturer sent the wrong ones? Has the distributor ordered the right shocks and the manufacturer sent the right shocks, but without all the accessories? Who knows, but it's a right pain in the bum ! :dontknow:

Pete

 

[ABQSpyder]

Pete

Sorry about your problems.
I went back and looked at Martin's video on his Wilbers at the 4:40 mark you get a close up of rear shock and then a little later on looks like it fits in the brace perfectly!!
I'm seriously looking at a set for my F3 so waiting on your review.

Thanks