Hi has anyone changed their shock without the benefit of a centre stand? If so any advice much appreciated (apart from "buy a centre stand") :thumbup:

Hiya deiferdog; I haven't but can't see why, so long as you can use something to stand in as a centre stand, you can't do it without actually having one. A bit of leverage and some bricks and 4x4 or something seems likely to give you what you need to do the job

 

I did my complete restoration with the centre stand removed & haven't bothered replacing it since.
Never had any problem with bike falling off stands, but it collapsed an hour into the resto when the damn centre stand retracted as I removed the front wheel !!
What made it worse was I'd removed the sump plug & was draining the oil as the bike collapsed & smashed the bowl I was collecting the oil in !!
There's alot of oil in an @ I can tell you, especially as it spreads across the shed floor

You'll need the following...
2 axle stands or something suitable
2 foot length of 3x2 or larger
Trolley jack

Remove sump guard
Stick the timber on top of the jack 'cup' then place this squarely under the frame rails below the swingarm pivot
With a friend or two steadying the bike, slowly jack the bike up until it's rear wheel clears the ground.
Place an axle stand under each end of the 3x2 & gently lower until the bike rests on the frame rails & front wheel.
Give it a gentle shake to make sure all's good then get the plus-gas out cause your gonna need it

Ps... Here's a link to my rebuild showing the bike sitting on axle stands with a piece of carpet to protect my bling frame

http://www.xrv.org.uk/forums/africa-twin/85198-not-another-rebuild.html

 

Actually, I've just realised that I've got an ABBA stand from my Speed Triple days. Wonder if the swing arm adaptors could be adapted by welding a socket on to fit over the swing arm nut??

 

You can get fittings from ABBA for other bikes, might be worth giving them a call.



Andy.

 

Cheers Mack1, sounds very do-able. Nice one :thumbup:

 

By the way...
Just a little friendly advice, incase you didn't know...

When you come to replacing the shock in the frame, you have to attach the bottom linkages to the lower shock eye, then attach the top mount before attaching the bottom links to the frame & swingarm
I made the mistake of attaching the shock to frame, the linkages to the frame & swingarm & then found you cant get to the bottom shock mount because of the way the linkage sits

 

Try using a car scissor jack between tyre and sub frame to hold wheel and bike in correct position while the shock is out , plus you can very finely adjust gap to relocate while refitting.

 

+1

 

Checked the ABBASTANDS site but they don't list one. Have emailed them to ask if they would do one but not holding my breath on that one......

 

Checked the ABBASTANDS site but they don't list one. Have emailed them to ask if they would do one but not holding my breath on that one......

I have contacted ABBA STANDS in the past and they don't make a stand that will take the Arica Twin.

Try using a strap through the rear wheel and round the seat to hold it in the correct position. I did a shock replacement a short time ago it's listed on here under (Time to fit the Nitron) if your interested, i had no problem fitting the top of the shock to the frame first.

good luck:thumbup:

nigel.

 

I use a motox stand to do the work on the vigor , but the @ maybe to heavy for that , I can just about get the Vigor on it by myself,
the little TDR250 stroker is a cinch to put on it though

 

Use a jack and length of wood as has been stated

You might find this useful regarding removal and help aligning the bolt holes, and general stuff you should do before removing the shock

http://www.xrv.org.uk/forums/product-reviews/83386-nitron-ntr-xtreme-shock-rd07-07a.html

 

I've used various methods over the years. The last was the best.

 

^^^ That's a posher version of my 'lash-up'... Yen