[bkyee]

i recently bought a used 2002 ex500, but the previous own who was really short lowered the rear end to make it fit her. how do i raise it back up? she told me that she had it lowered via the collars/spring in the back. as it is now, the spring/shock has almost no travel if i press down on the seat hard, but she said that can be easily reversed.

i looked at the collars and they're all they way at the top of the threaded part of the shock. i tried doing the good old rubber mallet and long screwdriver but it seems it's on pretty tight, any suggestions?

any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

[fog]

OK , sounds like all she did was to crank down the spring pre-load. So all you have to do is crank it back up. You've got it right, It's that collar on the top of the chock. Put the bike on the center stand to take off some of the load on the collar then loosen the first nut , that's a lock. then turn down the second with a hammer and a long drift (screwdriver) till about 1" of thread shows then test ride of get help to set sag (the amount the bike settles when you sit on it). Last follow the adjustment nut with the lock nut and your done.

FOG

 

[bkyee]

Thaks for the quick reply FOG! One thing which may be a problem is that the previous owner removed the center stand. I put it up on a rear stand, however that probably doesn't help b/c it keeps the load on the swingarm. Also, I tried to loosen up the locking collor (top one) but since it's to the top already, it's not going to go up at all.

Is it possible to do this without the center stand?

 

[fog]

Try just laying it on it's side on a old car tire or somthing soft. Or hoist it up in the air by the grab handle. If the locking nut is all the way up you'll just have to drive the adjusting nut down some till you can get a little room to work the nut loose. People who remove the center stand ought to be horse wipped.

FOG

 

[bastard child]

sounds like alot of work to hoist it or lay it over. i'd just put the bike up on a jack or stand then drop out the shock. it's a whole lot easier to work on when it's sitting on the bench versus under the bike. then you can use a couple of channel lock wrenches to grab the rings and save all that damn beating on the rings. just my 2 cents not trying to step on your toes fog.

Bastard Child

 

[fog]

sounds like alot of work to hoist it or lay it over. i'd just put the bike up on a jack or stand then drop out the shock. it's a whole lot easier to work on when it's sitting on the bench versus under the bike. then you can use a couple of channel lock wrenches to grab the rings and save all that damn beating on the rings. just my 2 cents not trying to step on your toes fog.

Bastard Child

Let me know how you plan to hold it up on the jack stands with the shock out, er.. Bastard
FOG

 

[bkyee]

I'm interested in that too b/c I've got nothing to hoist it up on or anything to lay it over on.

 

[bastard child]

it would be quite easy if you had any [email protected] sense of how to use a balance point and how to stabalize things. your [email protected] center stand can do it, why cant you be a little creative and utilize something else. oh yeah damn when i did my links and the center stand didn't hold it high enough i had a buddy of mine help me lift the rear end up and slide a block with a couple 2x4's underneath the balance point of the center stand. ain't that a [email protected] hard of a solution unless you have no friends. not trying to be a smart a** fog but you came off a little cocky to me, so i opted to dish a little back. the very most important thing i learned about working on the ex is you gotta be creative, guess it helps a little that i work in sheet metal and that helps a bit as well, since you gotta be creative with working that as well. And if your worried bout stability, a couple anchor straps up front would take care of that. i'm sure you could find something to tie them off to. But as i stated before just my 2 cents take it or leave it i don't care, i won't lose any sleep if you don't.

Bastard Child

 

[fog]

Bastard made a good point there, something like a cement block and a bunch of shims under the centerstand brackets. By rocking the bike from side to side as you slip shims in you can raise it to what ever height you want.
I have given up on assuming "Common sense" on this forum, it seems to quite uncommon.

OH, Merry Christmas

FOG