Changing dog bones.....

[Corners R Us]

I'm having a bit of brain fade over this task!

My bikes got shortened dog bones on currently and I want to go back to the standard ones to do a back to back comparison. Now I can see that its a case of unbolting two bolts/nuts and swapping dog bones but what happens to the rear of the bike when the bolts are removed?

Will the back end drop down by much? Do you support the bike under the pipes with a plank of wood/trolly jack? Pointers appreciated on the best way to make this swap as my bike came with the shortened dog bones on it so the work was done by the previous owner.

Cheers, Corners

[Mincehead]

Yep, support the bike as a whole and let the swingarm `swing` as it were corners.
There`s some lifting/ moving that you`ll likely need to do with the arm too, you`ll see as you do it.

[Corners R Us]

Thanks for that 'Mincehead'. I'll have a second set of hands on standby I think just in case things get a bit hairy! I'm sure it'll all make sense once I've done it once. I'll leave the paddock stand to one side for this job!

I guess an Abba stand would be the kiddie for this job? I have access to one but I'll need to invest in the right adaptors for my TRX first. Any excuse to spend on some new tools gladly received......

Cheers, Corners

[Kayla]

You can do it the quick and dirty way too-

Put the bike on its sidestand with a 1" piece of wood under the stand so the bike is more upright and use a trolley jack or a scissor jack under the alloy casting on the right side of the bike. The jack will lever the weight of the bike off the back wheel so you can get the dogbones out. You don't need to lift the wheel off the ground, just take the load off the shock and linkage. It's easier to undo the bolts before you lift the bike

edit- it takes 20 minutes, including making and drinking a cup of tea

[BBB]

i used axle stands under the engine and alloy plates (with a bit of carpet on top) used the paddock stand to lift the bike onto the stands. Whilst the bikes lifted why not strip and re-grease the linkage??

[Kevtrx849]

Don't forget that the chain will tighten up as well as the wheelbase gets longer.

[Corners R Us]

Thanks to all for the various methods and suggestions. Task is scheduled in for tomorrow pm.

Kev: Thanks, I'd spotted the fact the chain will tighten and had planned to slacken off the adjusters and wheel nut to avoid fighting the chain in the process too!

Cheers, Corners