Ohlins Rear Shock - How to raise bike off ground for install

[evfz]

Many people have written about installing a new rear shock (remove rear plastic fender and loosen front/back shock mount bolts before lifting off ground), but I have not come across a good description with pics on how to raise the rear tire off the ground, so here we go.
 
Here is the new Ohlins YA 419:
 

 
I decided to run a bar through both of the passenger foot peg triangles:
 

 
Unclip the rear brake line (to the right of the shock in this picture) so the bar can be threaded over the line - it is very flexible once removed from the clip:
 

 
I used my wheel stand to raise the rear end, placed the jack stands on blocks to make taller, and lowered the wheel stand until the bar was resting on the jack stands - this left the rear wheel about 2 inches off the ground and was very sturdy:
 

 
And finally, the Ohlins is secured into its new home! Once the shock is installed, don't forget to measure the rear suspension while it is fully extended so you have this first measurement in order to accurately adjust sag:
 

 
Once you have the measurement, you can lower the rear of the bike off the jack stands (use the wheel stand again), remove the bar, torque the front and rear shock bolts, re-install fender, and then complete setting up your sag. With me on the bike wearing gear, mine is set up with 30MM of sag and 14 clicks on the rebound adjustment right now. I'm sure I'll be tweaking over the next few days.

[howlinhoss]

Nice write up. This will be very helpful for any aftermarket shock install.
 
Does the Ohlins have ride height adjustment?

[grahamfz07]

Great idea to raise up the rear, thanks

[rick]

Nice write up. This will be very helpful for any aftermarket shock install.  
Does the Ohlins have ride height adjustment?

That's the shock that comes with the Andreani kit and the one I just put in - no height adjustment. Just preload and rebound done with that black knob at the bottom. 
 
Along with losing some weight with losing that OE, POS, steel bodied, emulsion shock results in quite a transformation. The back now glides over bumps that use to kick in the ass. And no more boing, boing, pogo-ing. 

[bmwpowere36m3]

Good stuff... Lifted my rear-end the same way.

[n2shotokai]

I have the same shock. That and front springs and it is a completely different bike.

[gregjet]

EVFZ,
Are you an exDucati owner ( or VTR250). As the swingarm isn't attached to the frame they have to pull a similiar trick to work on the back of the bike as you can't put anything under them.

[evfz]

EVFZ, Are you an exDucati owner ( or VTR250). As the swingarm isn't attached to the frame they have to pull a similiar trick to work on the back of the bike as you can't put anything under them.

Nope, just a Junior MacGiver looking for a way to get the shock installed and set up my suspension. My next challenge for supporting the bike will be when I rework the forks. I may support the front of the bike using the frame sliders - has anyone tried this?

[rick]

My next challenge for supporting the bike will be when I rework the forks. I may support the front of the bike using the frame sliders - has anyone tried this? 
 

You already have a rear stand. Use this as an excuse to buy a nice stem stand. You won't have to be creative or waste any time. just hoist it up.
 
 You'll need one anyway when it comes time to change a front tire. If you have the tools and ability to do that Andreani conversion, changing your own hoops will be a snap with just a few more tools. 
 
And no, you can't have too many tools. 

[gregjet]

Best front support is a proper steerer tube pin mount with adjustable pins so you can use it on other bikes. Very good investment if you work on your own bikes . The Frame sliders should work IF YOU ARE CAREFUL lifting and dropping the bike back down. Depends on how long and how strong the slider bolts are . If they are too long there may be too much leverage. If they are shorter and the slider actually goes into the little cylider in the frame they should work really well.

[zoomin]

I'm new to the site and have just purchased an FZ-07. Since I do most of my own bike maintenance I was interested in fabricating a lift of sorts using the same "triangle" that you chose.My question: what is the distance between the floor and the bottom of the bar through the triangle with the wheel two inches off the floor? You did a nice presentation using the jacks.

[evfz]

I'm new to the site and have just purchased an FZ-07. Since I do most of my own bike maintenance I was interested in fabricating a lift of sorts using the same "triangle" that you chose.My question: what is the distance between the floor and the bottom of the bar through the triangle with the wheel two inches off the floor? You did a nice presentation using the jacks.

I didn't do any measurements so I'm not sure. I know I had to use 4" blocks under my large jack stands to make it work. You should be able to get a friend to help you hold the bike level, run a bar through the triangles, measure, then add a good 6" to that number to get a ballpark on it. Good luck and show pics of your lift when finished.

[ravenlord]

1.5" pipe a-frame thing and some ratchet straps works pretty well as an overhead crane. I am personally a fan of just using my engine crane to hoist the bike up in the air.

[howworkclutch]

Then send it back. That one was probably built for another bike but found its way into the wrong box.
 
I just installed one. No lateral play. No shimming required.