I just got a set of progressive shocks for my 92 FXSTS. The instructions made the installation of the shocks seem fairly simple. I only have one problem. I can't get the stock shocks off. I jacked the bike up tried to wrench the bolts off and could not even budge them. Do I need a special tool or am I just doing something wrong? I read the service guide and it gave no special instructions as to how to remove the shock bolts.

 

I have never done this job, but as I'm planning in replacing my stock shocks with a progressive ones, I've read about the issue of taking the bolts off. Some people says that applying heat to the bolts makes a lot easier to take them off. Do it so, but don't apply too much heat, just with the warm bolts should be enough to do it.

Hope this helps. Please, let me know if you do so or another way because, I've said to you, soon I'll have to do the same.

Regards from Spain

--
Javi

 

If you can squirt some Liquid Wrench or other super penetrant on them that might help a little. I never used heat. I'd be worried about setting myself on fire or melting bushings. When I worked on mine I fell back on my experience with similar bolts and fasteners in my cars and attacked these bolts in a similar fashion.

The rear shock bolts are a pain to remove. Even once you break them loose they will take a lot of time and patience to fully extract them. There is a lot of locktite in there as well as there being very limited space to turn a wrench. Unfortunately there is little space to get a socket on there either as you no doubt already found out.

I know Snap-on and a few other companies make a torque adapter that will be invaluable in getting those off. It amounts to a crows foot with an extended arm on it that would allow you to get up in there and get sufficient torque on them. I never bought one of those adapters but I did find a couple ways to do the job without them.

No matter what the first chore is breaking them loose. I jacked my bike up to gain access and then got a combo wrench on the bolts. Then I used a 2-3# hammer to whack on it (with the aforementioned penetrant squirted on). You aren't beating the hell out of it here but you are giving it sufficient force to crack the thing loose. From there you use patience and force to twist the bolts out. It'll take time, especially if you have long wrenches. There is a point where a stubby wrench will pay dividends because you can get a longer stroke before having to reposition the wrench.

That was the best way to go if you don't want to pull too many parts off. Another alternative is to pull the swingarm. At first that sounds like more work but in hindsight I found that method to actually be a bit easier overall. My first shock removal was to install shocks like you are doing. This second time I was adding a chrome swingarm. Obviously I had to pull shocks in both cases. Recalling how much fun I had with the shocks the last time gave me an idea. While everything was still bolted up I broke the shock bolts loose. Then I pulled the swingarm but left the shocks on it. Once the swingarm is free from the bike you have direct access to the shock bolts and can use a combination of sockets, breaker bars, etc to do the job much faster and easier. With some imagination you can figure out a way to hold the swingarm in place and get the shock bolts on and torqued to spec before reinstalling on the bike. That will save you the frustration of trying to torque them down from behind the frame boomerang.

On the install I suggest more lock-tite of course. Another suggestion is to use some nail polish to mark vertical lines on the shock bolts once they are in place. That way you can check them to see if they move over time.

Maybe it was because I had to pull the swingarm anyway combined with the fact that I already had some intimate wrench time with those pesky bolts but in hindsight I really felt like removing the swingarm to get to the rear shock bolts required much less effort than trying to minimize the amount of parts removed.

Hope that helps.

 

That sounds like it would work. But there is not much room down there and I think I might be scared to heat up something other than the bolts. It's looking like I'm probably going to have to take the bike in and have the job done by a mechanic and that hurts because it is such an easy job If I could just get the darn shock bolts off. This ones got me really confused.

 

Since you aren't afraid to get your hands dirty the swingarm removal might be a good option for you. It will give you open access to the bolts where you can get leverage. That's the main issue with trying to get them off in place.

Although it'll mean more work for you, it will cost you less than having a shop do it for you (unless of course your labor rate is higher than yours).

Good luck.

 

That definitely does help. Now I at least know I was going about the removal correctly. I just didn't know how much time and effort was involved because it simply says in the manual to remove bolts. It doesn't give any advice as to how to do so. Messing with that swing arm does kind of make me nervous though, I have never done anything like that. But that may be my only alternative if I can't get these bolts free. Before I do that though I think I want to exhaust all my efforts trying to free them without removing the swingarm. Is it possible to do it with basic wrenches or might I be better getting the snap on tool you were describing? Where might I look to find the snap on torque wrench? One more thing, would you happen to know what price a shop might charge to do this job? Because if it wasn't too unreasonable a price that might be an option.

 

Also am I going to need that snap on torque wrench to get the shocks back on to the correct specs anyway. I could be wrong but it doesn't seem like the conventional torque wrench would work in the position it is going to have to be in. Thanks for your help.

 

When I changed mine the only hard part was breaking the rear bolts loose. Once i got the bike up as high as I could on my jack i used a box end wrench and a couple of good hits with a ball pien hammer broke them loose. Install I did not tourgue because i did not have the Snap on adapter, I used plenty of blue loctite and tightened then as tight as I could with a long box end wrench. That was more than 10,000 miles ago and they have not come loose, but I check all the fastners i can at each service.

More info is at www.fatbillscustoms.com

 

Did you get the job done. I had to put a pipe extention on and they still came off hard all the way. I see a bigdifference in the shocks expecially when 2 up, worth the time. It took me about 4 hours. I originally asked a shop to do it and they wanted ~$300 buying the shocks for them.

J

 

To get to specs (for certain) you would need to either use the torque adapter and a torque wrench or torque the bolts with the swingarm off the bike where you could get a wrench on them without obstruction.

Or... after you bust them loose, like xaran and I described with a wrench and a hammer, make a mental note of how much effort it took to break them loose. Do the same process in reverse to get them back on. It might not be to exact spec but it will be close. That's why I advocate painting a vertical line on the bolts. That way you can see if they bolts move over time. Mine have stayed put so I would say the answer to your question is no, you do not need a torque adapter. If you don't pull the swingarm, just tighten the bolts as best you can by hand and whack on the wrench a couple times with a hammer to get them a little tighter. Paint your line and within a week when you see your lines haven't moved. Then you will feel confident you got them back on tight enough.