2015 ES Shock removal

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CraigRegs
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2015 ES Shock removal

Post by CraigRegs »

When last we saw Craig, he was riding a spongy rear shock from Iowa to The Last Hurrah in Oregon and back, then to Ohio and on to Alabama for SFO, having failed to crack the code for removing the shock to have it rebuilt.

How it started:

http://www.fjriders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6703

How it's going:
With help from the forums, the shock has been removed, rebuilt by EPM Performance, returned, and remounted. $372 total on the rebuild for the shock: $139 for the HyperPro spring and $233 for the rebuild (seals, oil, nitrogen). A far better deal than the $3,000+ a new shock assembly costs from Mama Yama. Along with new tires, a valve check, new plugs, and other miscellaneous maintenance, my '15 with 121K miles is running like a top again, and felt smooth, planted, and stable at double the speed limit of local back roads…on a closed race track with a professional rider, of course.

So here's a broad look at the process I went through to remove the ES shock. It's really no different than removing a standard shock, I'd guess, but I've never done that, so if you have, feel free to contribute your $.02.

I'm not an experienced mechanic, but I can figure out a fair amount of stuff with the help of the forums, the FSM, and YouTube. I try to take my time and be deliberate in my procedures, taking plenty of photos and video as I go. I found it particularly helpful to photograph the occasional hidden fastener, directing my attention to it with a yellow pencil, to refresh my memory for reassembly, as so:

Image

At times, I use the mark-up feature on my phone as well to circle items, and make notes on a photo. I tag wires, connectors, and other odd bits left loose on the bike with blue tape to make them easy to spot so they don't get missed during reassembly. Video was useful for tracing the path of wires and looms so I could get them placed properly again.

For me, I followed the procedure in the FSM, removing the rear fender. As discovered in the previous thread, removing the mufflers (which the FSM says to do, but I chose to ignore…) allows the swing arm to drop enough to lift out the shock. Others have suggested removing the swing arm entirely. Seems like it would work too, so if you're due for maintenance on the swing arm anyway, why not? Give it a shot and tell us what you find.

First step is removing the tank and T-bar and the plastics from the tank to the back.



Then unplug and remove the SCU under the seat.

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Next, take out the air filter housing, then the storage compartment the SCU rests in, followed by the airbox. I then removed the rear wheel and the mufflers, and all fasteners securing the rear fender. Now comes the part unique to the ES: Before you can free the rear fender, there are two cables snaking through an opening in the fender and also through an opening in the top dust boot covering the shock’s driver motor, so you have to locate and disconnect the couplers (one black, one gray) and pull them through.
The black one is easily accessible from below: (NOTE: the arrow points the wrong way to the torsion bar. It's in the lower left of the image.)

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Pulling it through from above.

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The gray one is just plain tough to get to, but I found it easier to reach from below after the rubber boots were loosened. Gray connector circled, looking from the right side below the bike. Note the black connector on the right has not yet been pulled through. Screwdriver is holding the lower boot out of the way.

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For another look at that gray connector, here's a video I did during my first attempt at removing the shock and before I figured out the above. Skip to :18 in.



Finally, with all that stuff out of the way, I could unbolt the relay arms, and drop the swing arm. That creates plenty of room. After removing the bolts from the top and bottom of the shock, it lifts up and out.



Here are images of the old shock before cleanup. I think there may have been a bit of leakage; I don't believe that's all just road splooge.

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Image

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The shock returned from EPM all purply. I could have sworn I ordered a black spring, but apparently I saved $10 and went with the standard Hyperpro purple.

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Here she is bolted in place.

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Now just reverse the above, thanking your past self for thoroughly documenting all those fasteners, hose and cable routings, and for keeping all fasteners bagged and taped to their respective components. And remember to route the shock connector cables through the fender and boot before clicking the connectors into place.

Initial rides covering all 11 curves in 318 miles show distinct improvement. With new tires, and sand having already been spread during recent snowfalls, I haven’t been too aggressive in turns, but it certainly feels better going over bumps. Certainly worth the money.
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by bigjohnsd »

Purple spring goes with your Hi-viz stitch! JSNS
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by SkooterG »

Damn! Impressive! Thank for the documentation. That totally sucks that you have to remove the airbox and rear fender. What a PITA!
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by Cav47 »

What a great write up. What was the total time you suspect you could redo it in now with all the knowledge you have now?

What is the plan for the front suspension, or did I miss that you have worked on that as well?

I am still under 90K on mine, but I am guessing mine is prob pretty close to being needed.
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by escapefjrtist »

Excellent information and pics Craig. Thanks for the write-up!

~G
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by raYzerman »

Thanks for all the detail, Craig. Awesome write-up.
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by CraigRegs »

Cav47 wrote: Mon Dec 05, 2022 6:54 pm What a great write up. What was the total time you suspect you could redo it in now with all the knowledge you have now?

What is the plan for the front suspension, or did I miss that you have worked on that as well?

I am still under 90K on mine, but I am guessing mine is prob pretty close to being needed.
It took me a day to get the shock out. Probably a couple of days to get things reassembled...I was changing brake pads, mounting tires, installing plugs, etc while I had the patient open. As I mentioned in my write-up, make sure you have the ES cables routed through the fender and boot before connecting them. I didn't do that at first, so had to pull the boot and connectors again to route them through the fender. That cost me much of my vocabulary...

As for front forks, I've never done those myself either. Had them done once at 69K...probably time to do them again before warm weather.
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by Bugnatr »

That cost me much of my vocabulary... :lol: :lol:

Good one, we've all been to the edge at least once.
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by Dan Cooper »

CraigRegs wrote: Mon Dec 05, 2022 10:46 pm
Cav47 wrote: Mon Dec 05, 2022 6:54 pm What a great write up. What was the total time you suspect you could redo it in now with all the knowledge you have now?

What is the plan for the front suspension, or did I miss that you have worked on that as well?

I am still under 90K on mine, but I am guessing mine is prob pretty close to being needed.
It took me a day to get the shock out. Probably a couple of days to get things reassembled...I was changing brake pads, mounting tires, installing plugs, etc while I had the patient open. As I mentioned in my write-up, make sure you have the ES cables routed through the fender and boot before connecting them. I didn't do that at first, so had to pull the boot and connectors again to route them through the fender. That cost me much of my vocabulary...

As for front forks, I've never done those myself either. Had them done once at 69K...probably time to do them again before warm weather.

Glad you got that all back together, thanks for the write up, good job.
In hindsight, do you think it could be done without removing the airbox and / or rear fender and / or rear wheel?
I understand removing the rear wheel if you are changing tires and brake pads.

dan
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by Intech »

Nice write up Craig. I currently have my tank and airbox off as I had to service my starter. While I had all that stuff off I decided to do all the suspension pivot points. I did remove the swing arm. With that out I have to think I could get the shock out without taking the rear fender off. Was the spring you replaced it with a different rating than the original?
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by Canadian FJR »

Great post, thanks for taking the time.


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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by wheatonFJR »

I don't even have an ES and can appreciate what Craig has done with this write-up.

Great job Mr. Mayor of Iowa!
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by CraigRegs »

Dan Cooper wrote: Tue Dec 06, 2022 12:44 pm
Glad you got that all back together, thanks for the write up, good job.
In hindsight, do you think it could be done without removing the airbox and / or rear fender and / or rear wheel?
I understand removing the rear wheel if you are changing tires and brake pads.

dan
First, Dan, thanks for your insight on the muffler/swing arm interaction.

Removing the airbox provides access to the top shock bolt; the fender does have to be at least loosened and lifted to allow access and removal of that top boot over the driver motors; removing the rear wheel allows better access to the shock. I suppose you could leave it on if your lift has an opening that allows the tire to drop far enough to get the swing arm to drop far enough. But because you have to jimmy the fender around anyway, that would likely be easier with the wheel off.
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by CraigRegs »

Grabbed a few stills from videos to provide some extra insight and context on how things are put together.

Here’s a look at the boot covering the driver motor. You can see how the fender surrounds the boot.

Image

Looking from above with the boot and driver motor removed. I traced along the hose to the motor, which is hidden.

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Here’s the shock, ready for removal and the motor nestled in its boot.
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by Road Runner »

WOW Craig, great job documenting.
Glad I don't have all those bells and whistles. I thought I had it bad with the AE model shock R&R, but I'm good.
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by Dan Cooper »

CraigRegs wrote: Tue Dec 06, 2022 4:46 pm
Dan Cooper wrote: Tue Dec 06, 2022 12:44 pm
Glad you got that all back together, thanks for the write up, good job.
In hindsight, do you think it could be done without removing the airbox and / or rear fender and / or rear wheel?
I understand removing the rear wheel if you are changing tires and brake pads.

dan
First, Dan, thanks for your insight on the muffler/swing arm interaction.

Removing the airbox provides access to the top shock bolt; the fender does have to be at least loosened and lifted to allow access and removal of that top boot over the driver motors; removing the rear wheel allows better access to the shock. I suppose you could leave it on if your lift has an opening that allows the tire to drop far enough to get the swing arm to drop far enough. But because you have to jimmy the fender around anyway, that would likely be easier with the wheel off.

I can see now from the photos that R/R the driver motor mounting would be more difficult with the rear fender in place. Is that driver motor mounted to the bottom of the sub-frame cross brace plate in much the same position as the High / Low preload adjuster on the "A" model scooters? That would be the same plate that supports the ABS block.

That's much more labor intensive than R/R my Wilbers shock with the expansion cylinder mounted horizontal at the top of the shock. I've never had to remove anything more than the mufflers and maybe the right footpeg (can't remember that for sure).

Again all your work and photos / videos will be very helpful for future "ES" owners.


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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by CraigRegs »

Dan Cooper wrote: Wed Dec 07, 2022 5:15 pm I can see now from the photos that R/R the driver motor mounting would be more difficult with the rear fender in place. Is that driver motor mounted to the bottom of the sub-frame cross brace plate in much the same position as the High / Low preload adjuster on the "A" model scooters? That would be the same plate that supports the ABS block.

Yes, the ABS block bolts to the same bracket that the driver motor does. You can see one of the bolts situated horizontally at the lower left of the ABS block in the last photo of my previous post.
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by fontanaman »

Great write up Craig. Glad it all worked out plus you are happy with the end result. The ES has a spring rated at 685 pounds or there abouts. What is the rating of the HyperPro Spring.

Riding solo to get proper sag on my ES I have to set it to two helmets. Are you able to able to achieve a proper sag setting at 1 helmet or 1 helmet with lugguge?

Thanks.
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by FJRPittsburgh »

Really good write up Craig. A big thank you from ES owners present and future. I wish I could have been there to witness this spring replacement. From attending many tech days, I'm getting really good at watching people work.
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Re: 2015 ES Shock removal

Post by raYzerman »

I just put a HyperPro spring on my Versys, just experimenting since the straight rate one I had previously was a little harsh on that bike. My experience won't likely be truly relevant to an FJR. Our friends at HyperPro don't or won't readily disclose spring rates. Likely because it's progressive and don't have a good number. However, I don't see why they won't disclose something about the two spring rates they target.... but it should be stiffer than stock.

I'm interested in what new adjustments Craig is using once he gets some riding experience over different conditions.
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