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:
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.
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.)
Pulling it through from above.
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.
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.
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.
Here she is bolted in place.
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.
