If you read the crank seal post, you will know that I had to remove my shock absorber in order to access the sump drain plug on my S1.
Most owners have a rear wheel stand, but not everyone has a garage roof from which a block and tackle can be suspended in order to support the frame, once the shock eye bolt is removed.
The following is a simple way of supporting the bike, using only the wheel stand, so that the shock can be safely removed for servicing, cleaning etc.
It will only work if you have a similar set up to mine, ie. you haven't taken the grinder to the hugger/ belt guard mounts but with a bit of thought, could be adapted to other Swing arm set ups.
If you still have the mounting lugs on your X1/M2 style swing arm, you can use these to keep the frame/ swing arm relationship constant while the shock is off the bike and will make re-aligning the bolt holes easy.
Most of us have a "rummage" box in the garage/shed. All you need is a bit of diameter stock with a hole through it and a bolt and washers. I didn't have a piece long enough to suit, so I added a few odd bits together.
Ideally it would be best if the bolt was equal dia. to the hole, but it's not too critical, as long as you tighten it up at the bottom of the hole, so that under load, it cannot sag any further. The diameter of the spacer is not critical, as long as it still has a small gap between it and the frame.
Tighten the whole thing up.
Now it's tight, you can see that there is still a gap between the frame and the spacer. If I undo the shock now, the frame will still sag by this amount.
If you've ever assembled a flat pack kitchen, you will have lots of these little wedges left over from the project. Slide one into the gap between the frame and the spacer. Because the shock already has a slight load on it from the weight of the frame, give the rear of the frame an upward tug, while pushing the wedge in slightly further. If you do not have any of these wedges, then a piece of wood will do equally well.
Loosen the front shock bolt a turn, then remove rear bolt.......
...........So that the shock drops away.
The shock is clear and the frame/ swing arm relationship is unchanged. This makes re-assembly lemon squeezy.
