Last Saturday I had the pleasure of a ride up to northwestern NJ to the home of a fellow Airhead, Dave Cushing, who was hosting a BMW tech day at his garage. My new Hagon shocks were securely strapped to the carrier on the back. I arrived at about 11:00 and after my initial meet and greet to the other fellows who had ridden in, I wheeled the bike into the garage and set it on the rear stand. I got out my tool roll with the intention of seeing if I could complete the task using the tools I carry with me regularly.
I changed them out one at a time, starting on the left. I loosened the mufflers and was able to get the old shocks out relatively easily. I found that I had to pry open the top and bottom cavities where the bolts went through to get the connection points on the shocks to line up with the holes. All in all it took about an hour. I needed to borrow a rubber mallet to persuade a bit, and a longer wrench to get more leverage on the bolts, and I didn't have to take off the seat.
The ride home was vastly different than the ride up. You get so used to the feel of the old equipment, and when new parts go on, particularly those that affect the ride, it's like woah, that's great! Why did I wait so long?
Anyway, its done, and I like them. Thanks again for the referral. Time to pile on the miles.
