| Author | Message | ||
     Piercethekiki |
Hello, Finally got around to mounting my brand new TM rear suspension on my 2000 X1. The damn silver poles of the shock wont allow mounting. They hit the exhaust. I'm so pissed. Does anyone know if this is a manufacturing error or if there is a way to "twist" the shock so it clears. The mounting instructions on TM website literally says to "twist the shock so it is clear off the exhaust and engine." But for the life of me I cannot find a way. Here is a link to that page https://www.twinmotorcycles.nl/artikelen.asp?cid=1 8&aid=267 Thanks for your help Buellers | ||
| Buellbum |
give us a pic of the problem. | ||
| Piercethekiki |
@Buellbum I will post personal pictures tomorrow as it is too dark to work outside anymore here in California. But I think the link I provided shows the nature of the problem quite well. The two large silver supports on the shock are too wide. They hit the exhaust (stock). The manual (the link I provided in initial post) even says to twist the shock, and in the picture that corresponds to that step it shows the metal supports angled (they are parallel with the floor on my shock, in the same plane as the eyes of the shock). So either my shock was assembled incorrectly or there is a way to twist the supports so they will clear as shown in the pictures in the link. Hope that offers some clarification. Also, the model of shock I have is the same unit as the one in the link but not the exact one used in the tutorial, it is the updated version which they have a picture of at the very bottom of the link page. Nowhere on the website does it say the shock (old or updated versions) will not work with stock exhaust. (Message edited by piercethekiki on December 21, 2020) | ||
| Blks1l |
You are going to have to use something between the bar and the a strong part of the shock body and pry it, you just have to overcome the spring tension. | ||
| 89rs1200 |
I have had this shock for a week now and love it. Smother than the old Works, Nearly as nice as the old Penske. Agree with Blks1l. Will need to hold the shock eyes so they will not rotate. Easiest done when shock in mounted. Try mounting at the front end, then rotate with a very large screw driver. | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Just be careful not to bend those metal rods. There are some cheap motorcycle shock spring compressors on amazon that would let you rotate the body easily without worrying about causing any damage. I'm sure something could be made relatively cheap to do the job too. | ||
| 89rs1200 |
Ahh. If it is so hard to turn as to bend the rods, then something is wrong and the shock needs to be returned. Surprisingly easy to turn once the initial spring stiction is over come. Reduce the spring preload to make it easier to turn. These shocks have a huge range of preload and compression adjustment from no effect to "I aint moving". | ||
| Upthemaiden |
I've never messed with one, so I wasn't sure, but I just worried a little when people started talking prying things with large screwdrivers haha. | ||
| 89rs1200 |
Upthemaiden you make me laugh. Only because I would otherwise cry at the thought of any tuber damage. I am getting nostalgic and hate to see them damaged or salvaged. | ||
| Bsanorton |
The orientation of those metal plates at the end can be rotated. Are you running the stock can? No issues with my V&H. | ||
| 34nineteen |
Yes, I had the same issue. You can rotate the shock (easier when mounted on the bike) and just take some weight off the shock. With the stock can, the ends of the shock will hit the muffler when the two rods are side by side. However, you can rotate the shock so the rods are above and below each other (but you cant get them to be directly over each other). I believe I oriented mine so the top one was closer to the center of the bike and the lower one was further outboard. I also considered making a small dent on the side of the muffler to add some clearance as well. Remember, the factory had no problem doing to it clear the primary drain plug. You should only have to make a small dent on one side, as I believe only one end of the shock actually moves. And it will be covered by the shock as well. | ||
| Piercethekiki |
I did it! Took it out for the first ride and it feels awesome. it's a bit stiff on current settings so I will adjust, but already feels amazing. I'm thrilled. For any future readers, I emailed TM and this is the exact response Martin gave me "mount the front of the schock in the mount, and twist the flanges ( and rods ) , easy to do with a long rod you can aline the rear mounting" For clarification, you have to place the front eye in the shock bracket and loosely bolt it in place. then place a rod of some sort into the rear eye hole (I used a big allen key)and use it to twist the shock about its axis. Once you have enough clearance on the exhaust, the rear eye should slide right in. Make sure you shim the rear wheel with wood so you can easily adjust the swingarm height so the shock eye and swingarm align and allow for the bolt to easily slide in. Torque it up and head out  | ||
| 34nineteen |
The shock is pretty darn nice. I was able to rotate mine with my hands when mounted to the bike. It wasnt easy, but wasnt that hard either. I wound up using a rear stand and a bottle jack to take some weight off the suspension. Martin at TM is a good guy. |
