Curvy - ZX10 04/05 Shock Swop

[Pete7]

So, with 28k miles on my naked yellow Curvy the rear shock was well past it which showed up with every pot hole lifting me out of the seat. A couple of months research on here and the US SV Forum lead to purchasing a ZX10 04/05 shock in good condition from a fellow forumite

Fist step was to sort out the battery space as the ZX10 shock reservoir fouls the battery. Didn't fancy cutting the battery tray or moving the battery, but a post on the US forum suggested bending the whole undertray down and away from the shock would give sufficient clearance. Some folks were using home made brackets others bits of biro pens to act as a spacer, neither of which appealed. Bits of Biro pens FFS

So down to the local yacht chandlers and 10 minutes later I had 2 x 70mm bolts, 4 nuts and 6 large stainless steel washers. Loosening the rear undertray bolts and then replacing the existing front bolts with the 70mm ones enabled the tray to be bent down and away from were the ZX10 shock reservoir would sit. The undertray bolt holes were enlarged with an electric drill to line up with the sub frame bolt holes btw.

Next the bracket that holds the rear of the fuel tank has an extra piece underneath to hold the battery in place. This was hack sawed off quite easily and a steel strap made up to now hold the battery in place, bolting though the undertray. Finally the plastic tray which sits on top of the battery and holds the fuse box was discarded. Instead the fuse box how clips under the middle of the rod which holds the seat down at the back, handy

Next the bike was jacked up by reversing the footpegs and using car axle stands under the foot pegs. Then undo the the existing shock bolts, well not quite. Despite my best efforts I couldn't undo the bolts at all. Off to the local bike tire place this morning and they agreed to do the shock change. In the end an impressively long breaker bar undid the bolts but it was touch and go.

In with the new shock and oops the new 62mm Kawasaki lower shock bolt was too long. It needs a 55mm bolt on a Curvy. 30 seconds later with an angle grinder and we had a 55mm bolt.

A quick ride later to warm the new shock up and then adjust the damping and compression etc which really needs two people to do it properly.

So was it worth it? Oh yes, instant improvement going over the pot holes, grids and white lines around Gosport. No more being ejected out of the seat and the rear end feels much more planted. Nor does the bike twitch going from leaning one way to the other. Worth the £70 for the ZX10 shock, absolutely and with the front end having new Hagon springs and oil a few months back means this little yellow curvy now handles properly

Pete


.

[Mauler]

Nice work! I'm still not sold on cutting up an undertray but whatever works, works!