Rear shock removal

So, I have a new shock. All pretty and shiney. But I am having trouble getting the top bolt out of the old shock. It appears that either I neef several short extensions with u-joints in a 3/8" drive, or take out the battery/airbox. Which is it, oh wise GRiSO riders?

I have the back wheel off, the lower mounts loose, and the battery out. My chubby old farmer hands are having a hard time going further.

rick pope wrote:

 It appears that either I need several short extensions with u-joints in a 3/8" drive

This.
I used a wobble extension that gives a swivel angle of 15 degrees and had no issues removing (and replacing) the bolt.

Wobble extension link

I could get to the bolt but due to the shock being broken & bottoming out all the time, the top bolt was bent. Which caused its own problems

Watch out for that one.

Perhaps I need to clarify.  Do you access the bolt by going in from the right side of the bike, or through the airbox space, or some other way?  If going in from the right, I need to slide the socket/extension in through the space that offers a view of said bolt, so going in blind.

Working from memory, I went in from the right with a long extension bar

Thanks. It seems that when I cleaned out my toolbox when I got a new truck, I left a lot of tools at the shop. Extensions and swivels being some of the items left behind......

It's a pain in the arse, living 6 miles from my shop. But, it could be worse.

I’m going through the same thing, changing to a new van & 1/2 the time the tool I need is in the van I’m not driving

So, my love/hate relationship with the GRiSO continues. Every time I work on it, I cuss the Italian "engineers" who made things stupid difficult. I resorted to loosening the airbox to extract the shock out the top. No way could I get it twisted or rotated to come out the bottom or side. Of course, I lifted the airbox AFTER I had gotten the top bolt out.......... The new shock, having no reservoir, could slip in any which way.

But then I ride it, and that feeling of bliss flows over me again. The machine speaks to me.

I noticed somebody (recently posted here), undid the Right-hand side chop to get at the bolt better....if you can prop the bike up without a stand, this is likely the easiest way to get bolt out/in again.

Like most I use a handful of 13mm spanners/hex wrenches as the 'best tool' changes as the bolt moves out & usually only get 1/8 turn or so at a time. Airbox is a nightmare to remove & refit for the sake of one annoying bolt.

I agree Paul. Removing the pork chop would be easier, if I hadn't been using the stand, supporting the bike by the bobbins attached to the pork chop. If I ever do this again, I'll suspend the bike from my shop crane. Of course, I'll likely never go through this again.

I must give credit to my darling bride of 47 years. When we got done, her hands were as dirty as mine. She's a keeper.