How to install GSXR shock on SV

From: Zoran Vujasinovic Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 After 4 of these It's getting close to easy. Take seat and tail body off. Take battery out. Unbolt tank hinge and cut of part that pushes against battery. Hang bike with tiedown off the ceiling (easier than jack). Take out six bolts that hold fender to subframe (4 under and two next to tail light). Push fender back as much as wire will let you. Unbolt shock and rear bolt of linkage bones, pull shock out. Install GSXR shock. Tighten top bolt. NOTE: before installing bottom bolt grind head of it for about 1/16-1/8" so bolt does not touch linkage bone when shock slides left and right (it is normal for shock to move left and right). Tighten bottom bolt. Install and tighten linkage bolt. Push fender forward and you will see where it touches shock - cut it out around shock untill it does not touch. (dremel is worth the money here). Install and tighten six bolts. take side foam out of battery box - battery will go in tight and touch shock. If you want more room for the battery take out the 4 bolts under the fender and put a washer between fender and sub-frame (no need to take out other 2 bolts by tail light). Install the rest of the parts and enjoy clicking your new shock. The year of shocks that fit are: 96,97,98,99 gsxr 750 97,98,99 gsxr 600 new 00 gsxr shock will not fit,it is to short. Zoran ALSO SEE: I have followed his wisdom and added some images. http://kdub.gotdns.org/moto/gsxrshock/ kevin williams dallas, tx AND... Thought you might want to know that a 01' shock works just fine and i think it's the same as a 00'. i just put 315mi of peg and shifter dragging fun on my 02' sv650 w/ no problems with the 01' gsxr shock, in fact it dramaticly improved tracking through the fast stuff! I got mine for $35 on ebay plus everyone should know that JHS racing makes suspension links that raise(or lower) the rear 1in. for less than $50. It is easy for fellow svriders to ditch the horrid stock shock for the better gsxr unit. By Steve Lee: I would like to post an addendum to the section on installing a GSXR shock on an SV. A gentleman claims to have installed an ‘01 shock on his SV. I took his advice and tried to install an '01 after being told by others that the post ‘99 shocks don't work and guess what? It didn't work. I would not recommend anybody try use a post '99 shock. Why? They are shorter than the stock shock and drop the back end down instead of raising it up which is preferable. To make the install work, the battery either needs to be relocated or the inner fender needs to be spaced over an inch below the subframe leaving the battery box bent down at a steep angle and close to the back wheel. It's not a good setup at all. It is worth it to just get the '99 GSXR 600 or 750 shock. I just installed a ‘99 GSXR 750 shock and it works great. It raised the back about ¾ inch. The battery install is snug, but works. The directions posted on this site for installation are very good and work as stated. Steve Lee   ALSO..... I performed the installation and it went pretty much as detailed. I would like to add that I had better luck installing the bottom shock bolt first. I don't know if its like this on all GSXR shocks but on mine one side of the bottom shock linkage has a threaded receiver. Getting the bottom to line up after installing the top bolt was proving very difficult because I was having trouble compressing the shock (not much, maybe 1/8 inch) without messing up the threads. I removed the top bolt and instead installed the bottom first, then using a center punch was able to align the top linkage and insert the bolt. Just my 2 cents. John Sabine