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R6 Rear Shock Mod

57K views 77 replies 29 participants last post by  07fazer 
#1 · (Edited)
Well like I posted in FAZr6's fork mod thread, I got my pictures of this mod so far. I got the rear shock as part of the deal when I bought my forks so decided to try and make it fit. Beside what I said you have to do in my post in the other thread you would also have to cut some of the undertray/hugger but only where the top shock mount is. :cheers to mike and the can of worms he opened :lol

NOTE: Please Read All the Thread and The End for Important Info. Before Attempting to Complete Mod. More is in the works, but I just posted this to show it could be done! All pictures are in order of completion (w/exception of the second to last).

Instructions For Completing the R6 Rear Shock Mod:

Materials needed:
1. 2004 R6 Rear Shock w/top linkage bolt and nut (other years may be used as long as reservior runs down the lenth of the shock and not horizontal, like on older ones)

2. Cutting Tool (anything used to be able to cut through aluminum) I used a air compressor and die grinder w/ cutting tip.

3. Can of Primer and Aluminum Colored Paint (Optional-to touch up part that is cut)

4. Small 2x4 or similiar to hold up tire when shock is removed.

5. File Set (optional, to smooth out rough edges on cuts)

Step One:

Place Bike on Rear Stand and Remove Seat. After removing seat also remove both side covers (labeled FZ6).

Step Two:

Remove tire hugger w/10mm wrench or socket, 4 bolts-two on left and two on right, there is a plastic rivet on the front of the hugger to remove push in the dot in the center and it'll pop up.

Step Three:

Remove FZ6 shock. Start with lower, will need a 14mm wrench and socket(wrench to hold nut and use socket to loosen and remove bolt, CAUTION: tire and swingarm may fall away to ground place 2x4 underneath for support.
Now use 14mm socket and loosen and remove nut on the left side of bike for the top of the FZ6 shock, after removing bolt push bolt out through the other side (remember to hold shock so it doesnt fall out). Once unbolted you will have to manuver it out. Once shock is out you can pull 2x4 out from underneath to let the tire settle to the ground which will give you some extra working clearance.

Unhook Trunk lock cable from catch in the undertray and move aside [U](don't not forget to reattached when finished or you'll be locked out of the underseat storage)[/U] Remove undertray- two bolts at the back one on the front right of tray and one on the left side right above the lock cylinder for the storage. (Tray will take some twisting and effort to remove!)

Step Four:
Now for the not so faint at heart! Cutting time; taking cutting tool and remove excess material from the top shock mount as shown as colored area on Before Cutting Mount picture (picture was moved second to last), after cutting it should look like the After Cutting Picture. This will allow room for the top of the shock mount where the reservior's oil passages come out (cutting this exactly as shown allows for clearance even with suspension in play)
You can use the paint here to coat the exposed aluminum where it was cut to prevent from rusting (is optional; but a good idea nonetheless)

Step Five:
Time to mount the R6 Shock! NOTE: Before installing shock twist the lower mount on piston rod so that dampening adjusting screw is facing the right side of the bike (will make for easier adjusting) Take the lower mounting bolt and nut from the FZ6 shock and use it to mount the R6 shock at the top (push bolt in from right and screw nut/w washer in on the left. Take the bolt from the R6 shock top mount and nut from the FZ6 top and use to bolt it up at the bottom. Make sure all bolts are tightened once installed!

Step Six:
Now you will have to cut the undertray to make room for the reservior that will extend out back. You will have to cut as shown in Undertray Picture. Best method is to take measurements of width and depth and cut. I did it by eye, but not everyone can do that so its up to you. After thats done put the undertray back in it's place and bolt on; DONT FORGET: to reconnect the cable for the lock, I can not stress it enough!

Step Seven:
After that you will now need to cut the tire hugger. You only have to cut out the space behind the reservior so that it wont come into contact with it when the suspension travels. Cut as shown on Cutting Hugger Picture. I opted to do away with my hugger :pisson as I saw another member here do and liked the outcome. Again it comes to personal preference. After cutting enough space for reservior check with hugger back on and bounce the susp. so that you verify clearance, if not you'll have to remove it all over again and cut some more; once done bolt hugger back on and on the plastic rivet push the thing in the middle up through the base and you can snap it back into the swing arm, once in place you can know push the thing in the middle back down to secure it. Wah Lah all finished!

PLEASE READ BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO DO MOD:

The R6 spring is smaller than the FZ6 spring by almost 1/2 an inch; which means that the rear will be lowered. I have lowered the front some through the triples to match front/rear. One other thing that I noticed is that even on the highest preload the R6 shock is as soft as my FZ shock on the #4 setting because it is now under direct forces (ei: up and down from mount to mount instead of movement through linkage). The spring doesnt need to be as stiff as the one on our bike so the last thing to complete this mod is to take the spring off of the FZ6 shock and replace it with the spring of the R6 shock; this will retain ride height, original preload, but still have adjustability. ( I am saving this for another day because it will require a spring compressor and more time, I just wanted to get the hard part out of the way) Some of you may say wait but the piston rod of the R6 shock is shorter so it won't work, my thinking is that its shorter by 3/8's of an inch so putting on the FZ spring won't pull it out that far, plus accounting for the adjusting the preload and rider weight will compress the rod enough for the shock valve to be in effiecient operating zone.

Personal Comments:
With the R6 shock at highest preload and comp. damp at 3 clicks from high and rebound bout halfway it feels same as my fz6, but will be corrected when the springs are swapped. But so far with the shock and lowering the front and twisting the handle bars slightly back (lower) it feels like a diff bike and I haven't even done the Fork mod yet! Much more confident solid feel from the rear; I was even able to get out more of a lean when in a 25mph decreasing radius corner that with the old set up before to me felt unstable. Definatly after "swapping the springs" I think it is a very good mod, as far as stability and handling. Im going to try and talk to my boss about using the spring compressor at work (auto shop) to swap my springs; or see if I can get a hold of a spring compressor then Ill post an update. :cheers

P.S. Sorry about the low quality of finished product, Ill see if I can get better ones later. If anyone needs some diff. pictures or clarification on anything drop me a pm or email(if requesting addtl. pictures).
 

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#6 ·
I just won an R6 shock on Ebay for $18.50. So I guess that I will be trying this one out too. If it doesn't work I should be able to sell the shock for at least what I paid for it. :cheers
 
#7 ·
I just shot off an email to Ohlins to get their opinion on this modification. Hopefully they will have good news. I will post their reply.
 
#8 ·
Ohlins sells a shock for the FZ6, what is the advantage of using the R6 shock?
 
#9 ·
diff. is mine ($25.50) ebay, compared to ohlins $500+ :D
 
#11 ·
Just wondering if we were to maybe use the 99-02 model ones we would not have to cut any plastic from the hugger since the oil resevoir in located sideways on the top opposed to the 03-04 model, then again that main open up another problem for fit at the top. Look forward to see how this works out. Keep us updated if anyone gets any where on this project.
 
#12 ·
I'll be watching this for sure. Like Shadow_Can, I'd be worried about spring rates. I can understand how the shocks would look the same when the linkage is off, but the linkage can change the way the spring rate is designed. Some linkage designs provide lots of leverage, so the spring needs to be really stiff. Sometimes the leverage changes as the linkage moves, requiring a spring rate that changes with travel. I guess if it's way too stiff or something, you can always buy another spring with the exact spring rate you want.
 
#14 ·
Just my $0.02 ...

You really need to have a shock that is designed for the bike. The eye-to-eye distance and the travel need to be correct otherwise you could really mess up the geometry of the bike. The R6 forks obviously work very well on the FZ6 but the rear shock is much more specialized.

I have an Ohlins on order (Model 46HRC Part #YA402) but was just told that it will be 7-8 weeks before it arrives in this country. The price was $615 at Cal-Sportbike but I have seen it as low as $599 elsewhere. The price includes having the correct spring for my weight put on by Ohlins.
 
#15 ·
eprior said:
Just my $0.02 ...

You really need to have a shock that is designed for the bike. The eye-to-eye distance and the travel need to be correct otherwise you could really mess up the geometry of the bike. The R6 forks obviously work very well on the FZ6 but the rear shock is much more specialized.

I have an Ohlins on order (Model 46HRC Part #YA402) but was just told that it will be 7-8 weeks before it arrives in this country. The price was $615 at Cal-Sportbike but I have seen it as low as $599 elsewhere. The price includes having the correct spring for my weight put on by Ohlins.
I have been eyeballing one those bigtime. Let us know how it works out and if it is worth the $$$
 
#16 ·
Good job and a bump up for you so everyone see this. Glad things worked out, guess this may have to be the next thing to do :lol gonna let you keep us updated on how its doing first after a little more seat time.
 
#17 ·
WTVa said:
Good job and a bump up for you so everyone see this. Glad things worked out, guess this may have to be the next thing to do :lol gonna let you keep us updated on how its doing first after a little more seat time.
yeah i did get to go for a pretty long and curvy ride and just like i posted in my thread though i wont be completely satisfied until i get to swap out the springs. other than that for the overall look = :phatyo
 
#18 ·
Nice job! Thanks for the pics, too!

Definitely keep us posted when you swap the FZ6 spring (duh, I didn't think of that). I'm curious how much preload adjustment you'll have for your weight. If a 200-lb rider (for example) only has to compress the spring a tiny bit to get the correct preload, a 150-lb rider may be out of luck.
 
#19 ·
fraggle1 said:
Nice job! Thanks for the pics, too!

Definitely keep us posted when you swap the FZ6 spring (duh, I didn't think of that). I'm curious how much preload adjustment you'll have for your weight. If a 200-lb rider (for example) only has to compress the spring a tiny bit to get the correct preload, a 150-lb rider may be out of luck.
well with the way it feels now a 150lb person or so would be just fine with the r6 spring. Im 186lbs and occasionaly go two up so fz6 spring would be a spring for me. :)
 
#25 ·
well i finally got to swap the springs out today at work. had to convince the boss, but he gave in and let me do it took like 5 mins too. I took the spring off of the FZ shock and put it on the r6 shock and vice versa; so now i also have a FZ shock with a "lowering" spring :rolleyes
comments on the swap: "It did bring the original preload back, I haven't had time to mess with it yet or go for a ride just jounced it up and down in the garage. I'll have to ride to school tommorow to get a better "feel" of it and will edit this reply once I've gotten a few miles on it."
 
#26 ·
Waiting to hear just how it was for you...
for less than $100, I'm debating it.. already have the R6 forks on the way.
 
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