R1200R rear shock removal

i need to remove the rear shock on my 2007 R1200R and have run into a problem. i did not remove the rear tire, i just blocked up the final drive so it would not drop down, then removed both the top and bottom shock mount bolts and although the top of the shock is nice and loose the bottom is still held firmly in place. if i could get the bottom out the whole shock would come right out. what am i missing, or doing wrong ?

I've removed the rear shock the same way, and haven't had this issue.

The eye at the bottom end of the shock fits over a bushing; the bushing fits between the swingarm's lugs; the mounting bolt passes through the bushing. On my bike, with the bolt removed, the bushing comes free from the swingarm lugs easily.

I'd start with some penetrating oil at the two bushing/swingarm lug connections. Give the oil some time to get in the joint, tapping occasionaly lightly with a small ball peen hammer to encourage propagation of the liquid into the joints. Then I'd try using a rubber hammer on the lower shock eye, in various directions, to free the bushing. Once it's out, I would carefully inspect both ends of the bushing and both inner faces of the swingarm lugs for damage.

thanks David, i'll give that a try

Besides the bolt and the bushing that's part of the shock, there is a bushing in the swingarm on the side the bolt head is on (port side of the bike..) This bushing has a bottom to it, and it's supposed to move when the bolt is tightened to press against the shock bushing and hold it tightly in place.

When removing the shock, the bushing should move back a bit into the swingarm by simply wobbling the shock from port to starboard a bit.. but it also has been known to bind in place. What you might try is a few taps with something from the right (starboard) side of the bike on the bottom of the shock at the eye that holds it to the swingarm, tap it toward the left (port) side. That will likely move the swingarm bushing back enough that the shock can be moved up and out of the swingarm.

Note - on replacement, most dealers replace the bolt. Ones that have been badly over-torqued have been known to fail with the head breaking off. That leads to having to remove the swingarm and find a good machine shop that can remove the bolt stub. DO use a torque wrench to tighten up this bolt. If you're reusing the bolt - use some medium strength Loctite(tm) on it (it's the blue stuff that comes in a red tube.. dunno what's up with Loctite's color schemes..)

Torque spec for the bolt is two stage:

Initial torque: 20 Nm (pulls the bushing tight)
Final torque: 58 Nm

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=0398&mospid=51804&btnr=33_1226&hg=33&fg=35 - The bushing in question is PN-2, and the bolt is PN-14.

success !!!! thanks for the advise.

Warning on lower bolt torque!

deilenberger said:

Besides the bolt and the bushing that's part of the shock, there is a bushing in the swingarm on the side the bolt head is on (port side of the bike..) This bushing has a bottom to it, and it's supposed to move when the bolt is tightened to press against the shock bushing and hold it tightly in place.

When removing the shock, the bushing should move back a bit into the swingarm by simply wobbling the shock from port to starboard a bit.. but it also has been known to bind in place. What you might try is a few taps with something from the right (starboard) side of the bike on the bottom of the shock at the eye that holds it to the swingarm, tap it toward the left (port) side. That will likely move the swingarm bushing back enough that the shock can be moved up and out of the swingarm.

Note - on replacement, most dealers replace the bolt. Ones that have been badly over-torqued have been known to fail with the head breaking off. That leads to having to remove the swingarm and find a good machine shop that can remove the bolt stub. DO use a torque wrench to tighten up this bolt. If you're reusing the bolt - use some medium strength Loctite(tm) on it (it's the blue stuff that comes in a red tube.. dunno what's up with Loctite's color schemes..)

Torque spec for the bolt is two stage:

Initial torque: 20 Nm (pulls the bushing tight)
Final torque: 58 Nm

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=0398&mospid=51804&btnr=33_1226&hg=33&fg=35 - The bushing in question is PN-2, and the bolt is PN-14.

Click to expand...

Deilenberger is correct about all this but do NOT over-torque that lower bolt. If it's too tight and certain other conditions exist, the entire swing-arm casting can break. (Ask me how I know! ) So find a way to accurately torque this bolt. Don't over-torque. I think you're supposed to use loc-tite as well. I use just a drop of the removable kind on the long bolt threads (blue? red? I forget, but don't use the strong one.) No problems for 3 years and 50+ thousand miles since I attended to this torque.

rtwiz - that must have been rather exciting. Can't imagine how it happened, but since it did, it's something to avoid. (I'll ask how you know..)

The bolt should get medium strength loctite on the threads before installation. That's #242, the blue stuff (that comes in a red tube, don't get me going about Loctites packaging color schemes..)

deilenberger said:

rtwiz - that must have been rather exciting. Can't imagine how it happened, but since it did, it's something to avoid. (I'll ask how you know..)

The bolt should get medium strength loctite on the threads before installation. That's #242, the blue stuff (that comes in a red tube, don't get me going about Loctites packaging color schemes..)

Click to expand...

D:

Since you asked... I was on my way to Falling Leaf Rally from the west suburbs of Chicago. Was leading the ride. A couple guys had stopped at my house that morning. It was cold, about 20F, and wispy snow. Not common for that time of year. My bike was fully packed with stuff. I have Wilbers suspension on it. I probably had the preload or the compression adjustment in the back set too soft for the load. Also suspect that I had over-tightened the lower shock screw when I installed these Wilbers. Bike is riding nice and soft...great for a long tour.

So, we head out. I'm taking a little scenic route about 20 miles West of my house. There's a narrow 2 lane with some interesting curves. We round one and I'm powering out of it and there is a 3 ft wide piece of pavement sawed out of the road down to the dirt that runs all the way across the road. It has sharp edges on both sides. I see it and nail the brakes as soon as I can. I hit the thing at about 20 mph. Not enough to dent the front wheel but as the front wheel is coming out and hitting the edge, the back wheel is going down in. Well, apparently, the rear suspension bottomed on the bump stops hard. The rear casting broke into 3 pieces!

My rear wheel sunk into the plastic fender and slowed the bike to a stop. When I got off the bike, there was about 2" of clearance between my front pegs and the pavement. I couldn't put the bike on the side stand because it was too low. I got two guys to help me lift the bike onto the center stand and sent everyone on their way.

I called BMW roadside assistance. They were useless. Didn't have my vin number in their system. Would have charged me for "extra mileage" because they only cover the first 15 miles. My bike was less than a year old and I'd bought it new. I called Progressive and they towed my bike for free to the dealer. BMW predictably denied the warranty claim, stating aftermarket suspension pieces found on the bike. Progressive covered it under their Road Hazard clause. I had to pay the deductible but the bill was over 3 grand.

Turned out that the county had worked on this road and filled the void with sand two days before. Then, we had a wicked rainstorm that washed all the sand away.

The good news about all this is that the dealer convinced the insurance rep that I needed a whole new driveshaft assembly, so I have a near new spare sitting in my garage in case mine ever fails. The spare has a little mark on it.

Since this happened, I've educated myself about the shock settings, am careful about the torque setting on that bottom bolt and I still ride like a frikking demon. 78K and no problems with the bike since that incident.