In need of shock therapy

[lossfound]

Hey again all. After changing the oil and filter and a couple of subsequent 20- to 30-mile rides on my new-to-me '98 500E, I've come to the conclusion that my rear shock is toast. Read the wiki and did some searching, think I'll be looking for a Katana 600 shock in the near future. (Anyone got a good one?)

I'm a bit of a mechanical newb (understatement of the year) but I really do want to learn to wrench. Haven't gotten a Haynes etc for the 500E yet, working on that. I guess I was wondering what exactly is involved in changing out the shock on these bikes - keep finding the phrase "drop-in replacement" but it can't possibly be that easy. Does the rear wheel need to come off? What else?

Also, since it's obviously age rather than riding that did in this shock at <7k, is it all that really wise to go looking for an older shock from another bike? I expect an OEM replacement must cost an arm and a leg, or at least a heck of a lot more than the $25-70 I'd be looking at on eBay, and I do note that people seem to swap out with equally old shocks all the time, but maybe you can see my concern?

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

I've got an OEM off of an '02 that's got about... 8 or 9K miles on it (that's a guess.. I've got 15K on the bike, trying to remember how long ago I put my kat shock in). You can have it for $10 + actual shipping to you, if you need something to ride on until you find a new shock.

[pandy]

lossfound:

pablo addresses some of this on his site: http://pantablo500.tripod.com/id12.html

There's probably info in the Wiki, too, but I'm too lazy to go look: http://cgi.stanford.edu/~sanjayd/gs500/Main 

[lossfound]

NGFL: Anything noticeably wrong with that shock other than it being a stocker? My poor little GS makes disturbing groaning sounds when I get on her (and not the nice kind) and the back end doesn't feel entirely planted coming to a stop-- kind of like she wants to hinge forward, sounds like a familiar symptom of shot rear shocks on a mono bike from my Googling. If this is typical stock behavior, though, it cannot be tolerated. Sure can't beat that price if I can expect better behavior from yours. So what can I expect? I know the stock suspension is not renowned for its goodness, but...

Pandy: Yeah, lots of info on Pablo's site and the wiki about *what* shock to get, but nothing really on how to put it in. On closer inspection of some of the links at Pablo's shock rundown, I did find this, though...

[yamahonkawazuki]

hmm i thought it was pandy which made those disturbing groaning sounds when someone got on her 

[lossfound]

hmm i thought it was pandy which made those disturbing groaning sounds when someone got on her 

As a newb I think it best to stay as far away from this one as possible.

Now, as for the girl I recently started dating... ugh, I would rather hear the post-mount noises from the GS. And I thought I was a fan of vocal behavior. Since moving here it seems my life has been a veritable whirlwind of deeply disturbing groans.

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Nothing wrong with it, I just got rid of it cuz I rode someone else's bike with the Kat shock, and it feels a lot better. If you get it and don't like it, I'll refund your $10, but obviously not the shipping costs, lol.

[lossfound]

Ok, sold. PM'd previously - just let me know how you want to receive the big buxxx.

[pandy]

hmm i thought it was pandy which made those disturbing groaning sounds when someone got on her 

Now, as for the girl I recently started dating... ugh, I would rather hear the post-mount noises from the GS.

Sickos! 

lossfound: take pics and do a write-up when you do the swap! It can be added to the FAQ and the Wiki, and you'll make your mark on the GS500 world! 

[Chuck]

lossfound: take pics and do a write-up when you do the swap! It can be added to the FAQ and the Wiki, and you'll make your mark on the GS500 world! 

A writeup on swapping the stock shock for.... a stock shock??

[pandy]

A writeup on swapping the stock shock for.... a stock shock??

Some of us have never swapped ANY shock before, so it could be educational!  Would it be that much different from showing "swapping stock oil for.....stock oil?"  We all need to learn somehow!

[lossfound]

OK, although it will probably be a variation on the writeup I linked... I am between digital cameras right now, but I hope not for long.