I found the cure to dog bone interference in this swap from guys on this site who converted a previous gen 250 so here I am to share. I'm glad I found this forum, looks to be a great resource, hope to be able to contribute as well as learn!

Lets see, drilled out the shock mount holes to 15/32", bought a pair of 120mm 12mm. fine thread bolts, 4- 9/16" nuts that are exactly 1/2" wide for use as dog bone spacers, 4 flat washers and it just about fell into place. I had to trim the plastic flap under the battery box, a trim with a long saw blade in the sawzall and no clearance issues at all for the reservoir and no rubbing! I'd like to have had 5mm longer bolts and I may just delete the 4 flat washers to get more thread thru the buts in the dog bone link bolts but it's all lock tited up and the just get to the end of the nuts so safe as is.

The first test ride showed it was VERY firm. I spent about 45 seconds under the hood and took the rebound and hi speed comp from 1.5 to 3 turns out and it feels like the stock valving. Not bad for a minutes test ride and a second minute of tuning! I did a cold 20 minutes and it feels very good, it can only get better as I experiment with it, I haven't even touched the preload yet.

So, I'll play more with it and think the best thing besides all the adjustment will be just turning in some comp when I carry a passenger. We managed to bottom the stocker once in a G-out hit at 65 MPH. No harm and it was good enough but now I can tune for the extra weight.




http://173.74.246.28/ktmtalk/photogallery/galleries/members/ninja_300_GSXR_shock.jpg

The 07 GSXR shock is the same length as the 300 stocker baby bumper boinger. The lower clevis is too narrow to fit over the link so I decided to carefully grind the inside of the clevis on a bench grinder. I took my time and kept it flat, rechecking the fit constantly so it wouldn't get too big and sloppy. It is about 2mm too thin.

Total time spent after I gleaned the tip to space out the dog bones a1/2" was about 45 minutes total in the garage. I spent $16 on the new bolts/nuts/washers and the shock was $25 shipped off Ebay. I managed to get a second shock for $25 shipped and will have a back up to try some valving with in the future.

Nice work! :thumbup:

nice!

Good job!!! :thumbup:

does anybody know if 250 shocks fit the 300?

The +08 should bolt in.

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=624&pictureid=9819

thanks mate thats good to know :thumbup:

Sooo... I don't wanna sound like a moron, but how exactly do you install a new shock on the 300? I changed the shock on my 250, but it had a center-stand that lifts the rear tire and takes the load off the suspension.

I scored a gixxer shock of ebay a while back for next to nothing, and I want to swap out the stocker. Best thing I can think is to just use my car jack under the engine to lift the bike, which I've done before with my other bikes.

If there's a better way to lift the bike to change the shock please let me know. I'd like to get this mod done soon.

Sounds great!

Sooo... I don't wanna sound like a moron, but how exactly do you install a new shock on the 300? I changed the shock on my 250, but it had a center-stand that lifts the rear tire and takes the load off the suspension.

I scored a gixxer shock of ebay a while back for next to nothing, and I want to swap out the stocker. Best thing I can think is to just use my car jack under the engine to lift the bike, which I've done before with my other bikes.

If there's a better way to lift the bike to change the shock please let me know. I'd like to get this mod done soon.

I used jackstands under my rearsets. You can strap your bike up under ladder or ceiling. A jack under the engine is not stable.

I jack mine under the header and on the side stand to stabilize it. I've had the forks out and both wheels off separately, very stable but just be aware of its balance. I just jack enough to raise the wheel, for the shock you can just take the weight off the suspension. :thumbup:

I used jackstands under my rearsets. You can strap your bike up under ladder or ceiling. A jack under the engine is not stable.

Cool, that's exactly what I'm going to do. Thanks

options to raise the rear that i have personally used:

- hang the rear frame from something (ladder, engine picker) probably smart to hold the front with something.
- put it in a chock, strap the front wheel down and jack it up by the engine, alternatively put jackstands under the pegs. you can lean the bike away from the first stand then lean it onto that stand away from the second stand to slide it in. presto, its on jack stands.
- put it on a curb and back the rear wheel off, set on engine, have someone hold the front
- if the bike is completely dry, tip it on its side or upside down. much easier without the engine or tank on. (but if you dont have the engine in, you can just lift it up by hand and slide the jack stands under the pegs or whatever.

or if you want to be a fancy-pants, go buy this: http://www.motomfg.com/MotoMfg_paddock_stand_Kawasaki_p/ps-8.htm

I used jackstands under my rearsets. You can strap your bike up under ladder or ceiling. A jack under the engine is not stable.

Respectfully, I've had either wheel off, the shock and the forks several times using this method. If you leave it on the side stand, jack from the front or rear points of the header to get either wheel up. Stable unless you fall on the bike or someone pushes the bike over intentionally.

It has 3 points of contact, the jack, the wheel you are not lifting, and the side stand. For the shock replacement, the rear wheel can stay on the ground IIRC, you just need to take the weight off the shock.

Other methods are fine too, but if you only have a floor jack, this works just great. :thumbup:

All good. Didn't think of using the kickstand as another point of stability.

old3 ninjamunky85

Just ordered my '06 GSXR 600 shock w/linkage.

Any other tips on installation?

How about settings for 220lbs with gear?

The first post covers most of what you need to do to install the shock. I think he forgot to mention that you need to grind away some material on the lower mount of the shock to get it to fit on the stock dogbones.

I haven't touched any of the settings on mine. I'm guessing that it is set at the stock settings, but i don't know. I weigh about 145 lbs, and haven't felt the need to make any changes. For your weight you will probably need to make some adjustments, though.

The 07 GSXR shock is the same length as the 300 stocker baby bumper boinger. The lower clevis is too narrow to fit over the link so I decided to carefully grind the inside of the clevis on a bench grinder. I took my time and kept it flat, rechecking the fit constantly so it wouldn't get too big and sloppy. It is about 2mm too thin.

I missed it in the first post but mentioned it here. I'm still running the adjustments I made in the first post.

... rebound and hi speed comp from 1.5 to 3 turns out and it feels like the stock valving. ..

No complaints, stiff side of damping but very stable. I'm about 220 dressed too. + a passenger ride is far better than stock too.

I just scored myself a shock too but I'll prolly put it on over the winter. I'm 140lbs so I'm not expecting too much change but oh well.

I just scored myself a shock too but I'll prolly put it on over the winter. I'm 140lbs so I'm not expecting too much change but oh well.

If nothing else, at least you can have it rebuilt with valving specific to your needs. Test the adjustments first, but a revalve should make it far better for you than the stock, non-rebuildable shock.

I bean looking for this :thumbup:

Just finished doing this mod the other day. It feels good. Seems to be a bit more firm and stick to the ground better. Took me a while to widen the bottom bracket, but otherwise this goes fairly smooth once you got the necessary parts.

There is more thorough information in this other forum: www.kawasa*************** ... /forum/12-ninja-300-appearance-modifications/885-gsx-r-shock-install.html

Did you file that lower clevis by hand? A bench grinder made very quick work of it despite checking it just about every pass I made to avoid taking too much off.

As information here's a picture from the Gixxer K6/K7 manual showing how the dogbone is mounted
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=27779&stc=1&d=1388062338
and here's one from the Ninjette (showing the dogbone only, I took it from the net)
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=27780&stc=1&d=1388062338
The Gixxer mount of the shock is in the front and in the Ninjette it's in the rear and the type of dogbone is different.

Well done!
I recently completed a similar swap on a 250, but used custom linkage to raise the back.