Ride height/ Rear Shock question

[darripah]

My 2005 ninja 250 that I bought was used by a lady who was much shorter than I . she mentioned that she had the bike lowered so that it would work better for her and gave me a second rear shock "in case I wanted to lift it back to how it was"

She had this job done by a shop and does not know what exactly the shop did to lower the bike.

I have a few questions based on this

1) are there any adjustments to the front end of the bike that may have been done or was it most likely just a replacement shock in the rear?

2) if the front was lowered as well and I re-install the "bigger" rear shock to raise the back (since I dont know what , if anything , was done to the front) will It be dangerous to ride the bike due to an "inbalance"

3) if important to find out if anything was done to the front or to any other part of the bike to lower it, what can I do to figure this out

4) I did reinstall the new rear shock just now and noticed that when I put a lot of weight on the back of the bike the shock compresses alot and doesnt lift itself back up until I get off the bike and pull the back of the bike back up. It seems that the bike is lower when the rear shock is compressed than it was before when I was using the shock used to lower the bike.

Is this normal? if not can this be fixed with a bit of lube? if so what lube can I use ?

thanks and sorry so many questions, I'm still new to this

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by darripah

...........

I have a few questions based on this

1) are there any adjustments to the front end of the bike that may have been done or was it most likely just a replacement shock in the rear?
Normally, nobody adjust the front.

2) if the front was lowered as well and I re-install the "bigger" rear shock to raise the back (since I dont know what , if anything , was done to the front) will It be dangerous to ride the bike due to an "inbalance"
No, it should be OK.

3) if important to find out if anything was done to the front or to any other part of the bike to lower it, what can I do to figure this out
See attached picture.

4) I did reinstall the new rear shock just now and noticed that when I put a lot of weight on the back of the bike the shock compresses alot and doesnt lift itself back up until I get off the bike and pull the back of the bike back up. It seems that the bike is lower when the rear shock is compressed than it was before when I was using the shock used to lower the bike.

Is this normal? if not can this be fixed with a bit of lube? if so what lube can I use ?

Something is wrong with the new-to-you shock or the linkages of the swingarm are frozen due to lack of lubrication.

[darripah]

Thanks for the response motofool. I also noticed there is a bolt that seems to be able to be adjusted as pictured (circled in red) in the attached near the rear shock. Is it possible that this bolt needs to be adjusted to raise the height in order for the shock I just put in to work properly on my bike?

I'm also noticing that it takes a bit of effort to pull the

Also , motofool, when you say that the "new-to-you shock or the linkages of the swingarm are frozen due to lack of lubrication", what kind of lube can I use and where would I apply it exactly to fix this if this is the issue

[Ghostt]

Odds are your going to need to purchase a set of OEM bones/links(part # 39111, the one's current on there are lower bones/links. EBay or the for sale section here is a good place to pick up a used set, also all PreGen years will fit 88~07, the NewGen ones won't fit.


Since you'll be in the neighborhood, you might want to get a NewGen rear shock, which has a much better spring than PreGen, and it's adjustable to set the sag, and it's a direct swap out.

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Install...k_on_a_Classic

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by darripah

Thanks for the response motofool.

You are welcome

I also noticed there is a bolt that seems to be able to be adjusted as pictured (circled in red) in the attached near the rear shock. Is it possible that this bolt needs to be adjusted to raise the height in order for the shock I just put in to work properly on my bike?

That part with holes is the one that the previous owner replaced to lower the bike.
The holes are to fine adjust the height.
I don't know if any of those holes will make the distance between the extreme holes equal to the original, but I believe it doesn't.
No, the position selected should not have any effect on the way the shock absorber reacts.

I'm also noticing that it takes a bit of effort to pull the

???

Also , motofool, when you say that the "new-to-you shock or the linkages of the swingarm are frozen due to lack of lubrication", what kind of lube can I use and where would I apply it exactly to fix this if this is the issue

Any Molybdenum disulphide ("moly") grease will do, but you will need to completely disassemble the Unitrack linkages.
While doing that extensive work, you should take apart the swingarm and inspect and lubricate the pivot needle bearings.

This is how to do it:
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Introdu...ear_suspension

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Rear_suspension_upgrades

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Servicing_the_swingarm

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Uni_Tra...ge_Lubrication

[darripah]

thanks guys. does it matter that when I reinstall the old shock it works perfectly ? to me this may mean that its an issue with the shock I installed and not with the links needing lube

[rwp]

"Odds are your going to need to purchase a set of OEM bones/links(part # 39111, the one's current on there are lower bones/links. EBay or the for sale section here is a good place to pick up a used set, also all PreGen years will fit 88~07, the NewGen ones won't fit."

Just measured the center to center length of my '07 original dogbones. It is about 5 5/8 inches (didn't have a metric rule handy). Measure the longer hole to hole distance; it may be an original dimension. Probably not, but worth a check. You can sell the lowering dogbones on eBay or on the for sale section here.

Also if there is a lot of resistance inside the second shock, it may be defective. I put on a 2012 shock (it is bolt on) and it was a significant improvement.