Winter Repairs - Rear End

I started working on my winter repairs this week. I know it's a long time coming and I should have done a few things sooner (like taking the battery out,) but better late than never.

First things first, I took the battery out. I also ordered a trickle charger to keep it charged the rest of the winter. Next I took the seat and rear fairings off (one on each side) in order to gain access to the fuel tank bolts. After pondering for a while on how to get the fuel out, I decided that I needed to get a hose. Here ends the first day of repairs.

On the second day I stopped by home depot on the way home from work and bought two clear hoses--one for the fuel and another for the brake/clutch lines. Unfortunately when I got home the hose for the brake lines was too small. The fuel line was the right size so I got back to work. I turned the fuel off, removed the top hose, and put on the hose I bought. Then when I turned the fuel back on, the gas went into my gas can. Success! It took about half an hour to drain the fuel. When that finished I turned the fuel back off again and proceeded. Well there was still one more hose connected to the fuel tank, so I took that one off too.

Bad idea. The remaining fuel in the tank spilled all over the garage floor. I realized my mistake as soon as I saw gas coming out of the hose. The tank has a hose from the tank itself to the on/off switch that I don't need to remove in order to take the tank off.

Now that that was settled, I removed the 4 bolts holding the tank on and took it off. The fuel in the gas can was nice and clear (no crud in it like I half expected) so I emptied it into my car. I havn't got a chance to look for rust yet, but I'll make sure the tank is clean before putting it back on.

The third day I decided to get the old shock (or steel bar) off to make sure it matched my newly aquired one. I was looking at the service manual, looking at the bike, looking at the service manual, and I could not figure out how to get the shock off. Finally it dawned on me that I have the manual for the D model ZX11 instead of the C model. After throwing the book back in the car I decided the best course of action was to take off the rear tire and get at the shock from behind. A few hours later I had the entire back end of my bike tore off (minus the frame and wires) and finally had access to the shock. I got it off fairly easily and took all the parts back inside.

So now I'm looking for a dealer that will rebuild the shock I bought off ebay. I found one in Akron that will do it for about $150. If they do a good job I'll probably take my forks down there to have them rebuilt too.

I plan on getting the entire back end finished before I start working on the front end. That includes the new shock, new tire, frozen caliper piston, new brake pads, and fixing 5th gear. I'm also thinking of getting a new chain (this chain looks a little rusted) but I'll probably do that after I get everything else fixed and back together. I'm keeping a running total of the cost of repairs as well which I'll post when everything is said and done.