Rear Shock Clearance Issue

[Guest]

Hey guys, I'm having an issue I was hoping one of you could shed some light on.

I bought some new RFY shocks for my 1981 GS550T. They are 13.4" / 340mm eye to eye length and only seem to be about a 1/4" (eye to eye) longer than my original shocks.

Problem is when I was putting them on, the bottom mount for the left shock was way to close to the exhaust, to the point where the nut was rubbing. However, the right shock had plenty of clearance and was much easier to get on.

You can see in the pic below what I mean:

IMG_20150909_194630.jpg

Is there anything in particular causing the left side to be so close and right side fine? I'm at a loss.

Thank you for your time

[jetmike747]

Anybody have any ideas? I'm at a complete loss

[8ball]

Is the exhaust bracket bent? Is your swing arm straight? (It may be wider on that side to accommodate the chain/sprocket). How about using a different type nut instead of the cap nut? If every thing is straight, you may have to consider shimming the exhaust away by using a couple of washers between the exhaust bracket and mount.


Or just get a 4-1 exhaust, and be done with it. LOL

[tkent02]

Do the left shock first, raise the swing arm, put the bottom nut on, then do the other side.
I bet your pipe or muffler is a little bit bent.

I want to hear how these RFY shocks actually ride.

[jetmike747]

Hey guys thanks for the responses. So I removed the nuts on the exhaust bracket so I could actually move the pipe, and I seem to have some wiggle room.

The 4 in 1 is sounding pretty good right about now 8ball! But I'm terrified of ever having to remove the exhaust bolts...

The studs that the exhaust bracket mount on are pretty short, so they don't have much thread to catch on once I move the pipe. Maybe 3/8"-1/2" max?
I looked at my exhaust pipes pretty closely and I can't really tell if anything is bent, so I'm not really sure.
I double checked, the old shocks are no shorter than 1/4" from the new ones. The "eye mounts" are about the same diameter.

With the old shock, the acorn nut was always close to the exhaust, so I guess that extra 1/4" was just too much.

I'm afraid I'll break a weld in the exhaust trying to move it too much

I think the combination of not using acorn nuts, and the adjustment, I have will JUST be enough to clear it..

Will it be okay if I don't use acorn nuts? Or was that purely cosmetic?

Thanks again for your time guys

[8ball]

Acorns are just cosmetic. But don't just look at the exhaust. Look at the bracket that the exhaust bolts to. See if that looks tweaked.

[8ball]

Acorns are just cosmetic. But don't just look at the exhaust. Look at the bracket that the exhaust bolts to. See if that looks tweaked. Looking at your photo, it looks like the ear on the exhaust is bent.

[jetmike747]

Hey guys so I took a closer look at the bike.

It looks like the eye mount is actually thinner than the stock shock. The length is what's causing this issue to arise.

I took a picture of the exhaust / footrest mount to try to show it's shape best I can. I don't really notice anything out of the ordinary, but it's definitely a different shape than the RH side mount (can only attach one pic)

The RH side one looks like it angles outward as it goes further down the swing arm, but maybe that side is just a different shape from the factory?

Also, the passenger footrest on the LH side is angled slightly (hard to see in the pic) while the other is straight...


IMG_20150910_203018.jpg

Hope this pic can show you guys better, I can't tell if it's bent or not...

Thanks guys for bearing with me

[jetmike747]

Hey guys so I took a look at the exhaust / footrest mount on a parts site (couldn't find many pics of it online) and here's what I noticed:


Part.jpg

Does it look like the mount in the diagram has the same bend that mine does near where bolt #24 goes? I can't tell if my eyes are just tricking me into seeing it

Thanks for looking

[2BRacing]

The RH side one looks like it angles outward as it goes further down the swing arm, but maybe that side is just a different shape from the factory?

Also, the passenger footrest on the LH side is angled slightly (hard to see in the pic) while the other is straight...


[ATTACH=CONFIG]41930[/ATTACH]

Hope this pic can show you guys better, I can't tell if it's bent or not...

That LH mount is definitely bent inwards towards the rear end, and that is why the LH passenger footpeg is angled. It is almost as if the bike fell over onto LH passenger footpeg and bent the mounting inwards.

Getting that mount straightened out so that the LH passenger footpeg is straight like the rider footpeg, should make the exhaust move outwards a little as well, and solve your shock clearance problem.

[8ball]

..... Looking at your photo, it looks like the ear on the exhaust is bent.

Again, the EAR on the EXHAUST looks bent. Not talking about the foot rest, although, it may be bent as well, as indicated by the passenger peg angle. Look again at where the arrow is pointing. That ear shoud meet the foot rest bracket vertically, not at an angle

[BigD_83]

I'm with 2BR on this. It looks to me like both the bracket and the peg mount are bent a bit.

No harm in pulling/pounding the bracket into shape.