HELP NEEDED replacing rear shock

[new dixie]

help me help me !!!
ive just tried to remove my 30,000 mile old standard shock....ahem.
i jacked yhe bike up
loosened the horizontal bolt at the bottom of the shock
but when i came to pushing it out ,it will only go so far before hitting the exhaust pipe from the back cylinder.
must i really remove the header pipes to remove the shock?
or have i done it butt about face?
do i have to undo the linkages anywhere to make this easyier?
as i said
HELP ME HELP ME
CHEERS FOLKS.

[Stormin Ben]

Have you loosened the top mount?

Its a VERY tight squeeze but it will come out (just)
At the worst you may have to loosen the exhaust mounts under the footpeg and on the pillion peg to get the final couple of mm of space

HTH

[stevevtr1]

Had a Penski shock fitted earlier this year & the guy fitting it came across the same problem,if i remember right he loosened & removed the bottom shock linkages to get the bolt out .After 30k its probably a good idea to clean & lube them anyway,to get the best out of the new shock. Reassembling it he put the bolt back in the other way round so shouldn't have the same problem again.
Hope this helps.
Cheers Steve

[new dixie]

ok
1) i tried to loosen the vetrical top mount, through the frame,...i was expecting the whole rear end to drop down ,but it didn`t.
is this normal?
2) if i have to take apart the linkages,with what do i lube em with and where.
3) this site is wicked the people on collectivly have become a "DEEP THOUGHT" kind of entity,someone ,somewhere knows the answers to everything vtr.
cheers

[Stormin Ben]

Dixie,

1) Yes, this is normal. It will only drop about 10mm then the bottom linkage hits the exhaust and you get no more movement

2a) I use some molybedium graphite grease but there are loads of general purpose greases about that you can use. Just check on the side of the tub

2b) Once you have them in your hand it will be obvious. Each hole on the linkage should have a couple of needle bearings in it (note use of the work should as a number of people have discovered a collection of lumps of metal that in no way still resemble bearings anymore! )
Its a common failing that they dont get enough grease at the factory and as there are no grease nipples they run dry, corrode and break up
Not a difficult fix and makes a world of differrence to the feel of the rear end

3) True. But the question how do you decide what is useful advice and what is total cobblers?

[new dixie]

not only did i do the rear shock (thanks to the reply i got) but i also decided to bang in the hagon fork springs too........im f in stocked....all i had was a car jack ,7.99 socket set,original honda tool kit, some surfboard roof straps (to anchor it to my shed and my fence) so it wont topple over, and a large helping of "how much? £300 to fit this lot"
AGIAN CHEERS TO ALL THE ADVICE I GOT,NOW I GOT £300 NICKER SAVED........
AS I SAID THIS SITE ROCKS.