How to Rebuild the Shocks & Struts on a Motorcycle

Unlike cars, motorcycles don't use a shock/strut setup. Motorcycles are built in one of three ways. Hardtail motorcycles don't have a suspension on the rear wheel, they have a set of springs on the seat. Other motorcycles use either a single shock/spring combination positioned between the frame and the swingarm to give the look of a hardtail motorcycle, or two outboard shock/spring combination parts that are visible. Rebuilding these, for the most part, is the same regardless of what kind of shock you have. The shock in a motorcycle is gas charged and should never be opened. If the shock doesn't work, it's better to replace them.

Things You'll Need：bench vise, adjustable wrenches, motorcycle spring compressor, hydraulic fluid, motorcycle jack

Clamp the bottom mounting hole of the shock/spring unit into a bench vise. If the mounting hole is chrome and you don't want to damage it, wrap the mounting hole in an old rag before clamping it down.

Remove the spring cover from the motorcycle. On some springs, this cover simply unscrews. On other motorcycles, it is integrated with the spring and shock in one piece and must be removed when the two parts are separated.

Clamp the motorcycle spring compressor onto the coils of the spring. The spring compressor is a relatively simple set of tools consisting of two hooks attached with a bolt. You place one hook over a coil at the top of the spring and another at the bottom. Next, you attach the second spring compressor to the opposite side of the spring.

Compress the spring by tightening the bolts on the spring compressor, turning each compressor one turn at a time until you can see the retaining ring at the top of the shock.

Pry the retaining ring out of its channel with a small flat screwdriver. Keep it because you'll need it to rebuild the spring/shock unit.

Decompress the spring by loosening the spring compressors one turn at a time on each side until the spring is loose. When finished, lift the spring cover off the spring, then lift the spring off the shock.

Rebuild the shock/spring unit by installing the motorcycle's working shock or spring onto the replacement shock or spring, then placing the spring cover back on. Once this is done, attach the spring compressors to the spring, tighten them down and then slip the retaining ring back into its groove.

Jack up the motorcycle so that its tires are off the ground. This will ensure that the front suspension is fully decompressed. Look just below the handlebars, at the top of the motorcycle's forks. The hex nuts at the top of the forks are the access points for the springs on the front of the motorcycle. The entire fork is a shock absorber, filled with hydraulic fluid.

Loosen and remove the hex bolts at the top of the motorcycle forks using an adjustable wrench.

Reach into the fork from the top and grab the first coil of the spring inside, and pull it out, wiping it with a clean rag as you do to prevent hydraulic fluid from falling on the motorcycle. To rebuild the shock, install new springs inside the fork, top them up with hydraulic fluid, then reinstall the fork caps with the adjustable wrench.