well i got the 400ex shock today, great condition. i got to work right away, and took pics along the way just to make this clear on how to get this thing on.
here is the shock compared to the stock one, not much difference in length at all.
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first step:remove stock shock, use a hydrolic jack so you can jack it up just right to easily get the bolts out. (no brainer, but this is for some less experienced also).
Next you have to do some hole reaming (making them bigger). your best bet is to use a drill press for this, just makes it easier, and a not so choppy hole.
here is the top bolt with the 400ex top spacer on it, it will fit over the threads, but not over the big part, this is why you need to make a different spacer, or drill this one out.
![Image]()
bottom mount, sorry about the pic. notice the pin is a little to big.
![Image]()
on the bottom mount i used a 31/34 size bit, i know its not metric, but this seemed to be the perfect fit for the bottom pin, and made it much easier to get out than with the stock shock. drill both holes out, i would suggest doing each hole seperatly, dont just go all the way through, chances are you dont have it perfectly level and the one hole will control where the bit goes. if you drill each side seperatly the bit should find the center, or very close to the center of the hole.
sock set up on the drill press. its really easy drilling through the aluminum.
![Image]()
![Image]()
here it is all reamed out
![Image]()
![Image]()
for the top mount you will either need to drill out the 400ex spacer, or make your own. drilling it out would be extremly hard with any drills and drill bits most of you would have. its a hardend steel, i tried drilling it, but with no luck. ill just have my dad whip me up a spacer later. for now i just used the 400ex top bolt with the 400ex undrilled spacer.
if you have a stock airbox you will need to shave off some of the airbox, and you will not be able to use the lid, or you will have to shave some of that away aswell. not a hard thing to do if you have a jigsaw.
your ready to bolt it up now, just put the bottom pin in, then raise the jack up until the hole lines up and put the top bolt on.
![Image]()
![Image]()
![Image]()
didnt raise the back end very much, and handling still seems great.
![Image]()
![Image]()
i rode on it for about 10-15 mintues, i just threw my helmet on and went off some smaller jumps, but i cleared one 15ft double by 20ft or so. 400ex shock didnt even come close to bottoming, where as my stock wouldve majorly. i need to tighten down the preload on the works to work better with the back now. it really does have an awesome ride and i would reccomend this mod for anyone that likes to jump. the shock is much stiffer, but still soakes up all the bumps even better than the stocker.
anything else you want to know just ask!
*UPDATE*
instead of making a top spacer my dad just bored the 400ex one out with the lathe. that is a very hard metal and none of you could do this at home, unless you have a lathe and a tip sharpener. it wouldnt be that hard to make your own, just go get a piece of metal the same OD (outside diameter) then center it and drill.
![Image]()
![Image]()
![Image]()
we also made a bottom spacer just for strength, not needed.
![Image]()
![Image]()
here is the shock compared to the stock one, not much difference in length at all.
first step:remove stock shock, use a hydrolic jack so you can jack it up just right to easily get the bolts out. (no brainer, but this is for some less experienced also).
Next you have to do some hole reaming (making them bigger). your best bet is to use a drill press for this, just makes it easier, and a not so choppy hole.
here is the top bolt with the 400ex top spacer on it, it will fit over the threads, but not over the big part, this is why you need to make a different spacer, or drill this one out.
bottom mount, sorry about the pic. notice the pin is a little to big.
on the bottom mount i used a 31/34 size bit, i know its not metric, but this seemed to be the perfect fit for the bottom pin, and made it much easier to get out than with the stock shock. drill both holes out, i would suggest doing each hole seperatly, dont just go all the way through, chances are you dont have it perfectly level and the one hole will control where the bit goes. if you drill each side seperatly the bit should find the center, or very close to the center of the hole.
sock set up on the drill press. its really easy drilling through the aluminum.
here it is all reamed out
for the top mount you will either need to drill out the 400ex spacer, or make your own. drilling it out would be extremly hard with any drills and drill bits most of you would have. its a hardend steel, i tried drilling it, but with no luck. ill just have my dad whip me up a spacer later. for now i just used the 400ex top bolt with the 400ex undrilled spacer.
if you have a stock airbox you will need to shave off some of the airbox, and you will not be able to use the lid, or you will have to shave some of that away aswell. not a hard thing to do if you have a jigsaw.
your ready to bolt it up now, just put the bottom pin in, then raise the jack up until the hole lines up and put the top bolt on.
didnt raise the back end very much, and handling still seems great.
i rode on it for about 10-15 mintues, i just threw my helmet on and went off some smaller jumps, but i cleared one 15ft double by 20ft or so. 400ex shock didnt even come close to bottoming, where as my stock wouldve majorly. i need to tighten down the preload on the works to work better with the back now. it really does have an awesome ride and i would reccomend this mod for anyone that likes to jump. the shock is much stiffer, but still soakes up all the bumps even better than the stocker.
anything else you want to know just ask!
*UPDATE*
instead of making a top spacer my dad just bored the 400ex one out with the lathe. that is a very hard metal and none of you could do this at home, unless you have a lathe and a tip sharpener. it wouldnt be that hard to make your own, just go get a piece of metal the same OD (outside diameter) then center it and drill.
we also made a bottom spacer just for strength, not needed.
