swingarm and fork removal isnt bad at all. if youve got jack stands you can prop the bike up that way.
shock doesnt need to be compressed to remove or install. just follow your manual and you'll be alright.
But a torque wrench would be well worth the cost, they usually have them for sale at sears for ~$40-50. And then you wont have to worry about under or over tightening a bolt and having it come loose later or it snapping off while tightening.

 

I have rear and front paddock stands. No jack currently. Shopping one out on Craigslist. Gonna search out a torque wrench I have confidence that I can do this. Next week is my goal.

 

If you need tools and are on a tight budget, check out Harbor Freight. They sell 2 types of tools, great and crap. If you go to their website, the reviews are very honest either way. I've bought several things from there and always been happy by only buying stuff with good reviews.

 

I've got a local harbor freight that I tend to get my throw aways from. I'll check the site for Jacks and torque wrenches.

 

Random side note;


Is there a possibility of dropping the engine without having to remove carbs/airbox etc or is that just wishful thinking. I'm sure you guys probably may be getting from me that I would prefer not to disassemble much from the engine. I hate doing any type of work related to the engine. And my boots gave me hell two weeks ago getting the new VERY stiff ones to seat right and clamp up. So if I could remove it all as a whole that would be preferred. Removing the airbox cover and such isn't a huge deal I guess just as long as I don't need to remove carbs.

 

This might sound like a dumb suggestion, but you could possibly hang your bike from a swing set. Not an old rusty one, but a newer, stronger one.

 

I suppose you may be able to wiggle the engine out without removing the carbs but ai'm fairly sure it'll give you even more hell then to just take them out. Working with different csrs in limited space has taught me it's easier in the end to just bite the bullet Nd renove everything that's in your way than trying first to wiggle your way above; below and around the parts, scraping your hands all bloody, hgetting pissed and have to do it in the end anyway...

Numerous typos thanks to the moody backspace on my phone...

 

I was actually thinking of what type of support I could come up with and a swing did cross my mind. I don't have one anywhere close to my garage unfortunately. I have three approaches I'm going to try.

1. With a jack, support the engine: remove the bolts and maneuver it forward (have read it comes out much smoother this way because of the tabs on the engine) then remove the fork and wheel the frame away from where the engine sits if for some reason the jack does not have casters to roll it whichever direction I'd like.

2. With some type of overhead support take the wheels off, remove the bolts and lift the frame off of the engine supported by a jack.

3. With the rear wheel up on a paddock stand and a dolley, support the engine with whatever type of platform will keep it level without jacking it up. Remove the rear wheel and take the shock link out and maneuver the frame off of the engine.


All of these options are of course post removal of all components except.

Just picked up a nice click type torque wrench and a cheaper 2 ton floor jack tonight for around 60$ (jack was practically free) so either Tuesday or Thursday I'll get a jump start.