81 SUZUKI KATANA GSX SZ 1100
RESTORATION
STAGE 3
DISASSEMBLY- REAR DAMPERS
Preparation
The rear dampers on this bike are adjustable Koni's and rebuild kits are available from Proven Products so it was decided to rebuild them.
Place the bottom mount in a vice to remove the springs this was done by pulling the coils together using several lengths of strong nylon rope spring compressors can be used however I did not want to mark the spring.
When the spring is pulled down far enough the top collar & locking ring can be removed then the spring will lift off.
The shaft was then wrapped in cardboard secured in the vice be careful not to mark or bend the shaft, the top top mount & lock-nut where removed.
The next item to remove is the retainer on the top of the damper body this can be removed with a tool available from Proven Products but I made my own out of 8mm flat bar.
This is the tool used to remove the top of the rear damper units. The large hole is 13.5mm, the two pin holes are 26.7mm apart and are 4.9mm in diameter.
Once the top collar is removed the O rings in the kit can be installed.
Outer Body
Before the O ring kit was installed the outer body was stripped of paint using paint stripper cleaned then re coated with gloss black Killrust Epoxy Enamel it was purchased at Bunnings hardware....Supercheap Auto have just started stocking it as well, it is available in tins & spray cans.
Several light coats where applied and once touch dry were placed in a oven at 60 degrees (if painted during summer in Australia hang on the clothes line paint in the morning then leave them to cure), this will cure the paint once cured it has a very high oil and petrol resistance.
Several gloss black engine parts prepared this way on my car two years ago still look great, while I'm on the topic when rebuilding the engine in my Mitsubishi cordia the turbo exhuast housing, heat shield & dump pipe were painted with gloss aluminium Killrust Epoxy Enamel to make them look pretty expecting it to fry off when the engine fired up for the first time.... it's still silver!, I think they use actual aluminium in the paint, this is what I suspect makes it so heat proof.