Lowering Shock Mod Seca400

[Jtoroli]

I have been struggling to get my very short wife to fit on the Seca 400. In an effort to lower the rear of the bike about an inch I did the following:
1. measure relationship between ride height and -1 in. of static rear suspension height. It ends up being about 1/2 inch that needs to be removed.
2. Pull shock and mount damper rod in a vise with lead jaws. You need to clamp the heck out of the rod so it does not slip.
3. Using a large screwdriver through the eye of the shock unscrew the shock eye
4. Cut 1/2 off the shock eye.
5. Tap the shock eye to continue threads to bottom of hole
6. Screw the shortened eye back onto the rod with a dab of blue Loctite.
7. Reinstall on machine

The drawback is that I will need a new shock eye if I want to change it back. The upside however is that the mod is cheap and can be done in about an hour if you have a cutoff wheel and a tap.
Stock eye to eye length is about 13.5 in. New length is 13 in.

Joe

 

[Jtoroli]

And BTW because the spring on this shock is so soft I just used the wooden clamps you see in the photo to compress the spring to prise out the retainer clips. Of course there are any number of more and less appropriate methods for compressing springs. This is what I did based on tools available at the time. Ratchet straps would also work in a pinch as would a proper spring compressor