Rear shock dirt shield removal

[stogiepuffer]

I am getting ready to install my Nippy Normans hugger today. Real nice piece, only took just over a week to get here from England. My question is how do you take the dirt shield off the rear shock? Is it permanently mounted to the shock so you have to cut it off? I know removal of the shield is not necessary for the hugger to work but having the hugger pretty much eliminates the need for the shield (in my mind). Any suggestions?, thanks, Guy

[celticus]

When I put my hugger on I looked at the shock shield and couldn't figure out how to take it off so I left it on. That was two years ago. I hadn't thought about it until now.
I don't know how to get it off. Sorry.

Mark

[deilenberger]

I'll have to look at mine (it's off the bike..) I seem to recall it being held onto the shock by the spring - so removing the spring might allow you to remove the dirt shield, but that isn't a trivial thing to do without the correct press and fixtures (nor safe..)

[toomanybikes]

I put the Nippy hugger on and left the shield on. Fits fine...

[mogu83]

I put the Nippy hugger on and left the shield on. Fits fine...

Me too

[curmudgeon]

When I installed my Nippy Normans hugger it rubbed against the shock shield when the suspension was compressed so I ended up cutting the shield off of the shock. There may be some variance in the fit from bike to bike so some people may not need to remove the shield but you should look carefully at the lower portion of the shock shield to see if it contacts the hugger when the suspension compresses. On my bike there was enough contact that you could see slight movement in the hugger as the shield pressed against it (the shield's stronger than it looks). I didn't want the shiny new black hugger to get abraded so I removed the shield.

If you need to remove yours the shield is hard plastic and breaks easier than it cuts: I just scored the line with a razor knife, broke it off, and touched up the edge with sandpaper. Removing and disassembling the shock is the 100% correct way to do it but as Don said you would need the proper tools for dealing with a spring under pressure. I'm usually anal-retentive about doing things "the right way" but in this case there's no need for the shield if a hugger is installed and I definitely don't plan on ever removing the hugger from my bike.

To sum it up, once you've bolted up the NN hugger just position a light at the front of the hugger and then push down on the tail section to compress the suspension. If the hugger doesn't rub you're OK, if it does I would recommend removing the shield.