Ninja Rear Shock upgrade (Done)

My 2003 Ninja 250 has a really soft rear shock and I want to make it firmer for better handling and less compression under acceleration. 

List of things I want work on
-Take apart and clean carbs
-Sync carbs
-Change front and rear tires
-Replace damaged barends 
-Fix gastank leak
-Clear cloat new gas tank
-Pod filter w/ air box removal
-Rejet Carbs
-Fender Eliminator kit
-Front Shock upgrade (stiffer)
-Reflective pin striping wheels
-Muffler mod
-Rear Shock upgrade

Found some interesting stuff online about this.
Rear Shock Upgrade
Forum Post on topic

I read that the new gen ninjas have stiffer springs, are adjustable and raise the ride height by 1 or 2 inches. Higher ride height would be nice too.

Found this on ebay for $57 shipped.

The shock came today! Plan to install tomorrow.

Installation:

The Old shock

I took off the center stand a while back and had to put it back on again so the weight of the bike was off the rear tire. Had to take off both mufflers in order to replace the centerstand but

Unbolting the bottom of the shock was easy with a little WD40.

I couldnt get a picture of the top but it was pretty straight forward. Just a bolt with a nut welded onto the otherside. You could only access it from one side but with a socket extension it was pretty easy.

Old (top) vs New (bottom)

New shock completely in place!

All back together.

 Lessons Learned:
Pretty simple over all installation. The new gen shock is a simple bolt on replacement so i didnt need to fabricate any sort of custom parts. Im not sure if I should have replaced the entire shock bracket that it was attached to on the lower half because I have the new one but it seems identical so I left the old one on. Had I thought of it I would have painted the spring green before I installed it and gotten a cool aesthetic like this. Probably wouldnt be obvious but whatever. The bike sits a bit higher and doesnt sag anywhere near as much when i sit on it. Im excited to ride it and test the new spring out but snow, wet roads and salt are not a good combo for motorcycles.