Here is another picture or two of how I set things up to do the work. I read forum posts of people using ropes and doing some weird things but I was able to do it really easy with just a minimum amount of tools. B) They really nail you for a few hundred if you take it to a dealership to do something like this. It's SOO EASY! and you know you will do a better job and clean things up while you swap the parts out.
Aprilia Mille RSVR shock replacement, mission complete.