Shocking discussion

[djohns]

I would like to open up a discussion about shocks absorbers (dampers for those across the pond). This pertains to the C/CA line of bikes such as CA77,72,95, etc. Would like to stay specific for these models and not wander off to the other models, CB/CL yet.
First some questions:
How many of us out there have a bike that feels like you are riding one of those "hobby horses" we had as kids. You know the ones with the 4 springs on the corners. Ok, by a show of hands how many? Looks like almost everyone has their hand up!
How many of you out there have NOS shocks stored in a hermetically sealed Mason jar under a nitrogen pad for the past 50+ years? I only see one hand up. If that person would PM me with their address and the hours they are at work and the garage is unlocked I would appreciate it.
All kidding aside I think we could all benefit from an instructional discussion on the disassembly, operation and repair of these items.
A couple of questions were asked and answered back 2 years ago by Cadman and G-Man complete with pics. Informative but stopped short of the operation and repairability of these. I have seen articles about repairs by riders in England but they didn't discuss operation. I have taken apart a couple of both rear and front CA77 and CA95 shocks but parts are broken or missing inside. I have attached pics of a disassembled shock. Very similar to G-Mans pic.
Can we start the discussion with a detailed description of the operation of these types? It appears in my pic there should be an o-ring installed at the bottom end of the rod between the piston and the rod (or hex nut in G-Mans pic). The piston has 5 holes drilled from bottom to top with two of those holes cross drilled out to the sides. I'll leave it at that and hope someone can fill in the blanks of the dampening operation of the shock. All my scenarios come up with a blank.

[djohns]

It appears my pics did not attach. Maybe too large? I'll work on it.

[G-Man]

I have dismantled Dream shocks but have not restored any up to now. I belive theat the dampers are pretty similar to many others of the era.

The Dream shocks are one-way damped compared with say, a CL72 which has two-way damping. All of them work by forcing oil through a drilled plate or a stack of loose shims.

Dream



CL77



G

[LOUD MOUSE]

NONE, NONE of the early shocks were duel damping.
Rebound only.
Test any and you will find they compress easily and HARD TO PULL!. .............lm

[garncarz]

Good discussion. I would love to rebuild my shocks. My question is: does anyone have a source for the replacement rubber parts?

Part Number Description Qty per rear shock
51632250000 BUSH CUSHION (upper) 2
52413250010 RUBBER CUSHION 1
52442250000 BUSH CUSHION (lower) 2

Part Number Description Qty per front shock
51215250000 BUSH CUSHION (lower) 1
51232250000 SEAL ARM 1
51523250010 RUBBER, FR.CUSHION STOPPER 1
51632250000 BUSH CUSHION (upper) 2

[garncarz]

Considering the cost of the replacement consumable parts for the original shocks. Has anyone looked into a slim modern shock that could fit inside the original square CA77 shock casings? Or just say screw it and put modern aftermarket rear shocks on?