Cb77 Rear Shocks?

Spargett · Post by **Spargett** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 4:10 pm

Apologies, I ordered the #9 CLASSIC III - FULL STAINLESS SHROUDS-BLACK PAINTED UPPERS & POLISHED LOWERS $313.00

As the forum has shown, there's quiet a few options. I feel like these are a great bolt on alternative for a slightly nicer shock. Some of the cheaper ones have been known to be "squeaky".

phactory wrote:Spargett,

Thanks, exactly what did you order? Can you supply the part # you used? Too bad for me they only come in black. I would have to take them apart and have the top shroud painted red.

Thanks, Phil

phactory · Post by **phactory** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 9:20 pm

Mark,

This is pretty much what I was hoping to do, but the Redwing shocks that I have seen for the CB look to be too short on the lowere portion of the body, so I am worried about interference with the chainguard, but I am definitely leaning this way.

Thanks, Phil

flathead wrote:Hello All,

Here's what I do when I need a decent set of shocks for a CB or CL.

I buy a set of CHEAP aftermarket shocks off of EBAY without the covers. Usually pay around $50 plus shipping. The last set I got came from Mrsuperdeals and were Redwings but any of the cheapo's should work. You can see them at this link but remember this set are for an early CL72 and are Eye/Eye and not Eye/Clevis. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0231773630

What you do is diassemble the original shock as described many times previously on this forum.

Wet sand out as many of the scratches as you can on the plastic or steel covers with 120-180 grit sandpaper. Ruff them up good!!!Prime the cover with a decent " FOR PLASTIC" aerosol primer. You may have to build up the primer to cover any deep scratches. Sand with 320 grit and repeat as many time as needed to get them as smooth as you want. Then either have your painter paint them with your other parts or use a high quality aerosol such as Krylon or Duplicolor to match whatever color your using. I then dissasemble the new shocks. All of the new aftermarket shocks, that I've used so far, come apart by unscrewing the top eye from the rod. I've not done the Redwings yet but I'm sure they will come apart as they were rebuildable. You can usually get the cheapo's apart pretty easy by compressing the spring and getting hold of the rod with a set of visegrips and a rag to keep from marring the rod.
I buy a short length of 2" od x .065 stainless tubing from McMaster Carr (p/n 4466K171 , enough for 2 sets ) for around $20, cut it to the length of the lower cover, tig weld a 2" od washer in one end, and then bore the washer to fit the lower of the new shock. The stainless is pretty clean so it only takes a few minutes on the buffer with white compound to bring to a "chrome" like finish. I have run into a case or two that the new spring is too large to fit into the stock covers so I just clean up the old springs and use them instead.

They assemble just just like you took them apart. Compress, hold the rod with a pair of visegrips and a rag, and screw the top eye back on. Below is a set that I did a few years ago for my superhawk. Make sure, when you buy them, that the lower section (the part that sticks out of the lower case) is the long type if you are gonna use them on a CB or they may hit your chainguard. I dont think the short type with the long springs will cause any problem with the scrambler. I've got a set of those on my Cafe bike but I'm not running a chainguard so I can't confirm any interference.

Mark

phactory · Post by **phactory** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 9:21 pm

Spargett,

Thanks, I will look into these also.

Thanks, Phil

Spargett wrote:Apologies, I ordered the #9 CLASSIC III - FULL STAINLESS SHROUDS-BLACK PAINTED UPPERS & POLISHED LOWERS $313.00

As the forum has shown, there's quiet a few options. I feel like these are a great bolt on alternative for a slightly nicer shock. Some of the cheaper ones have been known to be "squeaky".

phactory wrote:Spargett,

Thanks, exactly what did you order? Can you supply the part # you used? Too bad for me they only come in black. I would have to take them apart and have the top shroud painted red.

Thanks, Phil

rbaselt · Post by **rbaselt** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 7:09 pm

Silly question: why not just restore the originals? --Randall

phactory · Post by **phactory** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 11:40 pm

Randall,

If I could I would but my rears are not the rebuild-able type.

Thanks, Phil

rbaselt wrote:Silly question: why not just restore the originals? --Randall

rbaselt · Post by **rbaselt** » Sun Jun 20, 2010 6:19 am

I've restored about 6 sets of rear shocks and all but one pair still had good action. As long as the movement is free and smooth and there is no leaking, they have performed well. The hydraulic body is used primarily for its rebound-limiting ability, with the spring providing most of the shock-absorbing quality. The steel bodies can be re-plated very effectively if you carefully wrap the piston shaft in electrical tape and advise the plater to keep the adjuster ring free of the body during the plating process. --Randall

phactory · Post by **phactory** » Sun Jun 20, 2010 7:05 am

Randall,

I have absolutely ZERO damping left in one of my shocks and it is a non-rebuildable unit. My units have leaked all of their oil out. Restoring the shocks is the easy part. Finding a lower shock body that is still oil tight is the hard part. Have you figured a way to rebuild the non-rebuildable units?

Phil

rbaselt wrote:I've restored about 6 sets of rear shocks and all but one pair still had good action. As long as the movement is free and smooth and there is no leaking, they have performed well. The hydraulic body is used primarily for its rebound-limiting ability, with the spring providing most of the shock-absorbing quality. The steel bodies can be re-plated very effectively if you carefully wrap the piston shaft in electrical tape and advise the plater to keep the adjuster ring free of the body during the plating process. --Randall