Topic: Best Aftermarket Shocks

[Terry in Australia]

No offence meant Mike, just having some fun with ya!

[fuzzybutt]

A year ago I got shocks off ebay by some guy that had loads of them laying around. I think A bunch of us got these shocks. They are a little stiff but when riding 2up they work great. My bike does corner pretty well though. I think Terry got some too. He said they worked pretty good for him too. I suppose I should see about rebuilding mine as I do not know how long they sat.

i got a set of those boge shocks too, rock hard but when you go 300+ pounds like me, theyre a good shock to have.

[andy750]

All I can say...is that Mikes bike is no pork chop!  You ride this bike and you cant help but smile....and I was surprised by those shocks  - they really do make a huge difference over stock...no surprise there I guess.....ultra-smooth ride.

cheers
Andy

[turboguzzi]

Hei Bert

Nice shocks indeed, the only thing suspicious is that the spring rate of a V-Max would be way out for a CB750 or CB500 as the seller claims. those v-Four Yammies were really heavy and had drive shafts, so the shocks had to be quite hard to keep shaft torque reaction under control. any idea what rate do the springs have?

dont be surprised if they'll feel rock solid on a sohc, but then, springs are easy to change.

TG

Yeah but they are adjustable...so we'll see.

Well, adjustable they might be but spring rate is a given in the spring and you cant adjust that.
 you can adjust the preload but not the stifness of the spring. It cant be a bad idea to ask from the seller some softer rate springs.

my 0.02

TG

[andy750]

These shocks look pretty good for the price....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-CB-750-New-Chrome-Shocks-Fits-69-78-CB750-K-F_W0QQitemZ280193570783QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item280193570783

Any comments?

cheers
Andy

[bert96]

Hei Bert

Nice shocks indeed, the only thing suspicious is that the spring rate of a V-Max would be way out for a CB750 or CB500 as the seller claims. those v-Four Yammies were really heavy and had drive shafts, so the shocks had to be quite hard to keep shaft torque reaction under control. any idea what rate do the springs have?

dont be surprised if they'll feel rock solid on a sohc, but then, springs are easy to change.

TG

Yeah but they are adjustable...so we'll see.

Well, adjustable they might be but spring rate is a given in the spring and you cant adjust that.
 you can adjust the preload but not the stifness of the spring. It cant be a bad idea to ask from the seller some softer rate springs.

my 0.02

TG

Good point

[Terry in Australia]

These shocks look pretty good for the price....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-CB-750-New-Chrome-Shocks-Fits-69-78-CB750-K-F_W0QQitemZ280193570783QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item280193570783

Any comments?

cheers
Andy

I've got a similar set on a Suzuki GS1000G that I bought a couple of years ago Andy, I wouldn't recommend them, but they do stop the tire from rubbing on the fender.

[andy750]

Thanks Terry thats enough to put me off ;-) I know you have many parts which to compare them to so Ill take you advice on this one.

cheers
Andy

[Terry in Australia]

That's it mate, tons of parts, and no money................... 

[jsaab2748]

Terry, can you tell me exactly what it is that I have here? Is it
any good, or just one of the old style less desireables? Number underneath plastic sleeve is 76F-1296. Hopefully the pic will appear
with this post... Edit: click on pic to get better view. thanx..

[MRieck]

Terry, can you tell me exactly what it is that I have here? Is it
any good, or just one of the old style less desireables? Number underneath plastic sleeve is 76F-1296. Hopefully the pic will appear
with this post... Edit: click on pic to get better view. thanx..

7610 shocks.

[jsaab2748]

Terry, can you tell me exactly what it is that I have here? Is it
any good, or just one of the old style less desireables? Number underneath plastic sleeve is 76F-1296. Hopefully the pic will appear
with this post... Edit: click on pic to get better view. thanx..

7610 shocks.

Thank you sir.

[Terry in Australia]

Well, not really. They're actually the old alloy bodied 76F series, not 7610 series, the later "more desireable" steel bodied shock, with adjustable damping.

The 7610 series part number for our bikes (CB750's) is 7610-1296.

Here's a pic of the 7610 series shock, straight from Ikon's catalogue. Cheers, Terry.

[jsaab2748]

Well, not really. They're actually the old alloy bodied 76F series, not 7610 series, the later "more desireable" steel bodied shock, with adjustable damping.

The 7610 series part number for our bikes (CB750's) is 7610-1296.

Here's a pic of the 7610 series shock, straight from Ikon's catalogue. Cheers, Terry.

Hmmm.....kind of confusing. The ones I have are adjustable, but
they have to be completely compressed, (top eye removed, no spring) then turned thru a series of "detents", and each half turn counts as one adjustment. I think they are adjustable for rebound only, or it kinda seems like that.
Any thoughts? These were gummed up when I bought them new
a few years ago too. I took em apart and cleaned everything and reassembled with a mix of 10w honda brand fork oil and transmission fluid. Haven't installed them yet tho. Any idea how old they might be? Just curious. Can't seem to find much info on them.

[Terry in Australia]

I was told years ago that the old Koni's were able to be adjusted for different damping rates by turning the shafts with the shocks semi disassembled, but have never tried it. I've got a pair of 76F's like yours in my garage, so I'll see if it works.

Anyway, it's dead easy to tell the difference mate, apart from the alloy vs steel bodies, the 7610 series have a rubber dust cover just below the top "eye", and when you lift it away there's a 4 (from memory) position rotary "damping adjuster" knob with numbers printed on it. Your 76F's are at least 20 years old. Cheers, Terry.

[eurban]

Those ones are like my "paper weights" that I have in my basement.  The compression is adjustable by turning the shaft; I have the instructions that came with my NOS set somewhere.  I will see if I can find them . . Although my set was NOS they would not compress smoothly.  I opened them up and they were gummed up terribly.  Check the operation of yours for smooth compression and rebound. If they seem to be OK then you might have a decent set of shocks there.  Hope you have better luck than me!

[jsaab2748]

Adjustments are made by removing the top eye and rubber bumper, compressing the shaft till it bottoms. Then, while bottomed, turn the shaft clockwise till it clicks/stops. After that, turn shaft in half turn increments counterclockwise,while bottomed, each half turn considered an incremental adjustment.
The shaft will click/max out again in about 3 turns, or six adjustments if memory serves me. (I may have that backwards tho) It seems to me that rebound, rather than compression is affected more tho, using my "guess-o-meter" method. I had my set installed on my 750 for a very short time right after I got them. After the first ride tho, about 50 miles, the rear suspension got VERY stiff and didn't want to compress. I removed them and installed a new set of hagons. Only recently have I dis assembled them and completely cleaned the guts and replaced the fluid. If there were any dissolved rubber parts, I honestly don't know what they were as everything looked intact. Just some gummy looking crap in there that was preventing the shocks from rebounding smoothly and consistantly. Those first few miles of use when they were installed though, were an absolute blast. The bike never handled
that well before, and I could actually accellerate into curves rather than slow for them. I'm hoping for the same results when I re install them. Like I mentioned before, they are clean inside now and have a  fork oil/atf  fluid mix in them now and seem to operate normally. Thanks to all for the info regarding my questions. Hope I haven't highjacked the thread too much.

[Hope]

I have Red Wings on both the 75 CB550 K & the 76 550F.

[Terry in Australia]

Adjustments are made by removing the top eye and rubber bumper, compressing the shaft till it bottoms. Then, while bottomed, turn the shaft clockwise till it clicks/stops. After that, turn shaft in half turn increments counterclockwise,while bottomed, each half turn considered an incremental adjustment.
The shaft will click/max out again in about 3 turns, or six adjustments if memory serves me. (I may have that backwards tho) It seems to me that rebound, rather than compression is affected more tho, using my "guess-o-meter" method. I had my set installed on my 750 for a very short time right after I got them. After the first ride tho, about 50 miles, the rear suspension got VERY stiff and didn't want to compress. I removed them and installed a new set of hagons. Only recently have I dis assembled them and completely cleaned the guts and replaced the fluid. If there were any dissolved rubber parts, I honestly don't know what they were as everything looked intact. Just some gummy looking crap in there that was preventing the shocks from rebounding smoothly and consistantly. Those first few miles of use when they were installed though, were an absolute blast. The bike never handled
that well before, and I could actually accellerate into curves rather than slow for them. I'm hoping for the same results when I re install them. Like I mentioned before, they are clean inside now and have a  fork oil/atf  fluid mix in them now and seem to operate normally. Thanks to all for the info regarding my questions. Hope I haven't highjacked the thread too much.

How much oil did you use mate? According to Ikon, it should be around 70ml per shock. Cheers, Terry.

[jsaab2748]

[/quote]

How much oil did you use mate? According to Ikon, it should be around 70ml per shock. Cheers, Terry.
[/quote]



I can't remember the exact amount, but it WAS in the neighborhood
of 70ml, I am certain of that. I spoke with another forum member who was rebuilding a pair of 76 series 1302s for a cb 400. He told me total capacity recommended by Ikon was 75ml. for his shocks, so I copied off him, and kind of "tailored" the amount I put in mine.
I don't think a whole 75ml would fit in mine. And it wouldn't fit in the
1302s either, according to the guy with the cb400. Think he  got in about 65ml (if that helps)

[andy750]

Does anyone have any experience with Redwing shocks for the CB750? As can be seen here.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-CB-750-CB750-NOS-After-Market-Cafe-Shocks-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35592QQihZ012QQitemZ220147261820QQtcZphoto

cheers
Andy

[Terry in Australia]

Just more cheap crap from Asia Andy. I don't want to sound like a "shocker snob", but really, you only get what you pay for. Cheers, Terry.

[eurban]

"Does anyone have any experience with Redwing shocks for the CB750? As can be seen here.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-CB-750-CB750-NOS-After-Market-Cafe-Shocks-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35592QQihZ012QQitemZ220147261820QQtcZphoto

cheers
Andy"

YSS has the Bravo chrome steel shock for not much more $ that would not have any of the disadvantages of having been sitting around since the 70s/80s/90s.  These are similar in look to the stock shocks and you can get shrouds.  You could get the spring rate you wanted too and a gurantee. There are Progressive suspension shocks for not much more money and you really can't go wrong with the stainless steel bodied Hagons for just a bit over $200.  Those shocks seem overpriced for NOS, aftermarket, low level shocks

[andy750]

Thanks Eurban and Terry - Great info as usual! Much appreciated!

cheers
Andy

[Terry in Australia]

I've got the YSS "Bravo" shocks on my K1 and K2, they're ok, but nothing to write home about. I'd swap them for Ikons or Hagons (in that order) any day. Cheers, Terry.