Topic: Monroe shocks?? for cb550

[xsmooth69x]

what are Monroe shocks??

anyone ever heard of them. i found some for my cb550 but i cant find anything about them on the internet.... was this made before the interweb 



its not off this bike but they look exactly the same with the yellow and everything

[Greggo]

They make good shock absorbers for cars, but that's about all I know.  Those look pretty sexy on that 550.

[xsmooth69x]

ya i cant find anything on them...........

[xsmooth69x]

ow well i picked the pair up for $60 lets see what they can do 

[xsmooth69x]

but if anyone has any info on these and wants to chime in that be great 

[lone*X]

Just curious where you found them?  Were these from a retail outlet?

[david 750f]

The Monroes were a basic replacement shock back in the 70's. Definately a grade below the Koni's and Boge (Interpart) shocks of that era.

I had them on my 750F for a number of years. The ride was much improved when I replaced them with a set of Ikon's.

[doobiebro]

I think that Monroe may have bought some of the progressive type shock patent rights from S&W when they folded.  I have some SW shocks by Monroe on my 1977 750k.  Mine were bought from a Harley shop and are therefore sprung a bit too firm for the lighter Honda 750.  However, Monroe had several weight options (as did S&W), so I should have just gotten the ones made for the Honda.  I plan on putting them on my Goldwing when I get back into the project mode to see if they work okay on a heavier motorcycle.  Then, I will put on a set of NOS S&W (not Monroe) shocks I bought last year on the 750k.  We will have to see how they work.  I belive that the quality may be, as David mentioned, below the Koni and Boge but I haven't had experience with anything other than these Monroes and the stock Honda shock.  As a guess, I would imagine they are similar in quality to the Progressive brand.

[MCRider]

I think that Monroe may have bought some of the progressive type shock patent rights from S&W when they folded.  I have some SW shocks by Monroe on my 1977 750k.  Mine were bought from a Harley shop and are therefore sprung a bit too firm for the lighter Honda 750.  However, Monroe had several weight options (as did S&W), so I should have just gotten the ones made for the Honda.  I plan on putting them on my Goldwing when I get back into the project mode to see if they work okay on a heavier motorcycle.  Then, I will put on a set of NOS S&W (not Monroe) shocks I bought last year on the 750k.  We will have to see how they work.  I belive that the quality may be, as David mentioned, below the Koni and Boge but I haven't had experience with anything other than these Monroes and the stock Honda shock.  As a guess, I would imagine they are similar in quality to the Progressive brand.

Agreed. The gold tops and adjusters look just like the ones I had on my CB750, that were definitely S&W. Remove the springs, or look real close thru the coils and see if you can see S&W etched in the shock body. About 1" high letters.   Monroe's involvment was fleeting, Progressive took the S&W brand.

Any way, they are better than stock, not better than others, and probably sprung too heavy.

[MCRider]

Fouind this quote on another forum: "Those S&W shocks were made by Monroe, yeah, the car shock people. Same shock you bought for the Buick. Friend used to work for Tim Witham. He told me. "

Tim Witham was the W in S&W

[MCRider]

Another forum quote: "I worked for S&W during the time that these airshocks were produced and worked quite a bit on thier development.
 The principle owner/founder of the company was Tim Witham, Art Sparks (of ForgeTrue Pistons) was co-owner. S&W started out life in Downey, CA , grew out of that location
 and moved to Buena Park. Bruce Burness was cheif engineer, Bruce was Carrol Shelbys shop forman in the Cobra days. Martin Wade was another engineer there, his background was in development of the Lotus racing cars.

The book that you mention was written by Bruce and was sold to the S&W dealers and was directed at the many racing enthusiasts. It was an attempt to clarify some of the foggy issues surrounding proper motorcycle suspension at the time. It helped considerably to clarify just what suspension components a particular situation would use.

The air shock was developed (I should say adopted) for the Goldwing in about '75 or '76. At the time the model had just been introduced by Honda and Ron Murakami (sp?) of Honda R&D lent us  one of the fist Goldwings to do the development work  for the suspension. I recall the serial number on that machine was #___00000006, and it was one the first Goldwings in this country. We recieved it after all the magazines completed thier initial reviews.

At the time S&W switched their source manufacturer from Gabriel in Mexico to Monroe in the USA, a big improvement in quality and function. The standard Monroe automotive airshock was the basis for the motorcycle model, the dimensions and valving/dampening rates adopted to fit S&W specs."

So, they were made by Monroe to S&W specs... for a while. seems 1982 was the time Progressive took over the brand and suppressed it. (The subject in this discussion were S&W air shocks for GoldWings. Not what you're looking at I understand, but I'm posting for perspective. You get the idea.)

[xsmooth69x]

well i would love to have ikons but they are $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

i actually found them on fleabay lol the only other shocks ive seen pictures of are on that other bike up top. these things must have been made way before the interweb.... craziness!

they came off a 1975 cb550 so its exactly my bike. the picture above is on a cb550 also so it leads me to believe they are deff made for my bike.

another thing i found out reading the ikon history on there web page that ikon actually bought out the monroe line of shocks.

i just thought they where very interesting because they did not have the stem part like the stocker shocks. ive looked at other shocks and the only ones that kinda look like it is ikon and pregressive

stockers


progressive


ikon


my monroe

[xsmooth69x]

i hope there better than the stockers lol

i literally bought them because they looked cool ahahahaha 

the spring dont look like there sprung to hard

[MCRider]

Ikon (Koni) may have bot Monroe, but Progressive definitely ended up with S&W. You can call and ask. Speaking of calling the white and blue dots are codes for the weight(s) of the spring (dual rate springs.) Call Progressive and they can tell you what they are. You can't tell from looking what the weights are, or you're a better man then me.    (Not too hard to do actually)

Having the shock body exposed below the spring like the OEMs is a cheap out on the OEM part. Less spring to have to manufacture. replacing the OEM shock with one with a full length spring causes a problem with the CB750s at least in that the spring contacts the chain guard and pushes it into the chain. Maybe not so with the 500/550s? Certainly not a problem with customs where the guard is removed.

[xsmooth69x]

ow ya im deff not running the chain guard on my bike.

the paint on the shocks actually mean something? i thought it was just from the bone yard that pulled them just to inventory it or check it?

[MCRider]

ow ya im deff not running the chain guard on my bike.

the paint on the shocks actually mean something? i thought it was just from the bone yard that pulled them just to inventory it or check it?

Nope that's super secret code from back in "the day". If you care to know, Progressive can tell you. There are people there who used to work at S&W (which is what i think you have, made by Monroe).

[xsmooth69x]

is it important should i call?

do you think theres people that work there that are still alive that know about this shock?

[kck3]

If you do call could you also ask what the "white and red" stripes mean weight wise?  I picked up a 750 recently that has these on it as well.  How do I go about adjusting these?  Would a strap wrench on the lower yellow portion of the shock in the last pic move it to the different settings?  Mine are in the same position as yours-would adjusting them to the last setting raise the bike up any?  Would it make getting her on the center stand any easier?  As of now she is a beast to get up on center stand and I was wondering if this position the shock is in currently might have anything to do with that.

[MCRider]

is it important should i call?

do you think theres people that work there that are still alive that know about this shock?

No its not important. Only if the springs were too weak, which is highly unlikely. Otherwise its just a curiosity. If you find they are too stiff you'll need to know what they are, to buy softer ones.

I bought a pair of NOS S&W a few years ago and I was able to talk to someone who was if not an S&W employee, at least they were very familiar with what i had.

[MCRider]

If you do call could you also ask what the "white and red" stripes mean weight wise?  I picked up a 750 recently that has these on it as well.  How do I go about adjusting these?  Would a strap wrench on the lower yellow portion of the shock in the last pic move it to the different settings?  Mine are in the same position as yours-would adjusting them to the last setting raise the bike up any?  Would it make getting her on the center stand any easier?  As of now she is a beast to get up on center stand and I was wondering if this position the shock is in currently might have anything to do with that.

The adjuster should have notches in them for an adjuster wrench which is a hook like affair. Quick and dirty is a pair of channel locks with a shop rag to keep from scratching things too much.

Its a common misunderstanding that the adjuster will affect ride height. Only when there is weight on them. With no weight on them the height of the shock is the same regardless of the pre-load, they are extended to the max at each setting.

Sorry for butting in.

[vrenlos]

For what it's worth, and a little off-topic, I have a lockring remover for my bicycle that I used last night to adjust down my rear springs - the PO had them set at position 4 - and it worked a charm.  For $10-15 it might be a decent investment for some people that don't want to channel-lock and rag it.  I also thought about using one of my few oil filter wrenches if it didn't work.

[scottly]

I looked at my shocks today; the bodies are stamped in 1/4" letters as follows.

     S&W (inside an oval)
=MONROE=
Made in USA

The springs that were fitted when I bought the bike, with white and blue marks, were too stiff for me, especially with a lightened 750. I ordered a set of white/red springs which were softer. The main difference between the springs is the diameter of the wire used to wind them; the white/blue is .275", and the white/red is .265".

[MCRider]

I looked at my shocks today; the bodies are stamped in 1/4" letters as follows.

     S&W (inside an oval)
=MONROE=
Made in USA

The springs that were fitted when I bought the bike, with white and blue marks, were too stiff for me, especially with a lightened 750. I ordered a set of white/red springs which were softer. The main difference between the springs is the diameter of the wire used to wind them; the white/blue is .275", and the white/red is .265".

Wow that's great info adding to the legacy knowledge base.

Here's what i think is the code chart for the S&W/Monroe/Progressive shock springs.
http://www.eurospares.com/graphics/suspension/SWspring001.jpg
The white /blue of XSSmooth is a 95lb/250lb spring 9 inches long. If that's true that's WAY too stiff for a 550. More like a goldwing or harley.

The white/red at 85/150 would be better.

The bike posted by 736 has double pink which would be a straight rate 70 lb spring 10 inches long which would be too soft. I'll bet its a triple pink and we can't see the third pink. That would be 100lbs which would be a nice ride, a little soft for brisk business.

[xsmooth69x]

Wow that's great info adding to the legacy knowledge base.

Here's what i think is the code chart for the S&W/Monroe/Progressive shock springs.
http://www.eurospares.com/graphics/suspension/SWspring001.jpg

The white /blue of XSSmooth is a 95lb/250lb spring 9 inches long. If that's true that's WAY too stiff for a 550. More like a goldwing or harley.

The white/red at 85/150 would be better.

The bike posted by 736 has double pink which would be a straight rate 70 lb spring 10 inches long which would be too soft. I'll bet its a triple pink and we can't see the third pink. That would be 100lbs which would be a nice ride, a little soft for brisk business.

damn it...... lol and dude where do you find stuff like the link you posted 

[MCRider]

Sometimes its just too easy. I googled "S&W Shock spring color codes" and that link it appeared in 3 of the first 5 hits. After that it drifted into S&W (Smith & Wesson) gun links.  Along with the link were discussions on forums mostly of dirt bikes, following the same lines of the discussion we are having.

Ain't the internet grand?   

[scottly]

Ain't the internet grand?   

Yup!!
736, my shocks are 13.5", but they have eyes at both ends, to fit the Seeley swing-arm, so they aren't quite the same as most 750 shocks.

[xsmooth69x]

so my springs are way too stiff?

[MCRider]

so my springs are way too stiff?

If that chart is relevant, and I think it is, you may find your 95/250 too stiff. The 95 part is livable, but the 250 part would be essentially a solid spring. So your tolerable wheel travel is limited.

I run a 95/140 on my CB750. This is slightly stiff for solo riding, on the softest pre-load. I compromise as I often take a passenger and/or a load. I'm about 175lbs suited up. With the passenger and saddlebags and stuff on the rack, it was full pre-load.

On a 500/550, I'd think you'd want a 75 to 85 on the soft part and no more than 130 on the heavy part. Depends on your weight, anticipated load, and riding style.

Go ahead and run them and see. A simple shock spring compressor can be had, and springs can be swapped out easily. The springs listed on that chaart have probably been updated to newer combos, which will require a phone call to determine.

[Bodi]

The chain guard is an important safety  item. Remove it at some risk.
Anyway check for clearance between the shock and the chain. The full-spring shocks will get hit by the chain on some models (the chain path may be right at the preload adjuster collar flange in some preload settings - settings to be avoided). That can damage the master link pins in time and lead to chain failure. The stock chain guard shock clearance bulge is pretty much at minimum clearance from the chain (not unusual to see chain damage on the inside of that bulge).

[xsmooth69x]

well im 5"9-10 175-180lb by myself and with no gear and maybe a 120 lb girl  ..... idk ill run it and see how it is. crappy thing is since this is my first bike i have no bench mark on how a good bike should handle. ive driven many ferraris, lambos, mercs amg, bmw M, lotus, bentleys, audis, maserati, etc so cars i can tell you whats up

but bikes no idea. is the chain guard really like important. i know its safer but does stuff catch in it easy or does stuff fly up from it like rocks? or is it for when the chain breaks? my bike didnt come with one and others ive seen are just made out of cheap plastic....

[Hannibal Smith]

well im 5"9-10 175-180lb by myself and with no gear and maybe a 120 lb girl  ..... idk ill run it and see how it is. crappy thing is since this is my first bike i have no bench mark on how a good bike should handle. ive driven many ferraris, lambos, mercs amg, bmw M, lotus, bentleys, audis, maserati, etc so cars i can tell you whats up

but bikes no idea. is the chain guard really like important. i know its safer but does stuff catch in it easy or does stuff fly up from it like rocks? or is it for when the chain breaks? my bike didnt come with one and others ive seen are just made out of cheap plastic....

ow u wil B fine!

[xsmooth69x]

well im 5"9-10 175-180lb by myself and with no gear and maybe a 120 lb girl  ..... idk ill run it and see how it is. crappy thing is since this is my first bike i have no bench mark on how a good bike should handle. ive driven many ferraris, lambos, mercs amg, bmw M, lotus, bentleys, audis, maserati, etc so cars i can tell you whats up

but bikes no idea. is the chain guard really like important. i know its safer but does stuff catch in it easy or does stuff fly up from it like rocks? or is it for when the chain breaks? my bike didnt come with one and others ive seen are just made out of cheap plastic....

ow u wil B fine!

thanks Hannibal