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Shortening Rear Shock Springs .

28K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  bullzeyet 
#1 ·
.Hello Riders .

I have read of some members on this forum , have lowered
the back of their bikes by cutting an inch or so off of the
rear shock absorbers . . .

My question is , how does one remove the spring from the
shock ?

I have looked all over the shock and , cant figure out how to
take it apart .

Can anyone tell me how they do it ??

I'd really like to lower my bike a little bit , maybe one inch

I can push the fork tubes up one inch , so that the bike
would be equal front and back , but the shock springs dont
show any clue how they are attacted .

If it helps , my ride is a 1983 Shadow 750 .
Any info would be appresheated .
Thanks in addvance .

also .. '' Happy Start of Riding Season '' .. :)
smiles.

..Candice..
 
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#2 ·
If your shocks are like mine (750DC), the springs are flat on both end. After cutting, they would have to be heated to re-flatten the cut end, and heating generally isn't good for springs. That being said, I still would be tempted to try it. I think if you compress the spring, the top plate will slide off the shock shaft. As for the front, put a jack under the front of the frame to get the weight off the front wheel and unscrew the top cap from the fork tube. You can replace the spacer on top of the spring with a shorter one. Just be carefull removing the cap, it's under pressure.
 
#3 ·
Why not just get a lowering kit for the back, cutting the springs is not the way to go. I'm to polite to tell you what i really think about doing that.

If yo pull the cap off the fork get the front wheel off the ground, this will just about eliminate spring pressure on the cap, it will still be there but nothing like if you do it with the wheel on the ground.
 
#4 ·
you have to compress the shock which allows you to remove the top portion. Then you take the spring out and cut off 2 coils or so, grind the spring end flat again and re install.

I can't really recommend cut shocks - the stockers suck to start with and cutting them only makes them worse - plus they will eventually leak. I highly recommend progressive shocks over cut shocks. I've had both.

I'm pretty sure you won't find a lowering kit for your '83, so other than cutting your shocks, new shorter shocks are really your only option (like progressives or 11" cheapies from www.crc2onlinecatalog.com

That said, www.sotmc.com will cut them for about $50

and here are a few home-made compressors:
compressor 1
compressor 2
compressor 3
you can also buy a compressor:
progressive compressor
ebay compressor
This is just a really quick forage through my files - there's much more out there.

Also, regarding lowering the front, rather than moving your tubes up in your trees, open up your fork tubes pull out the metal spacer tube that's on top and cut that down (or replace it with a shorter pvc piece like morepower recommended). Do it in small increments - maybe 1/2" at a time, 'till you like the height. You want to be careful because you never want the front lower than the rear. EDIT: and, good lord, make sure you have the front jacked up before trying to unscrew the fork caps (also loosen the upper pinch bolts before unscrewing the caps)!
 
#5 ·
... Hello Riders ...

Thanks very much for the replys and information .

Re: rear shock springs cut - down .
I thought it would be easy , if i found out how you guys do it ..
But now it is sounding pretty complicated .
I think , I'll look into a new shorter pair of shocks ...
Money is kinda tight at this time . thats why i thought maybe
I could lower the rear by cutting the shock springs ..

Re: the spacers inside the fork tubes ..
That sounds good !!! I am sure I can do that on my own .
thanks again for your time and help .

.. Candice ..
 
#6 ·
Here's a sheet on lowering the front that I got from Pete at SOTMC. But remember, don't lower the front w/o lowering the back.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c237/lang93/loweringinstructions.jpg

I also have the stock shocks from my vt800 that have been cut down. Now your stockers are about 1/2" shorter than mine were (12.5" vs 13"), so mine aren't cut down quite as much as yours could be. But if your interested in them, let me know (but I do think your better off saving up for progressives).
 
#7 ·
Candice....you gettin' lazy on me or what??? Ya tear apart your 750 Shadow engine and your worried about cutting an itty, bitty shock spring?????? :p :p :p :lol: :lol:

Listen to lang here, as he's got mucho xperience with his machine and these older 750/800's. I'd also suggest going the shorter, new shock route as well (maybe 11") and doing the shortening work on the front spacer. Like he says... a little at a time there. Might be best bang for buck for ya. :wink:

Bullzeyet
 
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