Removing Springs from '78 CX500 Rear Shocks

I guess it depends on which shock you have since the one has cover on it that covers half the shock.



Something similar to this looks good.

Blindstitch said:

I guess it depends on which shock you have since the one has cover on it that covers half the shock.



Something similar to this looks good.

Click to expand...

The shocks are the original '78 CX500 shocks that have no cover....If those are homemade spring compressors, very nice ones.....



I'll check with some local auto parts stores....I'll try and rent a spring compressor - didn't even know they are available for rent or loan.



Thanks for the safety heads-up....



Thanks, everyone for the ideas and information.



VC3

VC3 said:

I want to disassemble a couple of sets of CX500 rear shocks to clean them up. I know there are spring compressors sold for such jobs but they are kind of expensive....(I'm already accumulating a lot of new tools since I started working on CX's

..trying to avoid another ).



Is there an inexpensive way to make a safe to use spring compressor?



Or...should I just pay the Honda shop to break them down (also not cheap).



Thanks...



VC3

Click to expand...

You've hit on an interesting question- buy, rent or make. I like to buy tools- it gets the wife angry which means she gets some physical activity by getting out of her chair and screaming at me. (while I giggle like a school girl) Renting I don't have much faith in- you don't know the gorilla mentality of the ape that rented it the 20 times before, nor are you aware of hairline fractures in the metal thats from being banged on- and you don't see the very fine print of the contract where it says "Not Liable for tool breakage". I trust making my own tooling because I know the stress's I'm expecting, I KNOW what the materials rated at, and I've got the years of experience building my own tooling for special projects. In this case the springs are rated at a few hundred pounds- call it 400 each- divided by each bar of the compressor pics shown = 200 pounds per threaded bar. This is relatively speaking a very light load- they've used a series of 2" bars to hold up tons of skywalk between buildings in skyscrapers.



They've also had super massive failure when the installers didn't follow the engineering instructions to the letter, resulting in death- but I digress.



Anyhow- in this case building a compressor would be a handy thing to have around in the future. Or not depending if you like to trip over "one of tools that someday I'll get rid of..."



About 20 years ago I built a specialized breaker bar rig for a special aircraft project and then it sat, underfoot, in the garage/storage shed. 4 years ago I ended changing it to make a leg brace for my right foot all the way up to my right knee when the whole thing swelled up and became so painfull and immobilized I couldn't walk. The pain in my right foot, ankle and right knee got so bad I ended up writing a letter to the Lakewood Police Chief, the President of Saint Claires Hospital, and the Veterans Administrations Cheif Doctor of both the Seattle Hospital (where they do surgery) and American Lake in Tacoma (Where they do follow up care) that said "If you can't fix this problem, I'm going to have to use a shotgun to self-amputate my right leg below the knee. I'll be doing this in front of the ER at Saint Claires hospital since the staff knows my wife and its 2/3rds away from home. Since discharging a firearm in the city limits without just cause is grounds to be arrested, I've written this letter in my legal defense"



The effects of this letter were immediate- I had 5 VA doctors appointments in 3 days and thats how they discovered how untreated my arthritis was, hence the disability, hence riding a motorcycle is my defying death and affirming my life.



So, go make your own tooling and I'll shut up now! TT

Blindstitch said:

I don't think car spring compressors will do it but they might. All you really need is 1/2 inch movement or so. I almost wonder if heavy zipties would do it. Like the 100 pound ones.

Click to expand...

They might...and the hose clamp idea might work too. I think the hose clamps might scratch the chrome on the shocks, though. One set I want to take apart and clean are on a frame that only has around 5600 miles on it and that has been garaged since 1979, so I'm hoping the shocks are still good. I'd like to clean them up and put them on my '78 CX500, which currently has some after-market shocks on it. They are good-looking shocks but not stock and the rest of the bike is pretty close to stock...I'm moving it in that direction. Plus, the after-market shocks have too heavy spring rates for me...I only weigh about 165 and don't have any accessories on the bike that weigh it down. So, I don't want to scratch or mar the springs while disassembling the shocks.



Even though TonyR warned me, and I agree with the possible downside, I might make a simple spring compressor like what BaldGrimsbyBiker described.....some angle iron (on hand) and threaded rod (close by, at Blain's) and a bolt to go through the bottom eye...but I'll be careful....I like my teeth where they are.



Thanks for the idea..



VC3

I have removed the springs from a number of shocks. The first time I rigged up a puller using glue clamps and whatnot. That sorta worked, but was awkward. The last half dozen I have done simpler. I put the shock bottom end down in a good vise. Then if you have a helper, one person just uses their hands to pull down on the upper shield. You only need a half inch space to slip in a open end wrench in the slot to catch the locking nut. I remember it being 12mm, but could be 14mm. When you have caught the nut, insert a heavy screwdriver or socket extension through the top mounting loop and unscrew the top.



There isn't much spring to worry about, it isn't going to fly out of the shop when the thread ends. In fact, there is little to no jump because the threads extend into the top mount a half inch or so. Then just lift off the parts and clean up.



Reassembly is slightly harder because you have to keep the piston rod extended to allow the top loop to thread on. A needle nosed Vise Grips usually works well for that.



If you don't have a helper, you can do the same with one hand and then slip a wood wedge in to hold the gap open. A vise in almost a necessary fixture in a shop. I couldn't begin to accomplish things without one.

All of my experience with coil springs is automotive.

It sounds like my concerns maybe extreme. The automotive ones can bang you up

if your not very careful.

They although have a MUCH heavier load so it makes sense.

I tend to side on cautious when it comes to endangering my body parts.

I am fond of them all and want to keep most of them. A toe here or losing the

end of a finger might not be the worst but I prefer to keep them.



Sorry if I exaggerated the possible danger.

Oh my automotive spring compressor (snap on) will slide right in and seem to be fine.

The ones Blindstitch pictured look like good candidates!

Chzdanish said:

I'd try to make this. Looks pretty easy, and should be able to stand up to the load.

Homemade Spring Compressor

Click to expand...

Ken here from HomemadeTools.net.

I know this thread is an old one, but thanks for the link!

To celebrate our 20,000th homemade tool, we made a new ebook featuring our top 50 homemade tools. You guys are welcome to it for free:

http://download.homemadetools.net/50MustReadTools.pdf