Rebuilt rear shocks and installed swingarm

I finally got more work done on the bike this weekend, and have the rear shocks cleaned up and the swingarm mounted. Next I will mount the tires and handlebars so I have a rolling chassis.

First the shocks. The shocks were in great shape, but were very dirty from sitting and also had some surface rust inside of the spring that was impossible to get to assembled. I purchased an automotive spring compressor from Harbor Freight for under $15, and was able to get them apart using some luck and trial and error. I used a piece of 1/2 inch bar through the bottom end, and then used a ratchet to compress the shock spring to get them apart.

Once apart I used steel wool to clean up the surface rust, and also did some very minor painting on a couple of parts that needed a touch up. I used soap and water to clean up the remainder of the parts as they were just dirty, and then assembled the shocks. Here are a couple of pictures of that process including the contraption I used to compress the shocks:

I then went to work on the swingarm. The swingarm had been powder coated and looked great. I needed to install new bearings as the old ones had been removed. This is all part of the plan to have 100% new bearings in this bike once the build is done. I purchased the required bearings from a dealer so they are 100% Honda parts. It was more expensive than I would have thought, and I definitely recommend not doing this unless necessary as for the price it is a small amount you are gaining by having new bearings. The ones I removed were in decent shape and I saved them in case I needed a replacement set down the road.

I drove in the bearings using a driver and also installed the other parts and the seals, and then mounted the swingarm. The mounting takes some work as you need to torque the mounts that hold the swingarm in place, and you need to also torque a locking not. It took some work to pull off and I used a hammer and punch to set the locking nut, but it worked OK. Here are some pic's of that process:

With the swingarm mounted I then installed the rear shocks so the swingarm could be held in place. Only the right shock connects directly to the swingarm. The left shock connects to the drive gearbox portion of the swingarm when that is installed. That is the next thing on my list to do, and then mount the front and rear tires. Here is what the swingarm looks like installed:

That is all for now. I plan more work tomorrow and hope to have a rolling chassis by the end of the day - I guess we'll see. Talk to you then.

CJ.