Shocking Questions

[hennesse]

I disassembled the "old style" (1952-1955) rear shock absorbers that came in the boxes with my 54 KH. It took me awhile to figure this out, as the Sportster Service Manuals only describe the "new style" shocks. First off, these turned out to be 1952-1953 type shocks, not the 1954-1955 type I should have - minor differences. Second, they turned out to be unusable. Now I have some shocking questions...

1. Does anyone have a set of 1954-1955 shocks they'd be willing to part with?

2. Has anyone ever re-shocked these? For 1952-1953, the basic shock is a Monroe automotive type shock, with the large bottom section welded on, and the little 54585-52 bumper cap welded on at the top. The shock itself says: R06-J4, Made in USA, Monroe Auto Equip, Monroe Mich, Patents Nos___, then 54502 52 (the "casting number", as the part number is 54501-52). It seems like if one could find an appropriate auto shock, one could cut the welds, and re-shock it. The hard part is finding the right shock.

Anyone done this?

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Does anyone know the difference between the 1952-1953 shocks and the 1954-1955 shocks assemblies?

There are 6 different parts between 1952-1953 and 1954-1955
54501-52 / 52A Shock absorber only
54595-52 / -52A Upper Eye
54557-52 / -53 Spring Plate
54578-52 / -53 Bumper Retainer
54531-52 / -53 Sliding Cam
54529-52 / -53 Rotating Cam

The 1953 Spare Parts Catalog has a good illustration of the 54501-52. The 1954 Catalog illustration shows the 54501-52A, but it has some of the other parts assembled on it - confusing matters.

[EKHKHK56]

Shocking to say the least! I'll pull mine and see what I have Dave. The 54 55 ones look similar but not the same or same length as 56 and up. Erik K

[hennesse]

Below are some illustrations of the 1952-1953 shocks

What I think happened in 1954-1955 - just total guessing - is Monroe supplied a different basic shock to Harley. Harley modified some of the parts they added to match, and called it the -52A. Most of the automotive shocks of the 1960s-1970s had a 3/8" rod, and if so, the Upper Eye and Spring Plate would have to modified to match the smaller rod. If the O.D. of the basic shock body was different, then the bottom part that Harley welded onto the shock would have changed slightly, and the Cams would have changed to match.

The point of this exercise is (a) to be able to identify the -52 and -52A shocks should we ever encounter some at a swap meet; and (b) to identify the basic Monroe shocks used on each, so we can see if we can find suitable replacements. If so, it would take some cutting and welding, but then we could re-shock these units. Hope springs eternal...

Illustration #2

1952-1953-illustration-1.jpg (62.9 KiB) Viewed 15384 times

Illustration #2

1952-1953-illustration-2.jpg (49.35 KiB) Viewed 15384 times

Illustration #3

1952-1953-illustration-3.jpg (29.02 KiB) Viewed 15384 times

Erik, you are correct. The 1952-1953 (and I assume the 1954-1955) shocks are 14-1/2" between the centerlines of the "eyes", and the 14" for the 1956-1964 units, since they lowered the frame in 1956. While I'm saying 1952-1953 and 1954-1955, these could have been a mid-year change in 1954 or even 1953 The 1953 Parts Catalog came out near the beginning of the 1953 model year, and the 1954 Catalog came out near the end of the 1954 model year. Who knows what happened in-between?

[mikeslemmon]

shock dimensions 14.25 long 13.5 short cantilever and angle gives 1" difference in ground clearence

[starcain]

The easiest way that I have found to tell the difference between the two is by simply looking at the upper eye of the shock. The 52 style has a straight shank and the 52a has a flared one. You can clearly see this by looking down through the center of the spring plate

[epinut]

This one is marked 54502-53, couldn't find the top spring plate right now, but it has a corresponding hex hole...

[dr dick]

dave:
you say your current dampers are unusable> thats not very specific.

monroe's that are "junk" oftentimes can be reanimated, as long as they will sport full spring skirts, hiding the sutures.

see
http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/showpost.php?p=4361497&postcount=55

if you feel this kind of surgery may help you, contact me.

[hennesse]

dave:
you say your current dampers are unusable> thats not very specific.
...
if you feel this kind of surgery may help you, contact me.

Dr. Dick,

I have two complete 52-53 shocks. One Monroe doesn't move at all - there are depressions in the body where the coil spring was smashed into it. Don't know what hit it, but it hit it really hard! The other Monroe moves freely, zero damping action. Since I have a 1954 KH, maybe I should find a pair of 1954-1955 shocks before considering major surgery - although there are only minor differences between 52-53 and 54-55. And yes, they will be sporting full metal jackets.

In the meantime, I'll be running a set of 56-61 shocks until I find the right organ donors.

P.S. Do you accept Blue Cross/Blue Shield?

[epinut]

Lower cam differences, later (with paint) is also approx 1/4" higher.