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.