S & W shocks on eBay

DogBunny · Mar 27, 2020

FWIW...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/164140198567?ul_noapp=true
Look pretty nice. Period correct. Price okay. I'd be interested, but a little too long for me.

member28833 · Mar 27, 2020

Yes, those do have the 70/80's look.
More input. I did have a pair of those on a Seca 650. They were just a bit stiff. I didn't mind as that bike also had stiffer fork springs and more mods and I rode it like a young guy would
:cool:

Those are not the best choice for a light weight rider seeking comfy cush..

DogBunny · Mar 27, 2020

They come up every now and then on eBay, but this is a particularly nice pair. They aren't the greatest shocks, but not the worst either, have retro-cool stickers, and cool separate dual-rate springs.
They also have an interesting history. Were made by Gabriel (the car shock people) in Mexico, then production switched to Monroe (again, the car shock people) in the USA. Monroe eventually bought S&W, and for a short time they were branded "Monroe." Those are the really rare ones. Progressive Suspension bought out Monroe's motorcycle shock line in 1982.
That history may not be 100% correct, but it's close enough.

xjwmx · Mar 27, 2020

DogBunny said:
That history may not be 100% correct, but it's close enough.

that sums up all history.

5twins · Mar 27, 2020

I have a set I scored off eBay recently and hope to try out this season. At around $40, I figured I'd give them a try .....

I need to pop the springs off and clean them up, install some rubber bushings in one. Luckily, I have a junk set that came on a parts bike I can scrounge the eye rubbers from. I'm going to try to polish the spring retainers and adjusters. These look very similar to the set that came on my '78. Those were from another aftermarket American company, Pro-Lift, but maybe they're from Monroe as well?

If the springs turn out to be too stiff, I'll go with my old standby, springs from old BMW R bike shocks. The Pro-Lifts were too stiff, so that's what I did with them. I also added the nice alloy BMW spring covers .....

DogBunny · Mar 27, 2020

5twins said:
I have a set I scored off eBay recently and hope to try out this season. At around $40, I figured I'd give them a try .....

I need to pop the springs off and clean them up, install some rubber bushings in one. Luckily, I have a junk set that came on a parts bike I can scrounge the eye rubbers from. I'm going to try to polish the spring retainers and adjusters. These look very similar to the set that came on my '78. Those were from another aftermarket American company, Pro-Lift, but maybe they're from Monroe as well?

If the springs turn out to be too stiff, I'll go with my old standby, springs from old BMW R bike shocks. The Pro-Lifts were too stiff, so that's what I did with them. I also added the nice alloy BMW spring covers .....

Interesting.

I bouight this super-nice, almost new pair of S&W shocks on eBay for $60. They are 12-1/4" which is perfect. That was a couple years ago. Finally going to use them on the XS1B project I'm working on.

In case anyone's wondering, S&W shocks are identified by the stylized SW, like in the logo above, inscribed on the outside of the piston cylinder.

5twins · Mar 27, 2020

Personally, I like them a little longer than stock. The Pro-Lift and the Konis I am currently running are both about 13.25" long, and I find that about perfect. The "new" S&Ws I got are 13.5" long. We'll see how that works out.

5twins · Mar 27, 2020

Oh, and those Pro-Lifts actually have 3-way adjustable internal damping.

Team Junk · Mar 28, 2020

Dogbunny, thanks for the heads up on the Street Strokers.
When I clicked on the link and saw the pictures a wave of fond memories hit me. Back in the late 70's the CRRC held the the 24 hours of Texas World Speedway. In preparation for the race I bought a set of street strokers from a race supply outfit in the Houston Heights called Team 315. The week before the race they very kindly let me work on the racebike in they're shop. We threw a lot of parts at the bike. Tires ,neck bearings and of course the S&W shocks. Worked on it till late Friday night and loaded into the van and drove home.
Showed up Saturday and got the bike through Tech Inspection but to late for practice. My friend Ned started the race but came in 2 laps later and said the thing was unridable. Speed wobble at about 90. We worked on it for about 4 hours trying to figure out what was wrong. Completed about 5 laps total.

Over the next couple of weeks swapped the wheels and shocks from Old Brown and some other tweaks. Never wobbled again. Always suspected the longer shocks were the cause.

Anyway the Street Strokers are on the way to me. Had to have them.

5twins · Mar 28, 2020

Just how long were those shocks? A little bit longer, like in the 13" to 13.5" range, usually does improve things. I've never tried any longer than that but I could see going too long resulting in problems.

Team Junk · Mar 28, 2020

13"- 325mm. I think they are shorter than the ones I had back in the 70's. I think those were 13.5.

MrBultaco · Mar 28, 2020

I seam to remember that S & W was bought by Progressive many years ago. :umm:

anyone else?

DogBunny · Mar 28, 2020

Team Junk said:
the Street Strokers are on the way to me. Had to have them.

Cool!

DogBunny · Mar 28, 2020

MrBultaco said:
I seam to remember that S & W was bought by Progressive many years ago. anyone else?

Yes, in 1982. I gave a brief history of S&W in post #3 of this thread.

MrBultaco · Mar 28, 2020

I should have read the entire thread :redface:

Dogbunny. I still have a set of S&Ws from the '70s when I put them on several bikes. 13". I would install them on my '77 resto, but one is leaking (has since 1980 sometime) I have been thinking of calling Progressive and see is they will rebuild them. Just another idea sitting on the back of my to-do list. I did put them on my '80 donor bike so it would I could get it on the center stand...it came with 11 1/2".

DogBunny · Mar 29, 2020

MrBultaco said:
I have been thinking of calling Progressive and see is they will rebuild them.

Sounds expensive to me. I think you'd be happier doing it yourself. Google "motorcycle shock absorber spring compressor homemade" and there are plenty of ideas. I've never done one, but I'm sure you'd find help on this forum. If replacement parts are needed that might be a trick though.

5twins · Mar 29, 2020

The big thing will be whether or not the damper unit comes apart. On the shocks I've rebuilt (Konis), they have a threaded cap on top of the damper unit. Unscrew that and the "guts" of the damper can be pulled out. Not sure about these S&Ws. From what I can see, they look crimped together.

DogBunny · Mar 29, 2020

5twins said:
The big thing will be whether or not the damper unit comes apart. On the shocks I've rebuilt (Konis), they have a threaded cap on top of the damper unit. Unscrew that and the "guts" of the damper can be pulled out. Not sure about these S&Ws. From what I can see, they look crimped together.

Yes, I read somewhere that S&W shocks are NOT rebuildable. From your previous replies, I thought they were, but after re-reading your posts, it looks like you are not doing a full rebuild.

Team Junk · Mar 29, 2020

Looked in my library and look at what I found.

5twins · Mar 29, 2020

Yes, my plans were simply to remove the springs and do a good clean-up, externally. For spring removal/install, I have several homemade tools at my disposal. Best are the fittings I made for my hydraulic press. I have one for covered springs and one for open springs .....

I recently built a portable hand lever type as well. You can buy these from several places but they cost like $80. Looking at the pic, I could see it was simple enough to make my own .....

S & W shocks on eBay

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