Showa shocks are great!!

[Cobia]

Finally got a set of Showa shocks from a Honda Shadow 1100 Aero. Installed the yesterday, true bolt ons. No mods required, same length and all.
And what a difference it makes having decent shocks in the rear to complement the progressive springs in the front!!!
Now I can throw this puppy around like a 200# dirtbike.
btw- Found them on ebay for $42 delivered. They were off a 2000 model with only 20k miles on them.
Pics to follow.

[Cobia]

Here are the pics:

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The dirty tire is from cleaning off the grease from the rim didn't notice when it was wet....

[Bullet]

they look good ..

by chance, do you get a eye to eye measurement before you put them on ?

thxs ..

[Cobia]

Thanks for the compliment, no more rusty springs to look at.
Yes I did, they're 12.5", I did want shorter ones to lower the bike, but couldn't pass up the deal. All I had to do is block up the rear wheel, while on the centerstand, so that the rear end wouldn't drop down. A short piece of 2x4 did the trick.

[Elevener]

Ya"lls bikes always look so good. Especially the motors. Guess Ive spent the money but havent put in the time yet.

[soccer4m]

stock?

Howdy Cobia,,,were the Showa's the stock shocks for the Honda or add ons? Let us know, thanks, Mike in Sun Diego

[Cobia]

Soccer4m,
The Showa's are the stock shocks on the 1100 shadow aero, I believe they're stock on other Honda models of the same displacement as well.
Elevener,
Yes, you definitely have to put in the time to make them look like that. It took me over a year to get it looking that way. Having my son wreck my XJ daily drive expedited the process too!!!

[bikerphil]

That's good news about your new shocks, Robert. Maybe yer bud at the bike shop has some extra's laying around. Clean up your rear tire, WTF.

[Cobia]

Shocks to be had.

Hey Phil,
In fact he does have a bunch of sets from different bikes that are in excellent condition. They are mainly takeoffs from customers who wanted to switch to progressives or other types.
He showed me a set off a Triumph that looked brand new, they were about 13" to 13.5". He actually is looking to sell all of them.
So, folks, if you're looking for shocks, let me know and I'll contact him for you.

[Bonz]

So the shocks for basically any newer 1100 Shadow will do the trick is what I hear you saying. I believe yours are from a 2000.

[Bonz]

OK, just got my Shadow 1100 Showa Shocks in the mail, from ebay purchase. They are from a 1998 if I remember correct. They look great, no dents, no pitting, no rust. Thanks for the great idea as a good looking replacement. I like the beefier look that the Showa's have, and they are all chrome as well so in that sense they match the stock one's real well.

Hope to put them on tonight, let you know how they perform.

[Cobia]

So, how do you like them?

Hey Hbonser,

How about some feedback about the shocks?

[Bonz]

Geez, patience, patience...

Put the shocks on last night, took a little over an hour. The Showa's only had the rubber bushing in the top mount hole, did not have the metal sleeve for the bolt to go through, so half of my time doing the change out was extracting the rubber bushing and sleeve from the old stock shocks to re-use the sleeve in the Showa's. They would not come out, so got creative and used a c-clamp to push on the bushing/sleeve from one side, and put a socket that was larger than the bushing/sleeve on the other side so that I could screw the clamp shut, pushing the old stuff out the other side into the socket. Make sense? Had to use the same method to get the rubber out of the Showa's, but took very little effort since those didn't have the metal sleeve in them. Had to cut the old rubber off of the sleeve, it was either glued in there 31 years ago, or time had caused the rubber to bond to the sleeve, and at that had to scrape most of the remaining rubber off the sleeve with a knife.

For what it's worth, the rubber bushings are hour-glass shaped, as well, the upper mount hole in the shock is machined the same way to accept the rubber bushing. Must keep things locked in better with that shape, as it makes sense.

Then, putting the rubber bushing and sleeve in the Showa's was a bit of a bear, until I thunk about it... I lubed the rubber with silicon spray, started it easily by hand until half way in, then pushed the metal sleeve in about halfway as well, and used the c-clamp method to push it the rest of the way. Just watch the clamp, as it wants to walk around and not push straight when re-inserting the pieces.

SO, rode to work today, they work fine. Because the preload sitckers were off both shocks, I don't know what setting it's on, so need to get a Honda wrench at the dealer today so I can adjust them.

It seems the preload is set on the low side, as I have more sag than with the stock shocks with full preload, but overall the damping is better than the stock shocks (my left rear shock had been leaking, so probably not much damping from that one) and I don't get the pogo-ing over rolling bumps like the stock ones had deteriorated to.

My only thought is the right shock upper cover looks like it could potentially touch a bracket holding the rear brake line if compressed fully, but if that is the case, I can bend the bracket a bit and cure the problem.

Overall, a good deal! They look pretty sweet as well, that solid look with no spring showing, and look a bit heftier as well to the eye.

[Bonz]

Showa update:

Did a Sunday evening 2-up ride with my wife on two lane back roads, and the new shocks were stellar! Honestly couldn't tell any difference between solo and 2-up in terms of the ride, so these shocks are the real deal. The finish on the shocks is really good, they fit right in on my pristine 80 SG.

I don't know where the pre-load is set on them, can't see the spring, and the stickers are off so I can't tell by that either. Regardless, these are a great upgrade and I look forward to many more great riding miles.


If you need shocks, don't hesitate to get a pair of Showa shocks from a Honda 1100 Shadow! According to the seller, mine came from a 1987 Shadow. Just take a good look at the exterior condition, etc as they vary dramatically, and ask questions of the seller if you need to!

[lancelot455]

Will the shocks fit on a 82 XJ1100?