Shocks

I have a 85 xj700 and want to lower the rear i have been reading on here to use Sportster or savage shock. Does anyone know what year Sportsters.I have found alot on ebay but do not want to buy if they are the wrong ones.I had just bought a set of universal ones from mdi but the eyelets are to small if anyone has this info it would be a huge help. Thanks in advance.

 

how do you mean the eyelets are too small the rubber bushing or the actual eyelet? because i have a hard time believing the eyelet would be that small.
if its the busking just re use to ones from your old set

 

The steel sleeve is to small and the rubber bushing is smaller than the old one too.

 

you should be able to trip your stock bushings to fit and then use the original steel sleeves, now that i think about it the only eyelet on mine that had a sleeve was the bottom right because it uses an actual nut and bolt

 

I just trampled throw the snow and tryed messing with it. You are right about the sleeves but i would rather use the sleeves all the way around like it was. The only way i see of doing it is drill the new bushings to fit the sleeves because my old bushing i can not get into the new shocks because they are hard and will not cooperate with me.But I think the shocks might be too low so I would still like to know what year sportster so I can get different shocks. I got 11" and with me on the bike and on the highest setting if I bounce I bottom.So I think a 11 3/4 sportster shock would be perfect but we will see.A project in process.

 

I have the same shocks as you roger72. I had to take the bushings out of my stock shocks, trim them down (Yes, the eyelets on the sportster shocks are smaller in diameter than the stock shocks), fit the trimmed bushings in to the sportster shocks and then install them.

You're also going to have to file down the bottom eyelet on the right shock to narrow it to fit inside the bracket.

 

thanks for the info.

 

Mestnii, did you put anything on the filed eyelet to keep it from rusting? I was wondering because I have a set of sportster shocks that are brand new and don't really want to see them start to rust by filing away at the metal. Any suggestions?

 

I put on a set of 10.5" sportster shocks on mine and even with a passenger never bottomed out. The ride was pretty rigid though. As far as rusting goes, coat them with some rustoleum paint or dip them the ends in black liquid tape.

 

I don't want to paint a new set of shocks. I just want to keep them from rusting at the eyelet from the exposed metal from the filing.

 

Here's an idea: Buy the correct shocks for your bike but 1/2" or 3/4" shorter, depending on the fender clearance at full compression. Then there would be no filing/cutting/grinding needed. And they would probably not be too stiff or too mushy.