Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

I'm rebuilding shocks on my '74 Elsie and discovered it has the 75 shocks on it (with the larger shaft). Nowhere can I find specs for how much oil they take and the best method of filling them. Anybody? Thanks!

You're not alone

Well, I think I figured it out, but I didn't pour it back out to measure. You should pour it into the inner tube and insert the shaft so there's minmal (or no) air in there. Then fill the body, but don't fill the oil past the groove on the inside of the body. Push the shaft down as far as you can when threading the cap and let as much seep out as needs to. There must be some air left on top to allow the shaft to go all the way down (modern shocks use a bladder to accomplish this without letting it mix with the oil. I used Spectro 2.5 wt. shock fluid and it works pretty good! Work the shock a lot to be sure it is good to go and works right both ways.