Motorcycle Repair: Replace Shocks on Honda CM 400 C, honda cm 400, shock mounts

Question
Hello I have a 1981 Honda CM 400 C and I would like to put shocks on it.  The original owner removed the shocks and made it into a hard tail. How do you install the shocks? The original shocks are 13+ inches. I tried to jack up the bike to get the swing arm to lower but I can only get an 11 inch span.  do I have to remove anything to get the swing arm to give me the 13 inches I need?

Answer
Todd, you should be able to get it up to near full extension with nothing attached to the shock mounts.
I checked some listings and that seems to be the stock length shock. With the struts off the bike, you should have plenty of room to reinstall the shocks. There is just a push-on bushing connection that the top that needs to be put on first, then you can drop the clevis over the top of the swing arm shock mount bushings and stick the bolt in to secure the bottom mount.

When shocks are mounted on the bike, you should notice a slight downward angle of the swing arm (looking at the bike from the side), so that it will swing through an arc during compression and extension of the rear suspension.

Bill Silver