> How does one go about determining the health of Armstrong lever shocks?
> I just cleaned mine up from my '65 TR4A and they look remarkably good.
> I do not see any sign of fluid leakage and I can't move the arms with my
> own strength.
IMO that's a bad sign, you should be able to move them by hand, although very
slowly. Especially for a 4A IRS, since it had softer shocks than the TR2-4. I
don't know if a 4A solid axle had softer shocks or not, but they weren't the
same shocks as the TR4.
> Also, how do you empty/refill these things?
There's a plug on the side at the bottom that you can use to empty them
(although ISTR the book says not to). There's another plug near the top (but on
the face) that is both the fill port and the level indicator.
> And with what?
Any LBC vendor will sell you "genuine shock oil". Motorcycle fork oil works
too, but I'm not sure what viscosity corresponds to the original shock oil.
Check with a Harley shop, they usually have the heavier grades.
Randall
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