The rear shocks on these old Honda models often had square-shaped housings, which is quite unusual compared with today’s motorcycle shocks.  The shocks completely hide a large spring to support the rear suspension, and an internal hydraulic damper.  It took a few hours to disassemble, clean and lubricate the parts.  The black plastic housings will be painted when the frame gets painted, so I’ll have to defer the reassembly of the shocks until that work is done.

My “unofficial” method of disassembling the old Honda shock is illustrated below, along with a guide to the special tools required for the job.