Small update. I drained all 4 shocks last night and only gathered maybe 10oz of fluid between all of them. That is clearly a major part of my issues, since they are supposed to have 8-10oz coming out of a wet shock.
I’ll be refilling with 10w shock fluid tomorrow.
Refilling, or in my case, filling my shocks was definitely the ticket. I ended up buying six shocks total from ebay, all from 1982-1983 ish. The last two I bought had zero fluid in them. I rebuilt the bottom end of those two and they hold air and feel nice. Before you go hog wild and install old ass air shocks, pressure test them and then drain and refill them.
I am finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Now I am shopping for onboard air pump and dump options.
Why is my wallet charred and smoldering?
Interesting. The Porgressive 416 shocks recommend only 2oz of oil per shock. I just replaced oil seals in all 4 shocks and put oil back in we only used 2 oz per shock
Google says 140ml.
Oops, another place:
shocks on my 84 1200
the amount of oil the shock holds… 295cc to 365cc has been posted I used 330cc when I re-did my 1200 rears ATF.
Which is 10oz.
What do I know? 
Yeah and there is a wet vs dry fill rate as well to consider. I guess dry means it has never been filled or is 100% empty, whereas wet means all the surfaces are covered. I’ve read 10oz wet and 12oz dry for mid 80’s Goldwing shocks. I’ve also read the early 80’s shocks, say 82 ish are 8 wet 10 dry and will only hold 40psi.
Bleh.
Even after rebuilding I’m still struggling and have a whole new set of issues to debug. I think I might just put on the stock shocks and play with the air more over the winter when the car is in storage.
Sounds like the “older originals” could take more oil then the newer Aftermarket ones. I must say you are a champion. I would have tossed them a long time ago. The Coil overs with the piggy back reservoirs sure look interesting. I hate to tell you to spend more money but, please spend more money, and become the guinee pig and try those aftermarket shocks out could you try them out and make sure to not scratch them and return them?
hah. I wish. I broke the bank on fiddling with all these old ones. I kinda suspect that those coilovers can’t handle the weight, but I’ve been wrong so many times before.
I’m in communication with a company that seems very responsive.
They tell me the capacity of shocks by wire diameter.
I’m asking if springs can be changed in the field and if 9mm or 10mm springs are available.
About $150/pair
320mm to 360mm eye to eye.
A pair of 360MM shock absorbers of spring 8MM can achieve the load capacity of 360KG. The load capacity of a pair of 360MM shock absorbers of spring 7MM is 245KG.
Don’t need any myself, but might “spring” for a set to help out. 
Would be neat to find the magic bullet that made these GEM ride a little nicer and didn’t cost an arm an a leg.
I’ve seen those shocks all over the usual places and am curious if they would work. I’m also quite tempted to drill out my shock mount bolts to the same size as all these aftermarket shocks to save me from pushing bushings in and out constantly. I’m REALLY sick of that chore. 
What is the best length and bushing size to order?
I may get 2 * 8mm and 2 * 10mm for someone to test.
I can always resell them on Ebay if they don’t work.
Is 2000kg too heavy? 4400lb max.
Maybe start with the 8mm.
I can only speak for what’s on my GEM, but my stock eyeholes are 12mm.
The Goldwing shocks are 10mm and 14-15mm ish. (depending on year and location)
The Monroe shocks I sent back are 16mm.
Length is tricky. My stock front shocks are 10 1/2 and my rears are 13 1/2. I have a 10 1/2 on the rear right now and it squats like a pre-runner truck. Not ideal. I’ll have to make new shock extensions if I stick with these or just go with longer shocks, like the ones you are suggesting.
I see the ones referenced air not air shocks. She may have sent picture as an example of the 10mm coils.
Seems the 2002 vintage cars are the ones that need lighter suspension.
Can 14" be made to work on all cars, or is it best to get them shorter and make extensions?
Longer will have longer stroke which is nice for soft shocks.
If we can narrow it down, I’ll order some for testing, but I don’t want to buy 10 of them.
Can you weigh one corner of your Gem with passengers?
I’d like to hear Grants thoughts on some of your questions since he’s played with more cars than I have, but for my particular GEM a 14" won’t even fit up front. When I put my Goldwing shocks in they are 12 1/2" unsprung and require a lot of prying and compressing since the suspension travel is maxed out. I wonder if these will work upside down? I doubt it.
BUT…
You are spot on with your comment about the longer stroke. It would be super cool to be able to fab up a bracket to have longer shocks up front and have adjustment holes. I just don’t think there is enough room for clearance with the big external chamber. Either it will hit the wheel or the stock mount.
When you start messing with shock length then you start introducing issues with camber, and on my 2006, in order to maintain the stock geometry and not have any camber issues the front needs a 10 1/2 eye to eye shock. The rear might be able to be smaller but people already have enough issue with the fenders touching or rubbing as it is. That’s why Grant buys the super expensive new generation ones.
I am not sure how to weigh the corners. All I can think of is a bathroom scale, but I’m thinking it might not register that high.
You could always make a mount that rotated the light back so clearance with the wheel is not a issue. If the shocks worked making a new mount would be no big deal
The other tricky thing is what ever shocks you find, they are not gonna be a 1 size fits all. For all gems. The older gems Yes the fronts and backs are all the same length. The newer gems have a longer rear and a shorter front.
I wouldn’t mind testing or working with new front shocks, so I will throw my hat in the ring if your Intrested or need someone to help finance a group buy or something.
What would be good info to know is what is the Stock spring weight of the shock your trying to replace. Then what ever shock you purchase you have a idea up front what the ride should be like.
These are interesting. They have adjustable dampening and stiffness.
Has anybody made any progress on this? Spring is around the corner and I’m starting to get interested in my GEM car again. Not sure whether to rebuild my Goldwing shocks and try to make them work or just buy a set. Did any of these workout for anybody?
Mine ended up going into a box. It was fun to mess around with but I never found the magic combination. Generally, once I got the ride dialed in it was totally wrong when i had people with me, and vice-versa. I could have put in an air tank and compressor and switches and pumps all around, but at this point, I was asking myself “why”?
A full airbag suspension might be fun, but that’s for when I have too much money and time.
I took a chance on these…
Pair 340mm 13.4" Motorcycle Air Shock Absorber Universal Fit For Honda Suzuki Yamaha Kawasaki ATV Go Kart Quad Dirt Sport Bikes Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MPS97XP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_.W4JCbY74YSMQ
Description said they were rated to 660lbs. With no batteries in the car it squatted flat when I let it off my floor jack. Complete waste of time.
