Fancy schmancy shocks

[silent1]

At what point do you know when it's time to upgrade from the stock rear shocks? I was out Saturday, and managed to find an fantastic road with some sweepers. I'm cruising along at 65-70 or so and then a sportbike blew by me as if I wasn't moving. I tried to keep up but the road was chopped up from frost heaves and other bumps. I'm convinced my rear tire left the pavement once or twice on some of those bumps. After getting launched from my seat once or twice, I dialed it back and watched him disappear from view.

Would upgrading the shocks help with that? Ohlins? Progressive? How much am I gonna need to spend to get this right the first time?

[MegaGlide]

I thought the stock air shocks were great. Until I got my Progressive 440s. The stock shocks are shit. Find low mileage used for a couple hundred bucks or less, maybe.
SE oil in the forks, Progressives out back, completely different bike.

There will be differing opinions.

[silent1]

Smart Dave took care of the forks for me, so no front end dive. But I wasn't smart enough to address the rear at the same time. Then I wonder why my suspension is all over the place on the craptastic roads we have up here.

[Fe Butte]

What is, for $600, the day after you take your new Harley home, Alex

[Backroad Mike]

Originally Posted by Fe Butte

What is, for $600, the day after you take your new Harley home, Alex

$600.

That was then. Now it's $700+


Cam, There are many options on rear suspension, JRI, Ohlin, Ricor and others. I had Ricors on the 05, Russ has JRI on BPOS and Ricky has Ohlin on the Sneaky Bagger. They all work, but those alone are NOT going to let you keep up with a sport bike in the corners on that RK.

To do that, you'll have to spend some serious cash on motor improvements.

[MrSurly]

What Mike said.

I put the 440's on the RK. They were a VAST improvement over the horrific stock air shocks.

I put Ohlins on the Ultra and they are really really good. I like them much better than the 440s, but I don't have a true apples/apples comparison with them on the same frame design.

[silent1]

Let's keep it real - I'm not Valentino Rossi. Spending a ton of money on upgrades doesn't improve skill. Even if I was on sportbike that day, that other guy probably still would've left me in the dust.

That being said, I'm done with motor upgrades for now. I just want a halfway decent suspension that won't launch me into the stratosphere whenever I hit a frost heave.

At least it doesn't wobble anymore on high speed sweepers. I really hated that.

Yes, Chip, the motor still shakes. Don't know what I'm going to do about that.

[Fe Butte]

You're not gonna tell us about you winning the big power ball, going to Atlantic City and breaking the bank at the blackjack tables?

[MrSurly]

Cam, the fact is that virtually ANY aftermarket shock will be a huge improvement because the bar has been set very low by the factory equipment.

I would strongly advise that you pick a shock that has a pre-load adjustment so that you can tailor it to your ride.

Edit: If rippin' the twisties is part of your ride plan, stay way away from Street glide or any other lowered shocks. Taller is better for lean angle (and ride).

[silent1]

Originally Posted by Fe Butte

You're not gonna tell us about you winning the big power ball, going to Atlantic City and breaking the bank at the blackjack tables?

I was just about to start that thread. Because how else am I going to pay for all these daydreams?

Originally Posted by MrSurly

Cam, the fact is that virtually ANY aftermarket shock will be a huge improvement because the bar has been set very low by the factory equipment.

I would strongly advise that you pick a shock that has a pre-load adjustment so that you can tailor it to your ride.

Edit: If rippin' the twisties is part of your ride plan, stay way away from Street glide or any other lowered shocks. Taller is better for lean angle (and ride).

I definitely don't plan to go any lower. I'm already scraping parts as it is.

[BigTOE]

Cam, I have the Ricor's on mine. I called and talked to the owner who gave me a pretty good discount but I bought the intiminators at the same time. Still might be worth a call. Made a huge difference. Love em.

[Turbo Turtle]

I don't have a dog in this hunt, but I will one of these days.
I will mos def keep up on who is buying what and how they are riding. \
I'm reminded of the "Slaughter Initiative"






BOB

[Backroad Mike]

Originally Posted by MrSurly

If rippin' the twisties is part of your ride plan, stay way away from Street glide or any other lowered shocks. Taller is better for lean angle (and ride).

I'm not having any more dragging issues on my lowered street glide than I had on the normal height Ultra.

[Backroad Mike]

Originally Posted by silent1

I was just about to start that thread. Because how else am I going to pay for all these daydreams?

Do what Dippsy and I do. We wait, and then fight over Russ's take offs.

[Fe Butte]

You guys have all the fun.