I have a 2011 hard bagger, the bike is fantastic but I am not happy with the suspension at all. After doing heaps of research on the net it seems all i can find is putting progressive's (possibly 440's) on her. Is progressives the ONLY decent shock out there or is there others that are better? I need to upgrade both the front and rears. I ride mostly one up all week but two up on the weekends. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

hey mc squinty I have an 07 kingy, I run Ikon shocks on the rear (mechanical) and on the front I have racetech 1kg constant rate springs and gold valve emulaters that I got from "shock treatment" in OZ. Cant fault them --one up or two up with a load--cheers Grim

I run IKON 7610-1601 on the rear of my 2011 street glide. The bike handles anything thrown at it. IKON can tailor make your length and spring rate to order. You only need the no bling ( black springs) 7610-series with basic preload and rebound adjustment, as they're not seen.

Cheers guys,

Appreciate all your input. This forum is cool. This beats the hell out of the "trial & error" option.

All the best

Ya, and a really great discount to all of our HDF members as well at those "Down Under".  We are all HDF.  Please review my week end trip I just got back from.  I do not know if you members have this kind of fun where you live.

Please check out the pictures.

Rosco's LINK: http://www.roscoeschilichallenge.com/photo/index.html

 

McSquinty,

For what it is worth, I like the Air Shocks...  Reason?  I can run lower air on solo, and add more air to firm things up for two up.  It is a simple little hand pump operation with a guage.  Out new Touring frame since 09, in my opinion anyway, has made the air suspension come into its own.  There are even people adding air pumps and guages to shift the suspension on the fly to suit road conditions.  While I have not done that, I do feel the air suspension is the best I have felt in 40 years of HD with this new frame... 

Just a thought, before you go out and try fancy shocks, from memory your Road King has the adjustable air doesn't it?  You might just have a play with this new touring frame and vary the air shocks pressure to suit.  Just do not do it with a compressor or you BLOW the shocks.  It has to be done in small amounts with the hand pump, as it is a very low volume system.  Look, on an older bike, I would agree with the fancy shocks on so on, but with the new Touring frame 09 and up?  I like the air shocks for varied ride myself..

Regards, Cowboy

MY air shocks were crap from day one on my 07 kingy--new frame or not shocks are shocks-My opinion fuck them off and go mechanical--cheers Grim

I found the rebound capability on most harley shocks, both air and mechanical , is non existent. On fast rough roads the whole arse end lifts off the ground, irrespective of the spring setting. Dropped shocks on with rebound adjustment and all the crap behavior disappeared. As soon as I have spare cash I'll be flicking the bloody crap ones on this other bike (10 Dyna) I've got as well. It sorted the 103 SG out.

I would have to agree with you Scar. I purchased a second hand 2011 Road King for 27k. It is 12 month old with 10,000 km on it. Now 4 months later I am thinking of how I can fix it. At first I thought it was just me and I would get used to it, but as I go to work each day I find myself taking the Toyota instead of the bike. For the money it should be a lot better out of the box. For the price I could have purchased any of the big Jap Tourers and got a better bike straight out of the box, not something I am going to have to spend thousands on just to get it half right.

I too have purchased a 2011 RK and love it. The only issue I have with it is the front end under brakes.Massive amount of dive. What is the most cost effective way of fixing this?

I have a set of Arnottsair shocks on my 07 FLHX, I have found them great you can change the pressure to what suit you with just the press of the button. I use my bike everday, & when the wife get's on the back its so easy to pump a little more air in.

What's the Arnott system worth?

I got mine a few yrs ago now & it was just over $1000. There are a few different type of systems out there. Legend at the top end & arnotts middle of the road. It might be a good idea to have  look around and ask mnore question. But I think the arnotts are great but other people don't like them.

Thanks Rick. Something I would definitely look into when the bucks free up a little. Have you changed anything on the front end?

The front end is still the same haven't needed to change it, the only other things I did was but a true track & lowed the back end.

I have Progressive Monotubes on the front which were cheap as chips on Ebay ($260 landed) and they are really great value. The brake dive is much reduced and feel improved.
I have #6 Ohlins from Howard (motorcyclemetal.com) on the back. They cost a bomb but kick ass. It think they were $1600 landed.

I would go with Ohlins from Howard over progressive, if your budget stretches that far.

Is the mono tube easy to install?

If you want some quality shocks check these out. I have them on my 98 FLHT and they made a great difference.

http://www.hdforums.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=71&forumid=9&postid=415434&view=topic

I have a 2012 street glide and put on harley premium adjustable touring shocks. Having done plenty of klms with the standard crappy air shocks these are a delight. They offer a better compression and rebound as well as the ability to increase preload via a dial. Well worth the money.

Well said, no wonder there are so many accessory parts available for HD as some standard parts are VERY ORDINARY.