I am thinking of fitting Progressive springs front and rear on my Nightster. The rear is not a problem I am going to drop it an inch or so in the arse and the are easy to fit. The fronts is were i ask for guys with previous experience to have a say.

1. Do I lower the front, or am I better of with standard ride height in the front?

2. Which Fork oil would you recomend as I am wanting a medium ride in the front not soft or hard?

The reason for the change is I have the rear shocks on the top cog so to speak for my weight. And just of late I have bottomed out the shocks and rattled my back whist riding out to Blackwater. (Been riding out there for 6 months and have never bottomed out before) The Harley Shop has recomended the Progressives all at my expense of course becuase the deem that the current shocks are fine and do not need replacing.(hint hint you over weight bastard)

 

So HELP Please!!

 

 

ive got progresive on mine and they are awesome cause you can adjust them.just 1 small prob if you have a high profile tyre it might hit the rear fender when you go over a bump.lower the back and leave the front, the higher the better.   

Cheers for that. Did you change the fork oil?

I fitted progressive springs up front and progressive shocks on the rear of my '07 1200 Low.  Made a huge positive difference to handling and rideability over the stock units.  Use the standard fork oil.  It works well with the progressive springs.  Personally I wouldn't lower the front as this may cause problems with the bike's handling characteristics.  You can lower the rear a little without problems.  I'd consult a professional if you are intending to lower the bike.

Tmode.

Cheers guys it's probably a topic already covered in the forum somewhere but it's good to here first hand from Sporty riders what mods they have done and how they went with them.

We installed Race Tech emulators and springs (not progressive) on our Nightster, with type e oil. Was a great improvement with keeping the same fork travel. The emulator/spring change was a far better (but more expensive) result to progressive springs only, which we have on another bike. Rear shocks are Icon. Standard shocks are crap.

progressive brand shocks ( 412 ) and springs, with std e type hd oil is kind of the 'stage 1' of suspension. stock suspension is only good for about a year, then it sags and turns to shit, cos it wasn't much good in the first place. Put std length prog springs on, you can play with the spacer if you want to change the preload, but start off with the whole thing. Then adjust with 20c pieces to firm up, or fix up if you cut too much off. Rear shocks at 11.5 inches are a good compromise of rideability and looks. If you're made of money, there's no limit to how much fiddling you can do with the suspension.....

I've gone the Ikon progressives in the front of mine, i've been playing with different oils and preloads, it's been a real mission for me as im light (55kilos) and i think the springs are not right for my weight, they are better than the stock springs but only by a little, i've been looking at the Race Tech emulators and springs for a while now and thinking its about time i try them.....i wouldnt mind hearing some personal opinions on how they are compared to progressive springs..
Regards Andrew - T1

eat something mate.

No, seriously, at 55kg most off the shelf springs are gonna be too heavy, regardless what you do with oil etc. Talk to Icon, or Racetech, and tell them your weight, so they can select a spring weight better suited to you. Keep the springs you've got though, cos if you ever sell it to a fat dude like me, he'll need them.

 Ikon shocks up and front and rear here as well. Makes a world of difference, and yes @ 55kgs you need to eat more =P

ahahah, i get enough, i just need to learn to stop working! and sleep more! i did inform ikon of my weight when i ordered the springs so who knows if they are really for my weight. So NKJ80 if you can wait i'll sell you my front springs if you are interested.

Not so funny that you say that NKJ because my wife weighs 55kg and she hit a pothole on her Nightster coming down Mt Glorious and it literally threw her off. Stock suspension no more!

Progressive Ikons on the rear set to the 3rd click, front forks have 25wt Belray and standard springs with 3mm spacer. I wouldnt shorten the rake by lowering the fron, especially if you have the fat front hoop. 100kph stability could get a bit funny. Our suspension config is good for 2 x 90kg riders and about 10Kg of over night/camera gear on the sissy bar mounted luggage rack. Bike is a 2007 XL883c.

So I finally got around to buying my Progressive Suspension and fitting them up. All I can say is WOW. What a big difference I cant believe that I was riding around on such shit suspension from the OEM ones. I bought the 412 rear setup in 12" and got the fork springs to match. I would defiantly recommend this setup for any sporty.

Hey NKJ when you got time can you pls post a pic or two of yr bike with the new shocks on? Wouldn't mind seein how the rear sits with the 12" shocks fitted. Considering the 12" 412's myself. Cheers.

Slap.

Update on my setup - i removed my preload coils from the fornt (14mm) and put in 25mm's. Right now the suspension is the best it has been, heaps better over bumps. And to berms, my 11" ikons are fantastic, easy to adjust and ride nice. i like the fact that the shock (not the spring preload adjuster) has the right amount of adjustment between the settings for me.
T1

is it an easy job to do the fork springs?
Do the forks have to come off the bike? sorry if that is a silly question...

Also, where is the cheapest place to buy the progressive springs? I've got 412 12inch Progressives on the rear of my Nightster.. would like to get the front springs to match...

that helps a lot.
I haven't had a close look at the bike yet, but is there no drain screw to get the old oil out?
If I put the bike on a stand and let the front wheel hang to extend the forks, will this stop the fork tops from "popping off" and will it make reinstalling the fork caps easier?

mine has, ('07) and i did just that. There will still be a bit of spring as you take the caps off, but nothing major. Keep your hand over it as you unscrew. When putting back on, put the cap on without the spring in, and mark with a nikko where the thread starts to catch, that way when you do it with the spring in, your not searching for 'bite' with the spring under load.

OK... my progressive springs arrived yesterday so i will get around to it in the next few days.
What weight fork oil did you end up using? Brand? Does it matter?
Am I supposed to insert the whole pvc spacer?
Finally, I'm contemplating removing the forks and doing this on the bench... the only reason being that if I can tip the fork upside down, I can get all the gunk out that might be at the bottom. My bike has travelled 20,000kms on stock springs and I am guessing stock oil. My plan was to capture and measure the oil coming out, so as to know how much to put back in....