Sorry if this has been covered... 

I've had my Nightster for a few months now and done maybe 1000kms... 

When first bought, I thought the rear shocks had seized, it was that firm. I ended up getting the Progressive 412's for the rear which improved it but I'm still really annoyed with how it handles. It is just way too firm.

I rode my friends Suzuki Boulevard a while ago, and it was PLUSH and comfortable in comparison.

Now I'm considering buying a pair of air shocks off a road Glide or something like that.. will that make my Nightster smoother and less of an ass bruiser??

check that you dont have the spring preload up all the way, if you dont then i would suggest getting in contact with somebody like Ikon and have them make a set for your weight and riding style, getting a set of "off the shelf" is half assing the process and you will never get a good result. Cars you can be near enough but bikes are either right or wrong. Dont fuck around buying this and that because you've read that people in mags and internet forums say it works for them, do your research and actually get in contact with a few company's that do this kind of thing day in and day out. My first point of reference was these threads -
http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/showthread.php?t=642410

This first and second 7 pages of suspension are worth the read and will help you in getting your settings correct, but thats if you are starting with the right gear.

By the way how much do you weigh?

Regards T1

I weigh 80kilos naked....

I've got RK air shocks on my 07 stocker and they are very firm even with 2psi in them. They do soak up the bumps but you'll still feel them; I refilled mine with 10W ATF which improves the damping a fair bit. With 10psi in them they have bottomed out on big bumps with a light pillion - and I'm about 80kg. The YSS remote ones are the way to go if you want a good shock for a reasonable amount, as they have a lot of adjustment. I think they are about $700 a pair these days.

The remote fully adjustables are $1300 at the moment , they are good though , but twin shock bikes will always be harsher than mono shock with linkage suspention

I think I must have been thinking of the single shock price; I had a YSS shock on my Bandit and I have the lower spec models on my W800.

my 09 883L bottoms out on the front and ither bottoms out on the rear or to solid same as my girls 09 nightster with 08 shocks .. J.D.

I did have the rear preload up a couple of notches to give some clearance; i've since lowered them completely and yes that has softened it up a bit.
Last night I put the progressive springs in with the harley fork oil.
The front doesn't feel so soft and bouncy; it now matches the rear. However when going over lumps in the road or small potholes, it pretty much locks!

Also, at speed in the curves, my Nightster would be anything but "planted". It feels a bit like one of those long buses with the bendy bit in the middle. Checked tyre pressures and front is 30 and rear 36... Any ideas how to get rid of the weave feeling?

You have overfilled your oil, I'll post tonight how to set it correctly

thanks for that.. wondering if I should pull the forks out completely so I can hold them vertical...

I find the same with mine , no matter what I do with it it feels better than before but still way off what I want , if it doesn't get impressively better when my ohlins rear shocks go on I will be getting rid ! Done 2500 ks in two months fucked about with suspension far too many times for a brand new bike , will go back to japs bikes if I have too

Before I start let me say I love my Sportsters I owned five of them so why did I sell them, I could not put up with the rough ride I have spent mega dollars on suspension upgrades it helped but it never fixed the problem.

Now before all you Sportster lovers start throwing rocks at me let's be truthful about how well your bike really rides, as I said I love Sporties great town bikes but as a all rounder the suspension will let it down, if I had the money I would buy a 48 or maybe the new 72 but this would be as a second bike but out on the hi-way or doing a overnighter doing the big miles you can't beat the comfort of a big v-twin.

but why are they so "agricultural"?
Surely fitting decent shocks and front springs and oil should solve it shouldnt it.. or is the geometry of the bike so fundamentally flawed that nothing will make it "good".
My friends Suzuki Boulevard rides like a dream compared to my nightster...
I think this summer will be my first and last with a sporty...

 To set fork oil level correctly you will need to remove the springs, compress the assemblys fully, fill with oil untill the level is 79mm from the top of the tube. Slowly pump the forks to bleed out any air from below the valves etc, compress are recheck level is 79mm from the top.

 

The next step is setting the correct rider sag for YOUR weight, this is done via different length preload spacers.

 

With these sportsters they have a very short total suspension travel 111mm, so if you are off with all these settings it will make a dramatic effect on ride quality. Idealy you want to have 28mm rider sag.

 

Regards - T1

i got the service manual with my bike.. could have sworn it said to fill with oil till 122mm from the top of the tube with the spring out and the fork fully compressed....

122mm is for a custom

XL883L/XL 883N/XL 1200N - 79MM
XL1200L - 122MM
ALL OTHER XL MODELS - 146MM

hmmm we must have different books. I have the 2008 service manual (phone book size).
Page 1-61 lists for XL883L/XL1200L/XL1200N 364ml or 122mm.

All other XL models 146mm...

Anyway, i've finished the job.. and will take it for a short ride tomorrow... too late now to start it up.
Hope it doesn't kill me in the morning and that the 122mm is right.

update = rode the bike to work this morning.
Massive difference in the general ride. Much less harsh. I only live 10minutes from work so not much of a ride, but the initial indications are promising.
I used the Progressive springs for Nightser with the PVC spacer provided, 7.5wt Motorex fork oil, oil level at 122mm from top of forks...

how are you getting on with your forks with the 122mm air gap ? do they feel good now you,ve had a chance to use it for a few days ? think i will try 122mm in mine ive worked out i seem to have too much compression damping feels good untill i hi a group of ripples then just judders and skips over them and if on the brakes at the same time will lock up the front, the lower oil level should reduce the compession , fingers crossed

I would not add more oil in, if you are happy with the way your front end is then leave it. Dont forget that these oil levels are for the "average" weight that HD has decided to use when testing. Your weight will need to have a different oil level.

T1