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  • boxa
    boxa
    4 years ago
     Question for you guys ,  i was  gonna  upgrade  my 2015 low rider to a heritage  but  can't quite  get my head round parting with my good low klm bike  and  approx  20 grand plus  backrest plus pipes  ect ect , , when i'm actually happy with the low rider it fits , , so i started to think the low rider has the screen the pasenger backrest  luggage rack ,sundowner seat ,  and pipes , plus just seems to fit ,  , decided i do like boards , so upgrade to boards  couple of hundred ,,  plus maybee suspension upgrade . .

     so this brings me too my question , I went and sp[oke to  a suspension specelist , he has a real good name ,  explained what i'm after ,  which is simply comfort , . now my riding style is , i'm a speed limit , at the back towards the middle of the pack sort of rider , don't need superbike suspension for leaning into corners at warp speeds , cos i only do that in my head , but occasionaly i will push it a little bit , THEN i can feel   it wallows a bit , . also when i have the standard seat on i feel most bumps , with the sundowner seat on it smooths out ,  so i explained i want something  that smooths out the bumps  and makes it handle better , even though i don't push hard ,, which is why i don't need   the 114 motor , i had a rocket tourer that was perfect but just got too big and heavy .

    Anyway he said  only two he would reccomend and thats OHLIN or KTECH ,  both he said do a cruiser  , shock ,, he reckons any others  , Ikon Progresive , ect ect just don't waste the money there not much better than standard ,  , however he said get the front  and rear  done with either of the mentioned two , and it will transform the bike ,   i siad i don't ride hard , and his answer was does.nt matter you will glide over bumps and   have far better control with no wallowing if i do gun it ,

    Not got back to me with a price yet , but he suggests Ohlins out of the two , but either will be good , roughly i gather around $1400  for the front springs ect , and $2000  for the rear shocks .

    The main reason i was gonna upgrade to the new model was because  they say the suspension is better ,,  but  he reckons , the up graded dyna with Ohlins or Ktech will be far better than the standard new softail ,, and a savings of probably  20 plus grand  , like i said  only other thing i would need to get comfort would be foot bioards , which are easy , i have all the other extras  for the low rider to become a small  easy to handle tourer ,

    Said befor mechanicly alls i know is how to put air in tyres ,, so whats your thought is it over kill  or worth it  , are the ohlins and ktech so much better than hagons and ikons ect ,,

     might be worth mentioning my mate put a sundowner seat on his low rider and hagons i rode it and thought it was the same has my low rider with just my sundowner seat , so i can sort of see wheres he's coming from , thoughts anyopne
  • paulybronco
    paulybronco
    4 years ago
    Quoting boxa on 14 Jan 2020 07:49 AM

     Question for you guys ,  i was  gonna  upgrade  my 2015 low rider to a heritage  but  can't quite  get my head round parting with my good low klm bike  and  approx  20 grand plus  backrest plus pipes  ect ect , , when i'm actually happy with the low rider it fits , , so i started to think the low rider has the screen the pasenger backrest  luggage rack ,sundowner seat ,  and pipes , plus just seems to fit ,  , decided i do like boards , so upgrade to boards  couple of hundred ,,  plus maybee suspension upgrade . .

     so this brings me too my question , I went and sp[oke to  a suspension specelist , he has a real good name ,  explained what i'm after ,  which is simply comfort , . now my riding style is , i'm a speed limit , at the back towards the middle of the pack sort of rider , don't need superbike suspension for leaning into corners at warp speeds , cos i only do that in my head , but occasionaly i will push it a little bit , THEN i can feel   it wallows a bit , . also when i have the standard seat on i feel most bumps , with the sundowner seat on it smooths out ,  so i explained i want something  that smooths out the bumps  and makes it handle better , even though i don't push hard ,, which is why i don't need   the 114 motor , i had a rocket tourer that was perfect but just got too big and heavy .

    Anyway he said  only two he would reccomend and thats OHLIN or KTECH ,  both he said do a cruiser  , shock ,, he reckons any others  , Ikon Progresive , ect ect just don't waste the money there not much better than standard ,  , however he said get the front  and rear  done with either of the mentioned two , and it will transform the bike ,   i siad i don't ride hard , and his answer was does.nt matter you will glide over bumps and   have far better control with no wallowing if i do gun it ,

    Not got back to me with a price yet , but he suggests Ohlins out of the two , but either will be good , roughly i gather around $1400  for the front springs ect , and $2000  for the rear shocks .

    The main reason i was gonna upgrade to the new model was because  they say the suspension is better ,,  but  he reckons , the up graded dyna with Ohlins or Ktech will be far better than the standard new softail ,, and a savings of probably  20 plus grand  , like i said  only other thing i would need to get comfort would be foot bioards , which are easy , i have all the other extras  for the low rider to become a small  easy to handle tourer ,

    Said befor mechanicly alls i know is how to put air in tyres ,, so whats your thought is it over kill  or worth it  , are the ohlins and ktech so much better than hagons and ikons ect ,,

     might be worth mentioning my mate put a sundowner seat on his low rider and hagons i rode it and thought it was the same has my low rider with just my sundowner seat , so i can sort of see wheres he's coming from , thoughts anyopne

    Ohlins are really top shelf gear. He is absolutely correct in saying that the other mentioned brands are not as good, but neither is their price. The question only you can answer is will i get the benefit from the top shelf equipment. 
  • boxa
    boxa
    4 years ago
    Quoting boxa on 14 Jan 2020 07:49 AM

     Question for you guys ,  i was  gonna  upgrade  my 2015 low rider to a heritage  but  can't quite  get my head round parting with my good low klm bike  and  approx  20 grand plus  backrest plus pipes  ect ect , , when i'm actually happy with the low rider it fits , , so i started to think the low rider has the screen the pasenger backrest  luggage rack ,sundowner seat ,  and pipes , plus just seems to fit ,  , decided i do like boards , so upgrade to boards  couple of hundred ,,  plus maybee suspension upgrade . .

     so this brings me too my question , I went and sp[oke to  a suspension specelist , he has a real good name ,  explained what i'm after ,  which is simply comfort , . now my riding style is , i'm a speed limit , at the back towards the middle of the pack sort of rider , don't need superbike suspension for leaning into corners at warp speeds , cos i only do that in my head , but occasionaly i will push it a little bit , THEN i can feel   it wallows a bit , . also when i have the standard seat on i feel most bumps , with the sundowner seat on it smooths out ,  so i explained i want something  that smooths out the bumps  and makes it handle better , even though i don't push hard ,, which is why i don't need   the 114 motor , i had a rocket tourer that was perfect but just got too big and heavy .

    Anyway he said  only two he would reccomend and thats OHLIN or KTECH ,  both he said do a cruiser  , shock ,, he reckons any others  , Ikon Progresive , ect ect just don't waste the money there not much better than standard ,  , however he said get the front  and rear  done with either of the mentioned two , and it will transform the bike ,   i siad i don't ride hard , and his answer was does.nt matter you will glide over bumps and   have far better control with no wallowing if i do gun it ,

    Not got back to me with a price yet , but he suggests Ohlins out of the two , but either will be good , roughly i gather around $1400  for the front springs ect , and $2000  for the rear shocks .

    The main reason i was gonna upgrade to the new model was because  they say the suspension is better ,,  but  he reckons , the up graded dyna with Ohlins or Ktech will be far better than the standard new softail ,, and a savings of probably  20 plus grand  , like i said  only other thing i would need to get comfort would be foot bioards , which are easy , i have all the other extras  for the low rider to become a small  easy to handle tourer ,

    Said befor mechanicly alls i know is how to put air in tyres ,, so whats your thought is it over kill  or worth it  , are the ohlins and ktech so much better than hagons and ikons ect ,,

     might be worth mentioning my mate put a sundowner seat on his low rider and hagons i rode it and thought it was the same has my low rider with just my sundowner seat , so i can sort of see wheres he's coming from , thoughts anyopne

    Quoting paulybronco on 14 Jan 2020 08:10 AM

    Ohlins are really top shelf gear. He is absolutely correct in saying that the other mentioned brands are not as good, but neither is their price. The question only you can answer is will i get the benefit from the top shelf equipment. 

    Thats the thing Pauly  , if the other brands  are not much better than stock  , like he says i'm wasting my money ,,,  but if the Ohlins  are really for guys who ride real hard , amd i going for overkill ,, like i said its the glide over bumps  i'm after  not  scraping pegs  stuff ,, suppose i'll never know  until i spend the money ,,  He is adamant that even a sedate rider will feel the benefit ,
  • paulybronco
    paulybronco
    4 years ago
    Quoting boxa on 14 Jan 2020 07:49 AM

     Question for you guys ,  i was  gonna  upgrade  my 2015 low rider to a heritage  but  can't quite  get my head round parting with my good low klm bike  and  approx  20 grand plus  backrest plus pipes  ect ect , , when i'm actually happy with the low rider it fits , , so i started to think the low rider has the screen the pasenger backrest  luggage rack ,sundowner seat ,  and pipes , plus just seems to fit ,  , decided i do like boards , so upgrade to boards  couple of hundred ,,  plus maybee suspension upgrade . .

     so this brings me too my question , I went and sp[oke to  a suspension specelist , he has a real good name ,  explained what i'm after ,  which is simply comfort , . now my riding style is , i'm a speed limit , at the back towards the middle of the pack sort of rider , don't need superbike suspension for leaning into corners at warp speeds , cos i only do that in my head , but occasionaly i will push it a little bit , THEN i can feel   it wallows a bit , . also when i have the standard seat on i feel most bumps , with the sundowner seat on it smooths out ,  so i explained i want something  that smooths out the bumps  and makes it handle better , even though i don't push hard ,, which is why i don't need   the 114 motor , i had a rocket tourer that was perfect but just got too big and heavy .

    Anyway he said  only two he would reccomend and thats OHLIN or KTECH ,  both he said do a cruiser  , shock ,, he reckons any others  , Ikon Progresive , ect ect just don't waste the money there not much better than standard ,  , however he said get the front  and rear  done with either of the mentioned two , and it will transform the bike ,   i siad i don't ride hard , and his answer was does.nt matter you will glide over bumps and   have far better control with no wallowing if i do gun it ,

    Not got back to me with a price yet , but he suggests Ohlins out of the two , but either will be good , roughly i gather around $1400  for the front springs ect , and $2000  for the rear shocks .

    The main reason i was gonna upgrade to the new model was because  they say the suspension is better ,,  but  he reckons , the up graded dyna with Ohlins or Ktech will be far better than the standard new softail ,, and a savings of probably  20 plus grand  , like i said  only other thing i would need to get comfort would be foot bioards , which are easy , i have all the other extras  for the low rider to become a small  easy to handle tourer ,

    Said befor mechanicly alls i know is how to put air in tyres ,, so whats your thought is it over kill  or worth it  , are the ohlins and ktech so much better than hagons and ikons ect ,,

     might be worth mentioning my mate put a sundowner seat on his low rider and hagons i rode it and thought it was the same has my low rider with just my sundowner seat , so i can sort of see wheres he's coming from , thoughts anyopne

    Quoting paulybronco on 14 Jan 2020 08:10 AM

    Ohlins are really top shelf gear. He is absolutely correct in saying that the other mentioned brands are not as good, but neither is their price. The question only you can answer is will i get the benefit from the top shelf equipment. 

    Quoting boxa on 14 Jan 2020 08:17 AM

    Thats the thing Pauly  , if the other brands  are not much better than stock  , like he says i'm wasting my money ,,,  but if the Ohlins  are really for guys who ride real hard , amd i going for overkill ,, like i said its the glide over bumps  i'm after  not  scraping pegs  stuff ,, suppose i'll never know  until i spend the money ,,  He is adamant that even a sedate rider will feel the benefit ,

    Hey i can tell you that you will feel the difference at most speeds.  Do you need a Lambo to get the sunday paper.......
  • Ranga
    Ranga
    4 years ago
    I have an 07 Superglide set up to suit me and was substantially happy with most of the bike. 
    So Brembos probably x BMW on the front and X Guzzi on the rear.
    Try Suspension R us in Melbourne. They put Nitron shocks on the rear and in the forks set up for me and the way I ride. Exxy but cheaper than Ohlins (And I'm of the opinion that if I need Ohlins I should be riding something else).
    And a True Tracker front engine mount. (I have the rear but I haven't fitted it yet).
    A damn sight cheaper than a new HD and (except for ABS) much better in my opinion. 
    From Memory my shocks are now standard length is my bike sits a bit higher at the rear than is fashionable. But oh the botty massaging ride.


  • boxa
    boxa
    4 years ago
    I'm very tempted to say , stuff it  i'm only gonna spend it once ,  so get the best on offer , i do like my long rides and trips away so   i want the comfort , like i said  i'm not the greatest rider out there ,  but  if it gives me more confidence in the twisties thats a bonus ,   If it stops the bouncing and sometimes wallowing when i do push it  thats great ,,  So sumising i'm gonna go OHLINS , any ideas which ones ,  , be pissed if i paid top dollar and got  there lower end of the scale shock ..  like the   ohlins i just had on my xjr i just sold , they were good , but i knew i was'nt getting top shelf for the price of the bike

    Also whats the best for the front , Ohlins do a kit , but i read about gold valve ,  emanulators or something ,, whats the bbest  for the front  people have used ,, like i said   I've got a touring seat ,  a screen ,  passenger backrest , and luggage rack , figure i may has well tuurn it into a good tourer   and throw a few grand at it , cos the bike does fit well
  • Krash Kinkade
    Krash Kinkade
    4 years ago
    Quoting boxa on 14 Jan 2020 11:44 PM

    I'm very tempted to say , stuff it  i'm only gonna spend it once ,  so get the best on offer , i do like my long rides and trips away so   i want the comfort , like i said  i'm not the greatest rider out there ,  but  if it gives me more confidence in the twisties thats a bonus ,   If it stops the bouncing and sometimes wallowing when i do push it  thats great ,,  So sumising i'm gonna go OHLINS , any ideas which ones ,  , be pissed if i paid top dollar and got  there lower end of the scale shock ..  like the   ohlins i just had on my xjr i just sold , they were good , but i knew i was'nt getting top shelf for the price of the bike

    Also whats the best for the front , Ohlins do a kit , but i read about gold valve ,  emanulators or something ,, whats the bbest  for the front  people have used ,, like i said   I've got a touring seat ,  a screen ,  passenger backrest , and luggage rack , figure i may has well tuurn it into a good tourer   and throw a few grand at it , cos the bike does fit well

    Boxa I got OHLANS rear & race tech front with gold valving. was set up to my weight. works good, but I got longer shocks than stock.
    I think if you want the best ride you need more travel, but it will make your bike higher. if you keep stock length & short travel, they bottom out easy.
  • tussuck
    tussuck
    4 years ago
    I agree that Ohlins would certainly be the top pick if I had funds.  I do disagree where the chap said that other aftermarkey shocks are no better than Stock, as I have run Icons on the rear for the past 6 years and found them bloody great compared to stock - are they as good as Ohlins? Nope, but then again they cost a 1/3 the price.
    What sort of mileage per year are you talking about?  If your on the road all the time and do over say 20k then fork out for the best as you will actually use them.  If your a weekend rider and do say 1k-5k then perhaps a set of the top of the line shocks might not be value for money/use.

    Race Tech have a long and very solid rep for front fork kits so you cannot go wrong there.
  • Ken in Cairns
    Ken in Cairns
    4 years ago
    I was recently recommended K-Tech over the Olins, very similar performance, but they seem to last longer on our crap roads.
    Any good pair of rear shocks set for you weight will be a huge step up in comfort and handling.
    Correct weight single rate springs with the Race Tech eliminator valves on the front, with correct weight and volume of oil will do the front 
    Under two grand if you don't go crazy on the rear shocks.
    Give Joe a call at Ride Dynamics, he just did mine.
  • Benno
    Benno
    4 years ago
    +1 for Ohlins & Race Tech Gold Valves with single rate springs, I put these in my wide glide 2years ago, transformed the bike, I was going to sell it for an upgrade,same as you, until they stopped making Dyna's.
    I think from memory doing the front only cost me $500-$600 fitted.
    You can get a good set of Ohlins well under $2000, do your research, best of luck.
    Benno.
  • leachy
    leachy
    4 years ago
    Hi Boxa,
    I too was in the same boat a little while ago, I also have a 2016 Low Rider and considered trading but I like the Dyna. Ken and I shared notes before he got his done.

    I was looking at springs and gold valves up front but ended up going with the Legend cartridge kit. I went with that because I was taking a trip to USA for work, and was doing all the work myself. I think you could get a really good setup with the gold valves and springs, better than a cartridge kit if you spend the time to tune them. I did this with my DR650 and it really good, but it takes alot of time to tune well. I didnt have anyone around me who I could ask about the discs or springs for the valves at the time. I'm really happy with the Legend kit, I might be happier with Ohlins or Gold Valves but the extra time and money for me didn't warrant it. I have a sports bike to go really fast on if I want, in saying that I easily kept up with guys on ducati along the Putty road before the fires, how fats do you need to go?

    I also was a little naive about rear shock and went for the Progressive 920 sports, again far better than stock but nowhere near the price or ride of Ohlins, from what im lead to believe. If its you only bike and you want the best and can afford it go for it. A Harley is not a sports bike never will be but better shocks do make it safer and more fun to ride that's for sure.

    I havn't ridden the new Low Rider but id say a Dyna with good shocks would be far better than a new stock soft tail if its anything to go by on a standard Harley suspension.

    Good luck,
  • boxa
    boxa
    4 years ago
    thanks for the replys , your comments make me think i'm going along the right  lines , Cos firstly i want the comfort of the tourer but not the weight ,  like i said my rocket tourer i had for 10 years was great just got heavier has i got older , the low rider fits well .

    However  ... WOW , the price is steep , just got quoted from him .... Ohlins for front  catridges  $1395 ,,, front springs $235  plus fitting including seals oils ect $455
    front total $ $2085

      Rear  two specs $2600 and $2500 plus $100 fitting  so all in all  Ohlins  around  $4600 give or take 100 bucks .

    Kteck ,,, front  catridge and springs   $1500 plus $455 fitting ,,  so $1955

    rear  2 specks  $1350  or $2100  plus $100 fitting ,,   So  either $ 3450   for the cheaper kteck , or $4200 for the dearer  ones

    Very pricey thats for sure ,, think i better look around and get more quotes ,,, i  have another bike  and generally log on around 5000 klm a year  on the harley  ,  don't ride has much has i used too ,, will enquire about these race tech gold valves ,, ,,, Its all double dutch to me so i'm grateful for the advice .

    Might add , one of the reasons i'm willing to spend especielly on the rear shocks is i'm around 110-112 kilo ,  the low rider fits with the standard shock lenght , i know increasing the lenght  i could probably go a cheaper shock and be good , , but i don't want to change the height so  a good shock of standard low rider height 12 inches i think is what i 'm after . hence i'll have to pay i suppose ,
  • JFE
    JFE
    4 years ago
    Boxa - you aren’t willing to try importing the parts from MotorcycleMetal in the US or something? Would lower that start up cost. You could spend the diff going to Hawaii for holidays and get them to mail it to you there!
  • Benno
    Benno
    4 years ago
    Boxa have a look the Ohlins STX36 shocks, I paid $1300 for the set here in Aus.
     But consider what JFE is saying old mate at Motorcycle Metal is lacking in social skills but he know his shit, I only went local for after sales back up, otherwise I would deal with Howard.
  • Smokey61
    Smokey61
    4 years ago
    I went to gold valves and single rate springs plus 1 inch over Progressive 444 shocks on my Widey, has a Sundowner seat and I'm a big heavy bastard so it all works well. Stock suspension was woeful.
  • speedzter
    speedzter
    4 years ago
    I'm using Bitubo shocks, Italian made.
    Not exactly a "plush" ride, but very compliant, great stability and take some big hits without jarring.
    Rebound and stepless preload. They also do fork cartridge kits, but I already have factory cartridge forks.
    Traxxion dynamics, a well respected suspension shop in the USA are even selling them now.

  • boxa
    boxa
    4 years ago
    Quoting Benno on 15 Jan 2020 07:56 AM

    Boxa have a look the Ohlins STX36 shocks, I paid $1300 for the set here in Aus.

     But consider what JFE is saying old mate at Motorcycle Metal is lacking in social skills but he know his shit, I only went local for after sales back up, otherwise I would deal with Howard.

    When and where did you buy them , I am a bit funny in that dept , i do tend to want to buy Aussie , and keep people in work ,, Although some times i wonder why , when i get prices  and know  there trying to gouge me ,, and that unfortunatly seems to be a common occurence ..
    Seems theres a few stx 36 shocks     i think  the guy who quoted may have quoted me on these  , although i have rang him and asked him to send me the details on WHICH shock he is suppliying for his price , he's not got back yet $1300 is more what i wanted to pay  , was looking to get out for less than 3 grand if possible , start hitting $4500 or there abouts its looking too expensive
  • boxa
    boxa
    4 years ago
    Another question for yous ,, like i said , i can put air in tyres and thats it ,, build you a nice house though if needed , LOL ..... Mate said to me  if you want to keep the low rider height of the shocks  , which obviously suits me cos i'm a short ass  , go the expensive Ohlins ,, , but he reckons if i go a inch higher ,   i would probably get a similar ride with cheaper , Ikons , progresive , ykk or such ,, whats your thoughts
  • Ken in Cairns
    Ken in Cairns
    4 years ago
    You probably don't need to get cartridge units for your forks mate. Springs were like 250, full overhaul was about 200, gold valves we're about 240. I can look up the invoice if you like.
    My rear shocks were 2050, and that is custom-built for my weight and riding style, full piggy back units, fully adjustable.
    Rest of the 3500 bill was the front end, but that included two new +2 inch gen HD fork tubes,and powder coating the fork sliders .

  • Baloffski
    Baloffski
    4 years ago
    my turn to throw 2cents in.
    In 2006 I put RaceTek Gold valves on the front $630 set up for my then weight. The guys seem to think pricing is still along those liness.
    Rear new Fornales $1900 Yeah better than originals Now the rear was pretty good, but twas a Fatboy afterall
    Now I know this was on a Fat Barstead, but that front end was unbeleivable, totally transformed the Fatboy.
    Racetek front end am hoping to organise on my Glide soon. Have Fornales on current ride is much better than originals too, but would gom Ohlins if cashed up..

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