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[Trigger-Man]

Okay guys .........looking for recommended "bang for my buck" advice on completing a suspension upgrade on my 2015 SERG with the Premium Ride Single Cartridge Fork Kit. I've recently replaced my stock air shocks with the Premium Ride Hand Adjustable Touring Shocks and very much like the resulting ride quality (and don't miss the annoying constant air checks and adjustments). I'm running 10 clicks solo and 12 clicks two-up currently .....but still experimenting. The advice on our forum appears to emphasize the best suspension performance is achieved by balancing the fronts with the rears. While I'm aware that one gets what one pays for ......I'm retired and not wanting to spend at anywhere near the Ohlin price-point .

A number of comments on this forum have been generally favorable of both the Premium Ride fronts and rears. However looking at the online P&A catalog reviews of the two items, the rears are highly rated with 19 reviews averaging 4.7 stars .........while there's only a single 1 star review for the front shocks with the reviewer complaining they are overly stiff. Interestingly however, 3 of the reviews for the rear shocks mentioned they'd upgraded the fronts as well and loved the difference.

This is my 5th Harley (3rd bagger) and the first time upgrading the suspension ......I look forward to your advice. Is it worth upgrading the fronts with the H-D Premiums?

[ultrafxr]

I went all the way on my '07 CVO Ultra and got the Traxxion Dynamics AK-20s on it but when I got my '12 CVO Ultra I did not want to spend that much to upgrade the front so I went with the H-D Premium Ride front cartridge system.  It was a big improvement over stock - very little brake dive and much more stable and controllable especially riding curves where the roadway was not perfectly smooth.  Stock suspension could be scary to say the least in those conditions but the Premium Ride was very acceptable - perhaps not as good as Traxxion but at half the price very acceptable.

Now your '15 has the larger Rushmore 49mm front forks.  I have test ridden a few '14s and '15s but really don't recall how their front suspension performed compared to my '12 stock to stock so I can't say how much improvement you will notice.  All I can say again is on my '12 it was significant. 

It is very difficult to quantify such changes especially from years ago but this is my best recollection.  Now the front suspension on my new '17 CVO Limited is quite acceptable.  First Harley I've owned that I did not have to upgrade the suspension which is a nice 'tax' break.

[Hogism]

I started with the HD Premium on the rears, then upgraded the front suspension to HD Premiums as well. I noticed a lot of diffence in ride quality with both paired up to the HD Premuims front and rear.
I would highly recommend doing the front suspension.

[Trigger-Man]

I went all the way on my '07 CVO Ultra and got the Traxxion Dynamics AK-20s on it but when I got my '12 CVO Ultra I did not want to spend that much to upgrade the front so I went with the H-D Premium Ride front cartridge system.  It was a big improvement over stock - very little brake dive and much more stable and controllable especially riding curves where the roadway was not perfectly smooth.  Stock suspension could be scary to say the least in those conditions but the Premium Ride was very acceptable - perhaps not as good as Traxxion but at half the price very acceptable.

Now your '15 has the larger Rushmore 49mm front forks.  I have test ridden a few '14s and '15s but really don't recall how their front suspension performed compared to my '12 stock to stock so I can't say how much improvement you will notice.  All I can say again is on my '12 it was significant. 

It is very difficult to quantify such changes especially from years ago but this is my best recollection.  Now the front suspension on my new '17 CVO Limited is quite acceptable.  First Harley I've owned that I did not have to upgrade the suspension which is a nice 'tax' break.

Thanks for your candor ultrafxr. I recall that with the primary difference being the Rushmore front forks, my current 2015 SERG handled better than my previous 2011 SERG. Now you're confirming that the 2017 suspension is significantly improved to where you're satisfied with it as-is . I wonder if the 2017's come standard with a "Premium Ride" suspension because in the P&A catalogue I don't see ANY suspension options listed !

I started with the HD Premium on the rears, then upgraded the front suspension to HD Premiums as well. I noticed a lot of diffence in ride quality with both paired up to the HD Premuims front and rear.
I would highly recommend doing the front suspension.

Thanks Hogism, we have the same bike and you noted a significant positive difference .......that's what I wanted to hear LOL ! I believe special tools are required for the install .......if you had the fronts done at your dealer what did they charge for labor? Otherwise, how difficult was your installation?

[Hogism]

 TRIGGER-MAN, I believe it was around 3 to 3.5 hours of labor. And yes it does require special tools.

[ultrafxr]

Thanks for your candor ultrafxr. I recall that with the primary difference being the Rushmore front forks, my current 2015 SERG handled better than my previous 2011 SERG. Now you're confirming that the 2017 suspension is significantly improved to where you're satisfied with it as-is . I wonder if the 2017's come standard with a "Premium Ride" suspension because in the P&A catalogue I don't see ANY suspension options listed !
Thanks Hogism, we have the same bike and you noted a significant positive difference .......that's what I wanted to hear LOL ! I believe special tools are required for the install .......if you had the fronts done at your dealer what did they charge for labor? Otherwise, how difficult was your installation?

Re: the 2017s.  Not Premium Ride but something new from Showa called SDBV.  Here's a blurb about it I copied from a write up on the internet:

First shown by Showa at EICMA two years ago, it is a new style of fork internals that utilize a new Showa Dual Bending Valve structure to give cartridge style fork performance but at a lower cost and weight than full cartridge style forks.

On my 2012 I had the dealer install the Premium Ride front suspension and he charged me 4.50 hours labor.  I recently helped a friend install the Legend Axeo front cartridge system on his 2011 CVO RGU and it wasn't all that difficult.  Should be pretty much the same - remove old parts, drop in new, etc.  You can google ideas to make a fork seal driver from PVC pipe.  That's really the only special tool required as I recall.  Might want to check the Legend Axeos also as he really likes it.  Of course he has Legend Air Shocks on the rear, lol.

[King Glide]

I agree with ultrafxr, I had both put on my '16 fltruse before I took delivery. The dealer did the work for free and I bought the parts. I've been very happy with the upgrade.

[North Star]

If you really don't want to spend much, maybe go for some Ricor Intiminators. Actually, I'll have a used set up for sale soon 

[Trigger-Man]

If you really don't want to spend much, maybe go for some Ricor Intiminators. Actually, I'll have a used set up for sale soon 

Hey North Star, looked these Ricor Intiminators up and see they make a 49 MM version for the 2014 and newer Rushmore bikes for only about $200. I've asked them if they'd work well with my stock shocks .......or if I needed to upgrade the front shocks would they work with the H-D Premium Ride Single Cartridge Fork Kit?
It appears you've installed the Intiminators on your stock shocks ..........how well did that work out?

[North Star]

Hey North Star, looked these Ricor Intiminators up and see they make a 49 MM version for the 2014 and newer Rushmore bikes for only about $200. I've asked them if they'd work well with my stock shocks .......or if I needed to upgrade the front shocks would they work with the H-D Premium Ride Single Cartridge Fork Kit?
It appears you've installed the Intiminators on your stock shocks ..........how well did that work out?

I don't think they are designed for use with cartridges- they are used instead of cartridges, to be used with fork springs.

At the time, Ricor said my OEM 2009 springs would work fine with the Ricors. I've had them in for a few years now, and are a big difference from stock, as they firm up the front and reduce brake dive. I still bottom out sometimes though.

I'm want to install the CCE Tour Trac Tree, so my front end has to come apart, plus my fork oil is old, so I decided to take out the Ricors and do the Axeo's in the front, which I think will be an upgrade.

What did Ricor tell you about your questions?

[Trigger-Man]

I don't think they are designed for use with cartridges- they are used instead of cartridges, to be used with fork springs.

At the time, Ricor said my OEM 2009 springs would work fine with the Ricors. I've had them in for a few years now, and are a big difference from stock, as they firm up the front and reduce brake dive. I still bottom out sometimes though.

I'm want to install the CCE Tour Trac Tree, so my front end has to come apart, plus my fork oil is old, so I decided to take out the Ricors and do the Axeo's in the front, which I think will be an upgrade.

What did Ricor tell you about your questions?

Thanks North Star .........will advise comments from Ricor when they respond.

[harleychef2011]

Your manual should show the graph on how much to set the shocks too.  I have the same on my '14CVO Road King.  Its basically 10# of weight per "number".  The numbers must be different for the UG because I'm only at 3 (250lbs) clicks for single rider.  I turn all the way up for 2-up with the wife and gear.  I notice a huge difference if I forget to back it down after taking everything off and going back to single rider. 

[Road Dad]

Number 1 performance shocks are Öhlins. A little bit like putting lipstick on a pig since the HD frames are not in any way a performance frame. But I like live the feeling from my rear and friend not Öhlin setup.

[Trigger-Man]

Your manual should show the graph on how much to set the shocks too.  I have the same on my '14CVO Road King.  Its basically 10# of weight per "number".  The numbers must be different for the UG because I'm only at 3 (250lbs) clicks for single rider.  I turn all the way up for 2-up with the wife and gear.  I notice a huge difference if I forget to back it down after taking everything off and going back to single rider.

Hey harleychef2011, here's the part of the Harley-Davidson Instrucion .pdf with the adjustment chart. I'm a bit confused as to the "click thing" because the manual indicates that one full knob rotation produces one click. However I "hear/feel" one click for every half turn ?!?! Anyone else notice this?

As your Road King has no Tour-Pak, you'd use the left columns where it says 4 turns = 250lbs. With Tour-Pak the chart says 9 turns = 250lbs. Clicks or turns .........it's whatever feels right to the individual rider LOL !

[North Star]

I think that manual posted above is for a different model Ohlins than I have. I have Howard's 3-3, which I believe is the equivalent of the Ohlins 159.

[Trigger-Man]

I think that manual posted above is for a different model Ohlins than I have. I have Howard's 3-3, which I believe is the equivalent of the Ohlins 159.

Ohhhh .......sorry I didn't identify the chart I posted as being for the H-D Premium Ride Hand-Adjustable Touring Shocks

[harleychef2011]

Hey harleychef2011, here's the part of the Harley-Davidson Instrucion .pdf with the adjustment chart. I'm a bit confused as to the "click thing" because the manual indicates that one full knob rotation produces one click. However I "hear/feel" one click for every half turn ?!?! Anyone else notice this?

As your Road King has no Tour-Pak, you'd use the left columns where it says 4 turns = 250lbs. With Tour-Pak the chart says 9 turns = 250lbs. Clicks or turns .........it's whatever feels right to the individual rider LOL !

Yeah, you are correct Trigger.  I think its safe to assume a "half turn" click might be to cover the middle ground?  Or if you like your ride softer or harder?  Of course you set it to what makes you comfortable!!

[1roadking]

I used the lines when I had mine. It's way easier then counting clicks lol. Figure out what line works then use that instead of clicks😄

[Trigger-Man]

TRIGGER-MAN, I believe it was around 3 to 3.5 hours of labor. And yes it does require special tools.

............On my 2012 I had the dealer install the Premium Ride front suspension and he charged me 4.50 hours labor......

My Grand Junction Harley dealer just quoted me 5 hours labor at $87.5/hour to install the 45500158 Premium Ride Single Cartridge Fork Kit ......Holy chit:( !!! At $438 labor just for the fronts I've got to seiously consider doing the installation myself. At least two forum members (Hogism and ultrafxr) opted to have their dealers perform the installation ......which suggests it may not be a slam-dunk .  From the installation instructions:

Proper installation of this kit also requires the following special tools:

• Loctite® 565 Thread Sealant (99818-97)
• Harley-Davidson® Seal Grease (11300005)
• Fork Tube Holder (HD-41177)
• Fork Seal/Bushing Tool (HD-45305)
• Front Fork Oil Level Gauge (HD-59000B)
• Front Fork Spring Compressing Tool (HD-45966)
• Extension tool (HD-45966-1)

Has anyone here done the Premium Ride fronts themselves? I could certainly use some reassurance !

[skratch]

i haven't installed the kit myself, but i did switch my fork lowers from stock to powdercoated black (on my 2010 rgc) which entailed complete disassembly of the forks and reassembly.  it wasn't really that bad, but the hardest part (imo) was getting the spring compressed enough that i could get the threads started on the cap.  20 mins to swap the internals over, and 3 hrs to get the cap on, lol....  i think with the cartridges, you don't have as much spring to compress so that may go easier.

i say go for it.

[Major Tom]

My Grand Junction Harley dealer just quoted me 5 hours labor at $87.5/hour to install the 45500158 Premium Ride Single Cartridge Fork Kit ......Holy chit:( !!! At $438 labor just for the fronts I've got to seriously consider doing the installation myself. At least two forum members (Hogism and ultrafxr) opted to have their dealers perform the installation ......which suggests it may not be a slam-dunk .  From the installation instructions:

Proper installation of this kit also requires the following special tools:

• Loctite® 565 Thread Sealant (99818-97)
• Harley-Davidson® Seal Grease (11300005)
• Fork Tube Holder (HD-41177)
• Fork Seal/Bushing Tool (HD-45305)
• Front Fork Oil Level Gauge (HD-59000B)
• Front Fork Spring Compressing Tool (HD-45966)
• Extension tool (HD-45966-1)

Has anyone here done the Premium Ride fronts themselves? I could certainly use some reassurance !

G'Day Trigger Man,

I am interested in finding out how the premium ride fork deal performs especially for two up touring but cannot find much about it on the interweb.

Apologies if you have seen this one mate. Here is the only review on the HD website from a 'local solo rider' for what it is worth

Quote - I had this product installed. While it does provide excellent traction in cornering and handling bumps well, it is very rigid. This translates into a direct road to hand grip feel for vibrations and bumps. I found it unforgiving while riding above 65 on concrete highways. It was not pleasant at all. I am going to switch back to the stock front end. I basically lost the super comfy plush feel. - Unquote

Here are some others from HD Forums that are more positive but they are dated.

Quote - I did the Premium Low Front fork single cartridge. They don't make a double kit for the 2014 touring models. No more nose dive when I hit the front brake and very solid going into corners. I also have the Heavy Duty Progressive 11.5" 444's and to me they are very similar in ride quality to the hand adjustable Premium shocks available for the rear (even though they have less travel). I am very satisfied with my setup. - Unquote

Quote - I did the front and rear using the HD premium touring shocks and fork kit,all std height.
Mostly solo riding , 195 lb all geared up
Like 12 iron883 I am very happy,very solid with little brake dive going into corners and very bump compliant in the rear
Definitely firms up the whole bike and improves the handling JMHO - Unquote

Cheers Tom

[FlaHeatWave]

G'Day Trigger Man,

I am interested in finding out how the premium ride fork deal performs especially for two up touring but cannot find much about it on the interweb.

Apologies if you have seen this one mate. Here is the only review on the HD website from a 'local solo rider' for what it is worth

Quote - I had this product installed. While it does provide excellent traction in cornering and handling bumps well, it is very rigid. This translates into a direct road to hand grip feel for vibrations and bumps. I found it unforgiving while riding above 65 on concrete highways. It was not pleasant at all. I am going to switch back to the stock front end. I basically lost the super comfy plush feel. - Unquote

Here are some others from HD Forums that are more positive but they are dated.

Quote - I did the Premium Low Front fork single cartridge. They don't make a double kit for the 2014 touring models. No more nose dive when I hit the front brake and very solid going into corners. I also have the Heavy Duty Progressive 11.5" 444's and to me they are very similar in ride quality to the hand adjustable Premium shocks available for the rear (even though they have less travel). I am very satisfied with my setup. - Unquote

Quote - I did the front and rear using the HD premium touring shocks and fork kit,all std height.
Mostly solo riding , 195 lb all geared up
Like 12 iron883 I am very happy,very solid with little brake dive going into corners and very bump compliant in the rear
Definitely firms up the whole bike and improves the handling JMHO - Unquote

Cheers Tom

When I rode "Lucille" (Major Tom's '15 CVORGU) I felt that the Rushmore Front End was fine,,, A nice combination of Handling / Ride Quality...

FWIW, I prefer the Suspension a little on the "firmer" side, butt have to maintain Ride Quality for "The Ball & Chain"...   

[Major Tom]

Thanks for the reminder Ed. Lucille has the premium ride adjustable rear shocks (couldn't believe they didn't come standard like my 11 SERGU). Lucille handles well in all kinds of situations with the upgraded rear & standard 49mm front.

I am interested to see some reviews on the premium ride front suspension from genuine two up tourers but can't see the cost/benefit for me in changing something that works well for the sake of it.

Cheers Tom

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[08glide]

My Grand Junction Harley dealer just quoted me 5 hours labor at $87.5/hour to install the 45500158 Premium Ride Single Cartridge Fork Kit ......Holy chit:( !!! At $438 labor just for the fronts I've got to seiously consider doing the installation myself. At least two forum members (Hogism and ultrafxr) opted to have their dealers perform the installation ......which suggests it may not be a slam-dunk .  From the installation instructions:

Proper installation of this kit also requires the following special tools:

• Loctite® 565 Thread Sealant (99818-97)
• Harley-Davidson® Seal Grease (11300005)
• Fork Tube Holder (HD-41177)
• Fork Seal/Bushing Tool (HD-45305)
• Front Fork Oil Level Gauge (HD-59000B)
• Front Fork Spring Compressing Tool (HD-45966)
• Extension tool (HD-45966-1)

Has anyone here done the Premium Ride fronts themselves? I could certainly use some reassurance !

 pm joe vibe. I know he has done it & says it's not that difficult

[JoeVibe]

pm joe vibe. I know he has done it & says it's not that difficult

Actually, I took the HD single cartridge stuff out of my Road King and installed a Legends dual cartridge set up. The springs on the Legends aren't as big as the HD springs so I didn't have compression problems but I can see how the HD spring would be tougher to compress.

I bought a seal driver and an oil level gauge on Amazon. Had an old armature clamp (from working on alternators and starters way back when) that I used with some padding for a fork clamp. With the Legends I didn't need a spring compressor.

You'll need a 19mm (or 3/4") hex socket for the top cap, The drain bolts in the bottom of the lowers on mine were two different sizes. One was 12mm hex and the other was 8mm (if I remember right). The drain bolt hex sockets need to be pretty long (3" or so) to fit up into the bolt properly. I had the smaller socket that worked but had to make a 12mm. You could use a "L" wrench (Allen wrench) but I like to torque everything so I cut the long portion off a "L" wrench and used it with a 3/8" drive 12 mm socket.

I'd never done this before, and I wasn't on the clock, so it took me the better part of a day doing this. I spend a LOT of time reading the manual and instructions as I was going along. Definitely more time reading than wrenching but that's just me.

I hope this is helpful. Feel free to holler if you have other questions or just want to talk about it.

Joe

[JoeVibe]

Trigger-Man,

Right after I hit the post button I thought about this: my 2014 SERK and my buddy's 2015 SERG both came with single cartridge front suspension when new. I'm guessing yours would have that too.

Is the single cartridge that comes in the bike different than the HD "Premium" cartridge? If it's the same thing, you're already there.

Joe

[JoeVibe]

Trigger-Man,

Right after I hit the post button I thought about this: my 2014 SERK and my buddy's 2015 SERG both came with single cartridge front suspension when new. I'm guessing yours would have that too.

Is the single cartridge that comes in the bike different than the HD "Premium" cartridge? If it's the same thing, you're already there.

Joe

Turns out, my 14 RK came with the single cartridge front suspension and my buddy had told me his 15 RG did but he was wrong according to the specs I looked up. Sorry for the misinformation.

[Trigger-Man]

Trigger-Man,

Right after I hit the post button I thought about this: my 2014 SERK and my buddy's 2015 SERG both came with single cartridge front suspension when new. I'm guessing yours would have that too.

Is the single cartridge that comes in the bike different than the HD "Premium" cartridge? If it's the same thing, you're already there.

Joe

Been away from the forum for awhile creating a new business selling vent screens for the Rushmore Road Glide .......hence the new "vendor" status LOL .

In the end I bit the bullet and had the dealer do the installation. While pricey ..........I'm very happy with the overall result. The ride improvement isn't dramatic but I feel significantly more confident with the handling/tracking.

[Major Tom]

G’Day Trigger-Man,

How are you feeling about the premium front shocks lately?


Also bought some of your vent screens & killed a bunch of bugs with them in recent times. Much better than killing them with my face.

Cheers Tom


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Trigger-Man]

G’Day Trigger-Man,

How are you feeling about the premium front shocks lately?


Also bought some of your vent screens & killed a bunch of bugs with them in recent times. Much better than killing them with my face.

Cheers Tom


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hey Tom ……...regarding the premium front suspension, we've enjoyed a few longer road trips with them installed and I haven't given them a thought. That's the way it should be and a really good thing considering I enjoy riding twisty roads assertively . I'd invest in them again.

Glad you're enjoying your Road Glide Triple SPLITSCREENS! I'd sure appreciate if you're up for providing a quick product review:

https://motorcycleventscreens.com/splitscreens-customer-review-form/

[CJ CYCLE]

https://www.legendsuspensions.com/uploads/videos/axeo/axeo-product.mp4