TC, Thanks for the info and please never hesitate to provide me with additional info as I probably did not know it, as in this case, but I am learning. So now that you have muddied up the waters, 
any significant differences between the handling and riding characteristics of the Legend and Progressive shocks? Other than to fix a flat tire (I learned that here) any other (bike related) advantages to having an air compressor on board? I don't need the ability to immediately raise and lower my bike or at least I think I don't. I also noticed that the Progressive IAS could be used with or w/o an air compressor mounted on the bike. tia, JJ
TJ...I cannot do a comparison, as I've not ridden a bike with the progressives, but have heard they are very good shocks. Certainly not as good as what might be available at some point in time, but very good, and far, far better than the stock units.
I can, however, speak to the Legends, as I've had them on the bike for quite a while now, and a few thousand miles. One reason for me was to get the bike lower when I needed it, mostly when I'm walking the bike around or parking it, backing up, etc. They immediately stabilized the rear of the bike to the point of showing how weak the front fork suspension is. They are definitely a quality made product and have been around for years, with an excellent reputation for standing behind their product. I ride two up on the Ultra 90% of the time, so the advantages for me are several...in traffic situations, I can drop the bike a couple of inches in the rear and have good footing and a more than decent ride. The Legends are not a good ride slammed all the way down, though they do still have some travel in the shock, it's just bouncey as hell. From an inch up to fully extended (3.25" of total extention) the ride gets more and more compliant, depending on load. What I personally like about them is the ability to adjust the firmness and ride characteristics of the rear end on the bike, depending on road conditions and characteristics, and do it "on the fly" by just pushing the button on the handlebar switch. You soon learn by feel where the best settings are for the load, etc. I personally think they help eliminate some of the flexing between the swingarm and the rest of the bike. They are expensive as hell though. What the air does is act as a preload, to firm everything up, but the shocks themselves have what I consider to be really good damping/rebound qualities.
The ability to adjust the rear shocks whenever I need to makes the Legends worth it to me. But that's just me, and it suits my purposes well.
The install is relatively simple, and as mentioned, the little compressor slides into a track already under your battery box, plug in the wires for the switch, wire it up to the battery, bolt on the shocks, route the air tubing and you're done. Takes two to four hours, depending on how you want to route wires, etc.
The cool factor of being able to lower the bike when parked is pretty damn neat though...sure gets people's attention when they see a bagger being slammed
Ideally, if you don't need the height adjustment, or just want it, a really good shock with an easy way to adjust the preload would be the ticket (not just a spring spanning wrench). Nobody makes one for our bikes that I'm aware of.
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Topic: Progressive Suspension (Read 2190 times)