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[stealth]

Anyone have this experience with the Low Profile Premium Ride Fork Kit, p/n 45500157? All measurements I took before are the same after. I am planning to go compare a Limited with a Limited Low to see what should have happened. Any words of wisdom, on this subject that is. Thanks

[grc]

How did you take your measurements?  The most accurate way is to measure from the lower fork bracket to the axle, before and after, and not from the ground to some other part of the bike.  Make sure you cycle the suspension several times before taking measurements.

Unlike the older model kits, I don't see any mention in the kit description of exactly how much lower the low profile kit is supposed to be.   If the length of the fork leg is still the same as stock after installing the kit, one possibility is they mislabeled the kit and you got the standard height version.   Your idea of comparing to a Limited Low model is a good one, as long as you measure the actual fork length and not some arbitrary ground to bike length.

Jerry

[GregKhougaz]

In addition to what Jerry wisely said, note that the low profile shock is only one inch shorter than the standard shock. If the shocks sat on your bike exactly vertically that would make a one-inch difference in ride height. They do not sit vertically, they sit at an angle. It's been some time since I did the actual calculation but because of the angle of the shock, the difference in ride height is only 9 sixteenths of an inch. Getting low profile shock has more of an effect on ride quality than ride height.

[CVODON]

Old guy explained to me 30 years ago what Greg said nicely, Except he said figure the angle dumb ass. Never forgot it

[Dan_Lockwood]

In addition to what Jerry wisely said, note that the low profile shock is only one inch shorter than the standard shock. If the shocks sat on your bike exactly vertically that would make a one-inch difference in ride height. They do not sit vertically, they sit at an angle. It's been some time since I did the actual calculation but because of the angle of the shock, the difference in ride height is only 9 sixteenths of an inch. Getting low profile shock has more of an effect on ride quality than ride height.

Greg, stealth is talking about forks, not shocks.

I thought that on front fork kits that you had to "break them in" a bit for a few hundred miles before the settled into the final length etc.

Just a thought before you yank them out for another set.

[GregKhougaz]

Greg, stealth is talking about forks, not shocks.

I thought that on front fork kits that you had to "break them in" a bit for a few hundred miles before the settled into the final length etc.

Just a thought before you yank them out for another set.

Thanks, Dan. I was distracted. Still the principle is the same.... Just not sure of the calculation.

[grc]

The same principle applies, front or rear.  The forks are also at an angle, just like the shocks.  If the kit reduces the length of the forks one inch for instance, the actual distance the bike would be lowered would be less than one inch.

And yes, accurate measurements require putting the parts through a few jounce and rebound cycles first.

Jerry

[stealth]

Thanks for all your input, sorry I was unattentive. I thought the forum was going to tell me if anyone responded. It did not I spent the afternoon at my dealer talking through a plan.

So, I took several measurements, But not bracket to axle. This is not so easy a measurement on a shark nose. Two of the measurements I feel are accurate and should be telling. One is, I measured from the bottom of the top tube cover to the center of the fender mount bolts. Given those parts are reused, seems like it's an ok measurement. When I compared the limiteds to the limited lows at the dealer today there was definitely a noticeable and measurable difference in all cases, more than a half inch just not the full inch, which I did not expect to see anyway. I just feel it cannot be the same before and after. The fact that it did not change at all is telling to me. The second was I have a large storage "shelf" in my house garage that I can park under. I have my twin turbo, AWD, 4-wheel steering Stealth under there. Anyway, I sat on the bike, marked a spot on the bottom of the wood frame of the storage area and measured down to the top of the windshield. This also was exactly the same before and after. And, btw, the other measurements were pretty close to the same, including ground clearance, which I did by using my pit bull lift just enough to get it straight up and off the Jiffy Stand without changing the previously mentioned fork and windshield measurements. 

So, I have also been thinking they must have packed the 45500158 into a 45500157 box. My dealer is working with me on this and just now called to fill me in on what Harley Tech Support said and what the plan is. Tech Support agreed with my analysis and is shipping another kit out, after they verify the parts in it are the right ones. And they gave my dealer the spring measurements to check. If it turns out be the wrong parts I'm good, they are covering everything. If it turns out the kit is correct, then I will have to pay some labor, but not the whole thing. The problem here is whether to be happy or not, :-), given it did not lower the bike any more than the shocks did in the first place. Which, btw, was the other thing tech support said. He saw notes from other tech folks asking if anyone had seen a case where the fork kit did not lower very much, or at all, after the shocks had been on the bike first. The only reason I have that case is the fork kit was not yet available when I bought the bike. There was only a thought that they had seen about 3/4" drop just from the shocks, so maybe that's all your going to get. Wish I had measured the bike before changing shocks.

Ok, so I see 2 actions for me. One is to get some miles on it this weekend to see if Greg's comment could be correct. Thanks Greg, I was looking for a good reason to take a ride this weekend. The other is if no change after riding do I take my chances and let them tear it apart again and possibly having to foot part of the bill, or do I assume what I have is all I get, and move on. I am thinking if I do not do it I will never know and it will bug me forever.

Oh, one other strange thing here is from what I can tell from comparing specs and part #s on 2015 limiteds, lows, SG, RGs, etc, the '15 cvo rg ultra specs are wrong for ground clearance. Should be 5.3", it says 4.7" which cannot be correct, lows are 4.6" which is where I was hoping to get close to. I am still a bit over 5".


Thanks all, anything else you think of let me know.

[Para Bellum]

Years ago I put the Progressive Suspension front monotube kit (lowering version) in a SEUC.  IIRC, there was a choice of two spacers; one gave a 1" drop, while the other gave a 2" drop (don't know if the HD kit has same options).  We used the 1" spacer.  It made about 3/4" height difference, which was noticeable when sitting on the bike.  The ride was slightly harsher, but the reduced dive when braking, plus the better handling, more than made up for it.  Don't know how much effect the 2" drop would have had

If I was in your shoes, I would put on the miles and see what the measurements show.  If no change, I would probably take the risk and have them open it up.  OTOH, you might find you like the improved ride/handling/braking, even with stock height.  YMMV.

[grc]

The story about the front kit not making much or any difference if the lower shocks were installed first is the sort of total BS I would expect from someone at Harley, where blowing stuff off and making crap up on the fly is SOP.  This goes back to my original post, if you want to know if the fork kit actually lowered anything, you don't measure ground clearance at the center of the frame, you measure the before and after length of the forks.  Trust me, as an owner of a bike that came stock from the factory lowered both front and rear, having a lowering kit on both ends instead of just the rear definitely makes a difference in ground clearance compared to a bike with just the low profile shocks on the rear.  It may not be a dramatic difference, but there is a difference.  More importantly, it keeps the bike level which is the way the chassis was designed to work.

Jerry