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[North Star]

Figuring I'm gonna get rid of the Ricor fork inserts and want to upgrade to one of these fork cartridge kits.

I believe the Ohlins are around $1,000 and the AK 20's are $1,250. The only obvious difference I can see is that the AK 20's have rebound and damping adjusters, whereas the Ohlins don't.

The other concern is that I hear the AK 20's need to be rebuilt after xxxx miles, and I don't know about the Ohlins (I haven't called Howard yet). Not sure if either is tricky to install for a good mechanic, but if I went with the Traxxion's, I'd likely use it as an excuse for a road trip, and take the 2 days to ride down to Georgia to have them install.

The Ohlins are new and I have only read a few reviews on them, and I doubt anybody has actually run both, but what do you guys think about the pros on cons of each set up?

[Ripcord]

Just talked to Howard last week about the same thing. You will do better than the $1000 estimate. Having read on this site, I think it was, that some folk said unless you change your triple trees you won't get the full benefit of the Ohlins. I emailed Howard about that and got a rather ominous response but have not had time to call him to get the scoop. I don't want to have to change the whole front end, especially with the cost, so emailed an individual in this site who has the Ohlins FKC 101s on his bike. He is very happy with the way they perform and made no change to his triple tees. If you speak with Howard maybe you could post his advice? I'll try him next week anyway. Good luck!

[North Georgia Hawg]

I can't speak to the Ohlins, but I really like my AK-20s. They are awesome.

They are supposed to be serviced at 25,000 miles. I haven't hit that point yet, so I don't know what that really means. I know that part of that service is changing the oil, but I don't know what else is involved, nor the cost. Since Traxxion is all of 40 minutes from my house, I'll just take the bike to them for service when the time comes.

It took them about 3-4 hours to install the AK-20s back in May 2012, and they dialed in the damping and rebound for my weight and riding style ("fairly aggressive", IIRC). They gave me all of the OEM parts they removed in a big plastic bag. It's still sitting on a shelf here.

Ken

[kiro]

The Ak-20 set up requires some machining on the install. I sent my tubes to them to have this done but a local shop can do it. However, I'd prefer somebody who is familiar with this do the work rather then being the first. They rebuild the forks at the 25k check from what I was informed. I've never adjusted the front end rebound/dampening (or the Bitubo shocks on the rear) but only have about 4,000 miles on my bike without a BSR. You'd like the AK-20 front end...

[North Star]

Thanks for the input so far. Yes, from what I have heard and read, Howard says the best way to set up the front is to use the larger 2014+ fork tubes with new triple trees. From what I recall from a thread on the big HD forum, he feels the pre 2014 smaller forks are not sturdy enough. A friend of mine from another forum with a 2010 RG did the 2014 fork conversion with the Ohlins set up at Howard's, and was actually the first one to do it. He is quite pleased with his set up, but no way would I spend $3,000 to go that route.

If Howard is selling just the FKC 101 set up, I'm sure it would be with a nice discount, as he usually does for us forum supporters of his. So, cost would be a factor since with a discount, the FKC 101 could potentially be up to $500 cheaper vs the Traxxion AK 20's.

I wouldn't think the difference  would be night and day, or even largely noticeable between the FKC 101 and Traxxion set up, but that is just an assumption. If they are close in feel and performance, I'd gladly save the few hundred and go with Ohlins.

I'm not a real aggressive rider, and am maybe 70/30% solo/two up. But, I do want the benefit of a more confident feeling front end that has the ability to corner awesome when the mood strikes. Lots of time to research and decide though- riding season is still about 3 months away.

[custodn]

Hi all, I want to upgrade my airshocks, any ideas

[Rooster]

Anyone close to the west coast HDdude (Jim) is an authorized Traxxion dealer/installer he did mine several years ago and all good no complaints except when I rode one without. "Metal Dragon" is his shop name.

[Gnarl78]

Looking at the respective web sites there appears to be a few differences: the Ohlins have 25 mm cartridges vs. Traxxion's 20 mm; Traxxion has external adjustability; and cost about 20% more. Any other feedback from folks having either of these cartridge kits? I'd be looking to replace a Progressive Monotube cartridge kit (1" shorter) that I now have installed.