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[guppytrash]

At 230LBS I was surprised when a buddy with a new 09 Ultra told me he was running 50psi for him 150ish and his 70ish pound girlfriend.
I have played with the air pressure on my CVO and previous HD's but had never pumped to above 30 to get a smooth ride.
 
To get to the point I tried 45psi in my 09 and with my wife on the back I finally have found a smooth ride.

The ride of the 09 frame over bumps had always felt like it was harsh compared to my previous HD's.
 
I have told numerous people who asked that I thought the 09 handled better but was disappointed with the loss of the "Cadillac" ride my 08 Ultra had.  My 08 was smoother when hitting bumps going down the highway both solo and with a pax.  Let's face it in the suburbs of Chicago there are a lot more bumps than there are curves. 

Well I am smiling now...the 09 is very smooth over the bumps it just takes a whole lot more psi than I ever used in the past.
My gauge on my pump only goes to the 30psi but it only adds 1psi with each pump so I just went to 30psi plus 15 more pumps.
What a huge improvement.

[Fed68]

Interesting about the 09.  I have the 08 and I run 35 for just me and 45 for me and the wife.  I have not played with it any more than that yet.  By the way, my weight is 230 and I'm guessing the wife around 130. 

I rode the darn thing around for about 200 miles before I decided to check it and realized the shocks had no air in them.   What a big difference a little makes.

[DESERTBEAR54]

IM 260 and my ex girlfriend was 180 and I never went above 25 psi and bike handled awesome.

[9 1/2 Beers]

I have been using  this pump on my 09 seuc

     http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/gma_product.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442292571&default=none

This new pump is great, it doesn't allow the air pressure to decrease as you are trying to get the hose off the stem.

I use 40 psi in my shocks

[49445CVO]

I have the same pump.  It is nice because you can't blow the system as I have heard of some using their air compressors.

[DESERTBEAR54]

 

[hossdog]

I put 35 LB  in them and it works just great for the wifey and me alone also.

[LarryB]

Check the owners manual specific for your bike and Year. there are differences. 40lb is good in one and will damage another. this is relative to the shock size/model. DO NOT go by what you hear, read the manual.

[FLSTFI Dave]

Check the owners manual specific for your bike and Year. there are differences. 40lb is good in one and will damage another. this is relative to the shock size/model. DO NOT go by what you hear, read the manual.

I know what the maunal says for the SERG, and I am not happy with that setting.  Seems harsh on a big bump and has thrown me out of the seat more than once, same bump on my Fatboy and I do not come out of the seat.

What do you run in yours, what the manual says or more or less?

[LarryB]

Im runnin 30lbs no TP, not packed, 35 w/TP and packed. If im goona spend alot of time in twisties I jack it up

[grc]

I know what the maunal says for the SERG, and I am not happy with that setting.  Seems harsh on a big bump and has thrown me out of the seat more than once, same bump on my Fatboy and I do not come out of the seat.

What do you run in yours, what the manual says or more or less?

The really important part is to not exceed the maximum pressure listed in the manual, and that maximum is different for the standard length shocks and for the "lowered" shocks.  Other than that, just start with the pressure the manual recommends for the weight you are carrying and adjust to fit your preferences from there.  There is no absolute correct number, it will vary.

BTW, you may find the same thing that those of us with SEEG's found with the lowered shocks.  People tried using lower pressures to improve the harsh ride and found that it got worse.  That was because the shocks were bottoming on a regular basis and actually needed more air pressure to keep them from bottoming.  So you may want to try increasing the pressure, but no more than the max listed for your bike.  Use the same stretch of road and try increasing the pressure 5 psi, then decreasing it 5 psi from the recommended pressure.  This should tell you which way you really need to go.

Jerry

[FLSTFI Dave]

Im runnin 30lbs no TP, not packed, 35 w/TP and packed. If im goona spend alot of time in twisties I jack it up

Ok, I may give that a try.  I have tried between 10 and 20, as the manual says 15 if I remember correctly.

[guppytrash]

The only reason I started this was the fact that in the previous 3 HD's I never used more than 30-35psi, but with the new frame it seems to ride smoother with 45-50psi.  Just was surprised!