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[rocrider50]

My wife's FLHXSE2 Street Glide has had three sets of shocks.  Progressive's and two Harley's and we still can't find the combination that works for her.  The stock Harley ride height is at the edge of her confort zone to be able to stand the bike up.  So we put a set of Progressive's lowered 1/2 inch to help the ride height but took them off for the rough ride (sell them to you cheap?) put a new set of stock Harley's on because the first set was suspect, no change, the new ones ride rough but she is now gotten used to the stock ride height.  So if we stick to the stock ride height what would fix the rough ride?  She's tiny, 125 Lbs maybe, rides mostly with saddle bags full of girl stuff.  So weight is not the problem.  She says she hits bumps and bottoms out harshly on the stock shocks.  I am 6"3" and 275 so I always bottom out on her bike and can't judge whats wrong.  ideas?

[Fired00d]

Which Progressives did you/she try?

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[Robmay]

What air pressure are you running on the stock shocks?

[bear tracks]

My wife's FLHXSE2 Street Glide has had three sets of shocks.  Progressive's and two Harley's and we still can't find the combination that works for her.  The stock Harley ride height is at the edge of her confort zone to be able to stand the bike up.  So we put a set of Progressive's lowered 1/2 inch to help the ride height but took them off for the rough ride (sell them to you cheap?) put a new set of stock Harley's on because the first set was suspect, no change, the new ones ride rough but she is now gotten used to the stock ride height.  So if we stick to the stock ride height what would fix the rough ride?  She's tiny, 125 Lbs maybe, rides mostly with saddle bags full of girl stuff.  So weight is not the problem.  She says she hits bumps and bottoms out harshly on the stock shocks.  I am 6"3" and 275 so I always bottom out on her bike and can't judge whats wrong.  ideas?

I had 12 inch mechanical adjustable Ohlins installed on my 2004 SEEG by the Ohlin crew at 2013 Bike Week.  They may ride a little bit rougher than OEM shocks, but they do not bottom out and there is much less flexing in corners or over rough surfaces.  However, it is important to get them built  and installed by trained personnel to ensure they fit your individual needs such as weight of rider and load, and sitting height.  Hope this helps.

[Boatman]

This is just my oppinion but I don't think any company makes shocks for rider's less than 160 #'s..

You need to talk to Howard at Motorcycle Metal in Florida about him making her a set of Ohlin's or JRI's..    www.motorcyclemetal.com

Good luck.

[NYSport]

I have Ohlins model 159.  They have 3 inches of travel, and although they are a 13 inch shock they have length adjustments that bring them very close to a 12 inch if not the same.  I had virtually no change in ride height from my stock 12 inch shocks.  the ride is far better than OEM.

[JustDennis]

What air pressure are you running on the stock shocks?

My 2010 FLHXSE has an adjustment knob behind the left saddlebag (not the air shocks like my 2008 had)  I removed the saddlebag, adjusted to my weight (235 lbs) per the manual by turning the knob a certain number of turns and they work great.  Seems like the lowest setting was around 200 - 210 lbs.  I don't notice the bike bottoming out at all.  If she is bottoming out at 125 lbs, something definitely must be wrong.

[VaEagle]

Take a look at this thread :

http://www.cvoharley.com/smf/index.php?topic=76154.0


I had Metal Dragon help me get my suspension setup right and am still happy with the choices.  He can set your suspension up for your weight and riding style.  Don't forget to figure in the weight of all the "girl stuff" that is in the saddlebags when deciding on a weight range for the shocks.
13" shocks give more travel and less likely to bottom out especially at light settings...... or heavy loads (which doesn't apply here of course). As Jim told me the worry over 13" and 12" shocks is less than you think due to the fact the shocks are at an angle. If 13" feels too tall maybe your wife could wear thick soled boots?
Good luck with finding the right setup.

[JCZ]

My 2010 FLHXSE has an adjustment knob behind the left saddlebag (not the air shocks like my 2008 had)  I removed the saddlebag, adjusted to my weight (235 lbs) per the manual by turning the knob a certain number of turns and they work great.  Seems like the lowest setting was around 200 - 210 lbs.  I don't notice the bike bottoming out at all.  If she is bottoming out at 125 lbs, something definitely must be wrong.

If you're going to keep the stock CVO Street Glide shocks it's just a matter of playing with the adjustment knob until she's happy.  Once I got mine dialed in, never had another problem (although I do like to be dialed in tight because I've been accused of being an agressive rider and love the twisties).  I never bottomed out on them and I'm 6'4" and 220 lbs.  Again, just a matter of playing with the adjustment.

She may need to put a bit of weight in the saddle bags.  She may also find that something like the Corbin Close Reach seat gives her more comfortable footing...that's what my wife went with on her 09 Street Glide.

[rocrider50]

No air pressure on the 2011, just a knob.  The first set the knob didn't turn anything and were replaced.  I think I am adjusting something here and havn't found a setting that works.  Narrowing the seat would help her with reach, she likes the stock seat too much to change.  Might be able to take the height up then.

[05Train]

Call Howard at Motorcycle Metal.  A 13" JRI is about 11-5/8" when the rider is on it and the sag is properly set.  She'll be blown away by the ride.

[grc]

No air pressure on the 2011, just a knob.  The first set the knob didn't turn anything and were replaced.  I think I am adjusting something here and havn't found a setting that works.  Narrowing the seat would help her with reach, she likes the stock seat too much to change.  Might be able to take the height up then.

     Hopefully you aren't using the preload adjustment to lower the bike, since that's definitely not what the adjustment is for.  If people run preload at the bare minimum, frequent bottoming and lousy ride will result in most cases.

Preload is used to set the "sag", and when done right it will leave approximately 60-65% of available travel to absorb impacts (jounce).  Let's say you have shocks with 3.0 inches of total travel and a 12.0 inch eye-to-eye extended length.  You would set the sag by having the rider sit on the bike along with the normal amount of gear and then measure the length of the shock.  If we assume you are shooting for a 33% sag, the shock should measure 11.0 inches eye-to-eye (12.0 inches minus 1/3 of the 3.0 inch travel).  This is highly simplified, and the sag percentage isn't exactly carved in stone, but it should give you an idea of what's involved in doing it right.  If you do it this way and can't get the sag within the proper range, it's a good indication the spring rate is too high or too low for your application.

Hopefully that made sense.

Jerry

[danner55]

Call Mike Alex @ Suspension Technologies.com 734-646-6114 He will build just the shock she needs. I just replaced my piece of sh$t  harley shocks with his coil over shocks. He is a great guy to work with!

Ride safe!