I've read heaps of posts about Shotgun Shocks and Platinum Bleed/Feed shocks.... and some on SAS and all I can say is that I'm confused.

Can you adjust the (a) firmness and (b) damping and (c) ride height all separate from each other???

I'm thinking these separate adjustments are important as everyone has different weights, solo, 2-up etc, just cruising or carving up the twisties....

Thanks.
Oh yeah, my ride is a '10 Deluxe...

 

Why Shotgun of course!
On the fly or parked. 1 toggle height,1 for rebound. Platinum is comparable. SAS I can't comment on but I think you need a allen key or somethin and crawl under the bike to adjust.

 

You say Platinum is comparable.. better or worse? what are the differences between Platinum and Shotgun?

Thanks.

 

I have Arnott. It has a simple switch that you can mount anywhere to raise or lower. They even have a kit the mount in on the bars (which I didn't go with)

 

I have the Shotgun Shock and so far it has been able to do anything I need. One switch for ride height and the other switch adjusts the firmness. I can put air in or take it out depending on where I'm riding or if I'm riding two up. This can also be done on the fly...The other day I was riding with my wife and noticed the bike was a little too low for the conditions so I just reached down to flip the switch and the bike popped right up. If I am riding and get in some twisties and need to tighten up the firmness it can also be adjusted on the fly. The installation was easy and it is nice and clean with only one air line from the compressor. There is an internal check valve so if there is a failure or the line gets hit the bike stays right where it is. The ride quality is great...nice and smooth! I have been very satisfied with the shock and JD's customer service is top notch as well.

I can't comment on the Platinum??

 

The shotgun and Platinum are comparable with a few small differences. They were both designed by the same guy. The main difference is that Platinum is two separate shock bodies where the shotgun is a on piece unit. The Platinum has external air lines that hold air when the system is pressurized while the shotgun does not. The Platinum has 2 cylinders in each shock that pressurize. One that raises the bike, and one that controls the rebound. The Shotgun has 4 cylinders in the one piece body. So this part is the same. They can both be adjusted on the fly. The SAS is a one piece unit that also holds the compressor where as with Platinum and Shotgun the compressor is a separate unit. The rebound on the SAS is done with an allen head screw on the shock body as opposed to with the push of a button. Each has their advantages and disadvantages. Platinum allows access to the transmission drain plug and since it is a one piece unit it puts no extra stress on the swingarm bushings. Shotgun has an advantage as it holds no air in the external air line from the compressor to the shock body. SAS has the advantage where evcerything is in one piece so the mounting is the simplest of all 3. I have not ridden a bike with Shotgun or SAS but have read reviews. I have ridden with Platinum and Hi Lo which is different in that the shock only has one cylinder that fills with air and does not allow a rebound adjustment like these other systems. The Platinum is head and shoulders above the Hi Lo, which is not bad, just different. I did not want to have to remove my shock when I need to change the Transmission oil which is why I went with Platinum and was concerned about extra stress on my swingarm from the heavier one piece shotgun unit. So there you have it.

 

Great review Dr. I only know about the Platinum Bleed and Feed, but as Dr. said, Shotgun and Platinum very similar. To throw in another air ride with dual adjustments, there is the one from Progressive, but I have not heard about them for a while. thewholehog, FYI, the firmness and dampening are adjusted by one switch and the other switch adjusts the ride height as Dr. said. Good luck in your search.

 

The progressive air tail has one shock that is sprung and the other that is air.

 

Thanks for the review DR.... very informative.

 

"and was concerned about extra stress on my swingarm from the heavier one piece shotgun unit"

I still don't understand the physics behind this statement. With the bike on the ground, the swingarm is naturally being pushed up into the fender by the weight of the bike on the read tire. The shock body underneath the bike attaches to the swingarm and frame parallel to the ground. Regardless of how much the shock body weighs, isn't the same amount of force being applied to the bushings that connect it to the frame(Essentially the weight of the bike that is pushing the swingarm up and pulling on the shock body attached to the frame)? I think it would be different if the shock body were actually vertical and the weight of the shock body would then apply, but we're talking a lb or two on top of hundreds of lbs from the bike? Meh, I'm getting confused now, but for some reason my logical brain doesn't sit right with this statement.

For example, if we had two differently weighted objects(5lb and 15lb) on the ground up against a wall with a scale on the wall and we applied 15 lbs of pressue against each object toward the wall, wouldn't it still be 15 lbs of pressure through each object on the scale and the weight of the objects don't matter? Now if we put the objects on top of a weight scale on the ground, we'll then see the weight of object come into account on the weight scale for a total of 20lb and 30lb respectively. However, even in a vertical install, the weight of the bike pushes the swingarm up through the rear tire and creates force against the shocks, so not sure how the weight of the shock affects the swingarm? The weight of the shock would add total weight to the bike, but again only talking a lb or two?

HAHA, blame my wife for watching FAME and forcing me to come on here and kill time! I'm totally confused now and stopping here!

If I have miunderstood this, please someone explain.

Dale