Okay so my question is in the title. I currently have a 11.5" Progressive 444's on my bike (14' FXDB) and now I'm taking a different path with it now so It's getting ready for a bit of a makeover. I see lots of lowering blocks from 1" to 1.75" drop. Obviously I don't want my tire bottoming out on my fender but not sure if this may be a problem travel wise if I use blocks with my 11.5's. Anyone here done this and had clearance issues? As the bike sits bouncing on it and bottoming the shock stroke out I have about 2" of clearance over the tire roughly. Simple math would say that 1" block would be fine but just like to ask before I buy anything.

 

If I were you, the approach I'd take is to disconnect your bottom shock bolts while the bikes on a jack or stand. Then you can put boards under the rear tires to measure where it makes contact with the fender. Then you'll know for sure if you have the clearance you need. You'll also need to know the shocks eye to eye measurement when they're fully compressed.

 

Burly Slammers are 10.5 ". The Monroe air shock DIY kit has 9.75" shocks. None of which rub. If you want to go low I recommend the Burly Slammers though. They will drop you down, and ate really resonable price wise.

 

Yeah judging by the lack of replies jacking it up and doing some measuring is going to be a must.

Going to a set of burlys isnt in the cards. Was trying to do a somewhat cheap patch for the time being not to mention if i use my existing progressives i still have a decent shock. When i spend money on new shocks they're going to be air ride. Just trying to hold off on that purchase until i get the rest of the bike remodeled.

 

You might just want to wait then. The blocks are going to make your ride worse.
But if you really just want to then 11.5" shock minus 1" (drop block) equals 10.5" which is what the Burlys are....

 

Lowering blocks changes the angle of the shocks making them less effective. Be sure to check the rear lighting harness. The harness is supposed to be mounted to the right side of the fender HOWEVER there are some out there with the harness running right down the center of the fender. Those few will eat up the harness in short order.

 

Yeah on the older models I'd agree but not on integrated tail lights. Got wires on both sides protected by slats/guides where the tire wont touch them so at least that concern isn't an issue. I believe even where the entry to the fender is too far forward for the tire to ever make contact. At that point I'd be hitting the fender anyways and I'm not gonna run a setup like that ya know.

I do understand the angle/geometry is different of the shocks by using lowering blocks and the "effectiveness" will change so to speak, however the 444's I like with the preload being so easy to change from riding solo to 2up not to mention the adjustability itself. Going lower I'm not after the cornering aspect so that's not really an issue either. I have my current shocks as they are without blocks if I want to go shoot corners. Like I said I'm just looking for a temporary cheap patch to get lower without buying new shocks and then buying another Airbag system a few months after that.

Thanks for your input tho. Solid concerns to look out for.

 

What air ride set up will you be going for? The only thing I was thinking if you go the DIY route maybe get the shocks now and run them without the compressor.....? You can find them online for about the same price as blocks. Then you can purchase the other pieces later, but have shocks you can adjust to your liking now. Just a thought. It won't do much good if you are going with one of the kits though. Last time I priced blocks they ranged in price quite a bit. Have you picked any out yet?
I'm assuming you don't have your original shocks any more? If you do, you can always purchase the blocks and if it is too low, throw your originals back on?

 

Yeah I'm expecting a worse ride. I've had many lowered bikes and yeah for the most part they're just gonna ride like ****. Thus being I'm wanting to go to a nice air ride system but just not right now. 11.5" is the length of the shock. Minus the 1" lowering block (they are advertising 1" ride height drop not shock length) will not sit at the same height as 10.5 burlys. Actually will sit higher since the shock is laid down at an angle. Going from a 12" to an 11.5" shock isn't going to lower the bike .5". Also it takes more wheel travel to bottom out the same shock the more you lay it down. It could be a possibilty that the adverse effect at some point is going to be running into the fender even though the two might have a very similar ride height. Just trying to avoid buying a set of shorter shocks now and more suspension again later.

 

The ride probably won't be much worse than stock...
I realize the actual measurement of the blocks and the advertised drop will be different. I think you would be fine with 1" blocks. The Monroe air shocks people use for the air ride have a compressed length of 9 3/4". The fender still cleared my tire at full compress. The fender just hit the belt guard, but that was the only problem I could find. I've got an 11 SB so things might be different. I don't know what, if any, changes were made to the suspension.