Have a 95 Heritage Softail Classic. I have had this bike for about seven years. Four or five years ago I had the rear shocks changed from the originals to progressive 422's. About two years ago I had to replace them.

Anyway, what I have noticed lately is that I drag the floorboards extremely easy, just making routine turns, and not going fast at all. I have also noticed I bottom out often. For example, just leaving a gas station a few days ago I bottomed out and ringed as I felt and heard the area just a little behind the floorboards scrape the pavement as I was going off the little ramp that transitions from the gas station parking lot to the street. It drug hard and was not just a short quick chirp or scrape.

I also find myself standing on the floorboards to avoid a hard jolt if I am going to pass over an irregularity in the pavement.

I have not gained any weight. I have actually lost fifteen pounds lately, although I am still overweight, at 5' 9" and 240 pounds with a 29" inseam.

I am thinking I need to adjust the ride height and preload. Or maybe this set of shocks has gone bad? Previously, I had problems with the bushings breaking.

I was wondering if anybody had some helpful tips on adjusting them or any other advice.

I always ride alone and don't carry anything with me.

I thought about shotgun shocks but the price seems awfully high at more than three times what these progressives cost.

 

I just bought some 422's and they are adjustable for ride height and preload.
They come lowered 1" and set at the lightest preload.
If you installed them did you just slap them in or did you change anything?
Same question if you had an indy do it.

 

Thanks Texas. I think I will head to the Indy shop today because I still don't like the feel of my back brakes and while I am there I will ask him about my shocks.

I am going through a bad time with my health and have stayed home for the last few days because one of the new medicines caused me to black out while driving my jeep, pulling my trailer, with my bike in it a few days ago. When I regained awareness I was a few miles down the road and apparently made numerous turns. I had no idea where I was and was lost. Luckily I have a real nice aftermarket in dash GPS unit in my Jeep and pressed the home button to get home.

I am feeling pretty good today though.

 

Damn that would scare the **** out of me!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm glad you are ok.

 

It did. I don't drink and to have this happen really shook me up. Apparently during my black out period somebody tried to call my cell phone as evidenced by the call log.

Alzheimer's runs on both sides of my family, but I am pretty sure this had to do with a bad reaction to the medicine. I am not old enough for Alzheimer's yet even though most people I know and hang out with are. I usually do better around people that are 20 years older than I am.

 

I crawled under there and the adjustments look fine. The left shock is covered in oily greased crud. I rubbed around and could tell it is coming from the left shock where the stem comes out the body.

 

Purchase date on the shocks was 6/13. Warranty is 12 months.

Previous shocks lasted about the same amount time, maybe 24 months.

Instead of putting new ones on right away, I'd like to figure out what is going on that causing to go through shocks so quickly.

 

I am looking into the works performance shocks. One of things that I found about them is they are rebuild able and they sell the parts to do it.

I thought about the shotgun shocks, but at $1,550 I find that too much even if I were to install them myself.

Then again, having wasted money on two sets of progressives.......

 

Jd1 offers a lifetime warranty on the shotgun shock too. He is or was fairly active on the Softail forum.

 

Went to an independent shop today and ordered Works Performance shocks. He says they will probably be in Tuesday. I'll let him install them.

They were $789.95 plus tax. With the tax the total is $853.15.

While not as expensive as the shotgun shocks, they are a lot more than the progressives, On the other hand they are rebuild able compared to with the progressives, if it fails you are sol.

I probably could have found them a little cheaper online, but the guy is usually very reasonable on his labor, so if he makes a few extra bucks on parts, that's fine.

I hope they do the trick.