I have an 03 Fatboy with 422's on the rear and a progressive drop in lowering kit with Ricor Intiminators up front. The front seems fairly harsh and pretty stiff. My thought is to replace the progressive shock springs with stock springs of the same length. I'm thinking this might take some of the harshness out and be a little more forgiving due to the stock springs not being as stiff as the progressive springs. Anybody have any thoughts on this?

 

Do you have any spacers in the front end? I know when I replaced my stock springs, the replacements I put in were actually shorter and came with PVC piping for spacing. They get cut to fit based on the temperment of your ride. If they are too long, you're gonna get a stiffer ride, too short and the ride will be too soft.

 

The directions for the Intiminators in put in my Supermoto called for 5W fork/suspension fluid. You didn't say, but did you use 5W fork oil? The 5W fluid is so thin removes the damper rods from the equation and hands the damping control over to the valving in the Intiminators. If you used anything heavier than 5W the orifices in the damper rods are still in play and you aren't getting the full benefit of the Intiminators. Intiminators are designed to reduce brake dive...combine that with heavy use of the front brake on a choppy road surface and it can feel harsh...even when set up properly.

http://store.ricorshocks.com/product_p/500-10-1001.htm

How the inertia valve works with wheel input and works with chassis input.


Tech23

 

Check out the thread in the touring section , I think it will answer all your questions. Race tech springs would be a good choice

 

Thanks for your replies. The intiminators are installed correctly with the spacers cut to the specified length and with the 5w oil. I just think maybe the progressive shock used in the drop in lowering kit might be a bit to stiff to be used with the Ricors.

 

you need some travel of the forks to allow any damping..
my progressive springs work well with 1 3/4 spacers
lowered all the way it had zero suspension..
sagged all the way to the bottom