The Progressive 422's are the right compromise for me. Can be lowered or raised for days of canyon carving. Many improvements over stock have been mentioned by owners. For me, the ones that raise or lower with the push of a button are too expensive and have reliability issues. The cheap bolt kits don't improve your ride.

 

I say slam it! I just look at it as making fireworks for those behind me.

 

A question for the "scrapers". How dangerous is it to be scraping all the time. I'm a new rider and I've scraped the floorboards on my stock hight Heritage a couple of times and to be honest, I about crapped my pants. I'd really like to lower my ride but I'm afraid of catching the road and loosing control. Is this something to be concerned about or should I just lower my bike and quite being a pu**y.

 

If you just lightly scrape your boards or pegs they are hinged upward and not that strong.

I worry about the lowered bikes which may start grabbing harder parts like muffler brackets. Putting weight onto those could unload the tire's weight and put the bike in a skid.

Imho, since Harleys are notorious for a mild lean angle anyway, I'm afraid that the dyed in the wool lowering fans flat don't know how to ride and don't lean much anyway which is a real danger in itself because sometimes you have to toss that bike around for collision avoidance or just to finish negotiating a turn.

I again invite you to watch this video

http://www.goldangels.com/videos/Obstacle/obsticalmpg.htm

And read this entire thread - link below. If you can do everything you read and see and still want to lower a Harley, then I'll be sad to attend your funeral. If you can't do everything you see and read here, I may have to attend your funeral anyway.

Thread to read:

https://www.hdforums.com/m_2025383/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm

Bottom line - It's more importand to stay alive and enjoy than to look cool. (If looking like you don't know what you're doing is cool.)

Stay safe brothers.

 

With all due respect, that video that I linked above shows bike going maybe 20 mph, maybe in an in-town situation and doing collision avoidance. It's simulating someone pulling out in front of you or turning into your right of way. It can happen any time.

Note that the first rider, a Goldwing with a passenger actually scrapes that Goldwing on his first turn. (turn your sound on.)

If his bike were lowered I predict he would have spilled himself and his passenger.

 

I lower just about everything I ride and drive. Scraping is just a price to pay for looking good. If you're new to riding, you shouldn't be leaning that hard anyways. If you're not new, you'll know how to handle it. To answer the original post, adjustable shocks are probably the best in terms of cost (especially if you install yourself), ride quality, and the ability to go back up when you ride 2up. I have 422s on mine.

 

I suspect that the riders on those Goldwings are "new." That looks like a class to me. Here in Oregon you have to be able to do that accident avoidance routine to get your endorsement and the whole class, some of whom have never ridden a motorcycle at all can do that by the end of the class.

If you're not new and you unload your weight from your tires by leaning the bike onto a frame part,you're going to crash.

I hate to be mouthy, but I hate to see anyone get hurt. If those riders in the video had lowered bikes they would crash. Here's the link again.

http://www.goldangels.com/videos/Obstacle/obsticalmpg.htm

 

I was replying to the original post in this thread. He has a NT and wants to do something similar to what I've done to mine. The thread has been hijacked off on a tangentwith yourclip of a full-dressed Wing of all things in a closed-course 2-up test. Apples and oranges dude. Lowering is a common mod, especially on a Train. Nobody gets hurt by it, even when the inevitablescrape occurs.This thread was started by a guy who wants to lower his ride. He's not looking to be talked out of it!!! Nothing wrong with your post but you say you'd never lower a Harley. Maybe you should start a new threadwith that and your video because they really don't apply to what this started out with. (BTW, I've "unloaded the weight off my tire" and haven't crashed. Because I know how to react when that happens)

 

I guess you could unload the tire during a severe avoidance manuver.

If ya want to carve the twisties - get a sport bike.

Want to do some laid back cruising....ride a Harley, and if ya have this attitude I don't think you are going to be dragging pegs, boards, or exhaust for that matter.

 

I lowered my 07 Fatty when I bought it from the dealer. I would highly suggest you not lower it more than 1 1/2 inches due to bottoming out. I ride double at times and thats as far as I would go. And also, my bike handles ALOT better than stock. It is alot quicker, even with stock tires, but as soon as the time comes, I will change tire brands. I prefer Metzelers. JMO.