I was interested in the Heartland conversion kit fo rmy Rocker. After talking with a sales rep, it seems that once the bike is lowered i will need to "reload the shocks". Not sure what this means or how to do it. Apparently this needs to be done so the ride is not so rough...

 

Rockerdave,

I recently completed the Heartland conversion on my Rocker C. The bike does need to be lowered since the large space between the fender and seat is transfered to a large space between the tire and fender. I used the Progressive 422 shocks (which are adjustable 0-2 inches) to accomplish this by lowering it two inches. Additionally, I had to play with the pre-load adjustment on the shocks to fine tune my ride quality.

 

Thanks for the info...does the bike ride rough? I am thinking of getting those shocks if they make the ride better than the Arlen Ness lowering kit on the stock shocks.

 

The ride quality seems pretty close to the stock shocks at stock height. Once I started riding with the 422's I had the pre-load adjusted several times to find the sweet spot with the spring tension and shock travel. My shop advised me that my ride quality would be improved using the Progressive shocks over the Arlen Ness lowering kit. There is also a lot of positive feedback on them on this forum. That's why I went with them. I'm glad I did.

 

Ok maybe I am missing something here.Why would you put the shocks (422's)
on and ride at the stock height? I understand that you have the 422's on now
and I am assuming that you have lowered the bike 1-1/2 - 2 inches. If so, how is the ride compared to not lowering it at all? Becuase I lowered mine with Arlen Ness lowering kit approx. 1-1/2 inches and the ride is a lot rougher. I am wondering if I can adjust the pre-load on the stock shocks?

 

LOL... Yes, yes you are missing something here.. You need to read his post again.. He said his bike is now lowered 2" and they adjusted preload several times to get a comfortable ride with the 422's THAT IS COMPARABLE TO THE STOCK SHOCKS AT STOCK HEIGHT...

 

ok...ok I understand. So apparently the stock shock pre-load adjustments can basically only "stiffen" the ride not really soften it up?
I guess what I am asking is if I screw in my spring adjuster plate...how far
will it screw in? Because the service manual says that if you screw the plate in it will "decrease the spring preload". If it rides rough, wouldn't I want the spring load to decrease or increase...now I'm confused. Or will it really even make a difernce?

 

RockerDave,

It does make a difference. The goal is to find the sweet spot with the preload (spring tension). You want the least amount of preload so that the shock does not bottom out or run out of travel. The higher the preload the stiffer the ride. However, stiffer is preferable to bottoming out.

 

422 shocks come from where?

Edit : Just googled them. Almost 500 $ for the two and they say they do not fit the Rocker. That sucks. Though I imagine they bolted right up to your bike no problems Marty ?

 

Jipmkwa,

You are correct on the cost. The main disadvantage of the Progressive 422's are the high price. When I asked, Progressive told me the 422's would not fit the Rocker. But like you said, they bolted right up to the bike with absolutely no problem. Go figure.