Hi all,

I'm a big guy at three bills and I'm looking for the best way to improve the ride of my 2004 Fatboy. The back was dropped 1 1/2" when the bike was purchaed by the original owener. He put on 422 progressive rears and I like the way the back end looks and rides just fine.

My issue is the front. It's marshmello soft. I prefer a firm ride and with my size a squeeze of my right hand noses the front end down in a hurry. Race Tech does a fork kit they say will fix this through something called a gold valve emulator.

Does anyone have any personal experience with this product. I've read some reviews that seemed favorable but reccomend a heavy fork oil for a firm ride. I'd also like to drop the front an inch to an inch and a half as well.

Any thoughts?

 

I have read that the SE fork oil is much better, but am yet to change to it. I'd be interested in your review of this emulator as well when you are done as I have read favorable reviews as well. My front end is soft as melted butter...

 

i have the same bike as you, same model, same year . i would not do the front end ,leave it stock, it will bring your front end down way to low. for a big guy you dont need this. my buddys fatboy is lowered in front , he has many floor board issues when turning corners, which i dont have. just change out the fork oil. i did this last year as i thought my front end was a little to soft also. i weigh 2 and a half bills, so i switched to screaming eagle HEAVY FORK OIL, N O T the racing oil they said it was to stiff. try the heavy, it worked fine for me. if not enough stiffness try some thing else, its an easy job to do. a TIP: when draining fluid into cup,mark level with tape or pen. just replace with same amount as you took out, very easy. dont worry about all the specs. ONLY REPLACE WHAT YOU TAKE OUT! NO MORE NO LESS. good luck

 

I use the same set up you are talking about,Race Tech valves and progressive springs with the regular weight oil. Vast improvement in the compression and rebound when clamping down on the front brake.Also the e-valve is adjustable.I'm a lite weight at 205 compared to you but I still think you'll see and improvement.Also I set the springs at the-1" setting and it works good for me.

 

If you are a worthy mechanic and have to right lifts you can make VERY noticeable improvement by increasing the fork oil to 15W (I use Bel Ray), and preloading the springs. At 300 lbs you probably are experiencing a lot of static sag. Pre-loading the springs will bring that up to the normal range. You can also play with fork oil height. It adds additional compression damping. Dont go over board there though, you can blow fork seals, but an extra 10mm in oil height is safe (add 8-10 extra ccs). You can load the spring using washers, yep just normal washers from Lowes. You will have to measure the id (inside diameter) of the fork tube to determine which size washer you need. Two quarts of Bel Ray and a dozen washers (I have no idea how many) will cost you around $20 probably and may do exactly what you need. Jap bike owners (with non cartridge forks) have been doing this for 30 years or more. Once you replace the oil and drop in the washers, you can add to the stack or reduce it just by popping the fork caps while the forks are ON the bike.

Emulators definitely work, but are spendy. This may correct your issues for less than a meal with the wife.

I am not big on dropping the front either unless you are so short you need to be able to touch (and I doubt that is the case). If you must though, when you are done with the above just run the fork caps up a half inch further up into the triple clamps (tree) toward the bars, if the design of the forks allow it. I would actually think about raising the rear back up at your weight.

Good Luck and let us know how everything turns out.

 

I appreciate the feedback from all. Principally lowering the front end is for looks. I just hate the squishy feel the front end has. I'm a pretty fair wrench but I'll be letting my dealer do the work which sucks but I don't have a lift and honestly the only costly job is the one I'd have to do twice (with myself to blame).

I found the suspension forum helpful on the subject as well and I think I will make the investment in the race tech kit and likely use a normal weight oil and have the front end dropped one inch. I agree lowering it too much creates more problems than it solves. I measured the distance from the fender to the bottom of the headlight housing (enclosed headlamp) and it is 8". As a comparison my Streetglide is 6". I have 20wt fork oil in the SG with no modifications and it is a stiff ride but completely predictable.

I will report back when I get this done. It might be early spring with Christmas around the corner it will take some time to recover enough to get it done.

Thanks Again!