hey all any help need to soften the ride on my 02 heritage as wife has a bad back any help on the subject greatly appreciated.

 

try adjusting the shocks, makes the whole bike feel different, ride it by your self before putting the wife on ,because like i say it does handle different... also try the wider seat for her italso is easier on the tailbone according to my wife... and a wider back rest for more support. if i remember right the pillion seat is 150.00, and backrest is 95.00.... and of couse you could buy some different shocks..i know first hand if she aint happy back there youll know it....... good luck

 

Sam, one thing to consider when adjusting the shocks is, you may not want to soften the ride. It could be that with the two of you on the bike it is bottoming out and you may need to stiffen, rather then loosen. Just a thought.

 

What is your combined weight and what do you set your shocks to?
Tom

 

Whatever you do, you might want to first try some shock adjustments as the others mentioned. I just stiffened up the shocks on my Deluxe and basically a quarter turn hardened the ride and made it less bouncy. I was surprised how such a little change made the bike feel, ride and handle a lot different. It also raised the rear end just a tad.

I needed to make this change because when my wife and I ride, we come close to bottoming out and it was a little too bouncy. You might want to experiment a little on different shock settings, until you find whats right for you. Wish the MoCo would make air shocks in the Softails stock because it's a pain to get under there and adjust them...and it would be nice to be able adjust for two up or solo riding on the fly or at least with an air pump as you can on a Street Glide....Good luck!

 

There is always air ride as well. That is all I can say on the subject.

 

combined weight of about 350 whos wife will really tell you what they weigh...
maybe you r right shocks have 4 threads showing and i have not touched them since i bought it thanks for everyones help...how many theads r showing on yours?

 

Sam...I just adjusted my shocks 2 days ago....I am not sure what they were set at before the adjustment but after, I counted the threads to make sure both were even....I also got 4 showing and the ride was stiffened up a lot. I weigh 175 lbs....rode over 100 miles alone this past weekend and the ride was nice...not too bouncy at all and possibly just a tad bit hard....I'm thinking it should be perfect for when my wife and I ride...I don't know what she weighs but she's muscular from playing sports so I'm guessing her and I combined are in the 300 lb range; no more than 315 for sure. Hope this helps you gauge where you need to be for your adjustment.

 

This has good information on what the recommended settings should be for different weights.
http://www.fatbillscustoms.com/
Tom

 

whatever you do stay away from progressive shocks they will be to stiff for her.
this is a great reason to get a 2nd bike maybe an ultra for 2up, just a thought.
good luck.
incase you already dont know you will need the spanner wrench from hd, about 20 bucks to adjust the shocks