Hi All,

I bought my brother 2002 Fatboy. He is a bit shorter than me so he had the dealership change the stock shock in order for him to plant his feet. He mentioned its an adjustable shock but doesn't know what it is.

I eventually plan to change to the shotgun shock but for now...

The problem: The bike doesn't seem to have a properly set rebound.

The following pictures show the shock. Does anyone know which one it is? Does anyone know if these can be adjusted for rebound?









Thanks,

Victor

 

I'm not sure which one is which, but it looks like you have a mis-matched set of shocks. My 2004 softail has two alike shocks and when I first got it it had the lowering shocks that were also alike.

 

They are both shocks and you can adjust the rebound on them.

 

you can adjust them, you just need a spanner wrench and I believe 1 1/16" open end wrench. loosen jam nut and spin shock with spanner. I've got a older fatboy the way you spin is different but their was a good write up on here for how to do it. hit the search button.

 

Maybe the older shocks are different, but on my '06 there is no rebound adjustment. The only adjustment you can make is preload. This is done with the shock adjust ment tool, a "U" shaped tool with bent ends that fit on the top of the shock and allow this adjustment.

 

Preload and rebound are being used interchangeably here... changing the preload or rebound is not the proper way to raise or lower a bike. Preload is the stiffness that the shock is set at to control the rebound when going over bumps.

A longer shock will lower the bike... and conversely a shorter shock will raise the bike. The dealer may have put on a longer shock or may have put on a shock with a lowering bolt kit on it... it's hard to tell. Did this swap out lower the bike?

 

They are set at the softest setting now.
You should be be able to turn each shock at least 3 full turns, this will put them at the firmest setting.
First thing is to back off the retention nuts with a 1-1/16" open end wrench. I had to cut my wrench down to about 5" in length so I could use it while the bike was on the jiffy stand. If you can't break the retention nuts loose it probably has loctite on it so use a heat gun or hair drier to loosen up the loctite.

Now you can see 3+ threads. When you are done there will be no threads showing. The longer the shock body the firmer the setting.
Once you try the ride on the firmest setting you can adjust the shocks anywhere in between to your liking.
Tom

 

Sorry guys for my unclear message.

HandyHoward is right about the usage of the two terms. I really mean to adjust preload.

The shock was put in to lower the bike by the dealership.

I will try to adjust the preload this weekend. I assume I should try to loosen the jam nut on the floor since I don't want to drop the bike off the sears jack while its in the air.

Thanks guys

 

when making any adjustments to the shocks you should have the rear wheel off the ground

 

The shocks look like they have lowering bolts on them. You have the ability to raise the bike back up, if you wish.