I've ridden for years, and just saw a pic of the Iron and wanted it. I had NO idea the damn thing was lowered, much less that HD put POS suspension on sporties. Didn't take long to find out, that was just on the bumps, then the first serious curve sent sparks flying, and that was from the muffler mounting bolts, on the right, and the jiffy stand on the left, BEFORE the peg feelers ever touch. I feel that HD is totally going in the wrong direction, whether intentional, to force riders to ante up for bigger, more expensive bikes, or they just don't care for anything other than form. The new superlow is a prime example. The put great features into a POOR performing bike. Every write-up I've read on it said it was even worse than what we have now at dragging. They say it's aimed at new riders...well kiss my a**, draggin' s*** does not inspire confidence. How did that happen? I was given a feedback survey a while after I bought it about the complaints I had with it. I held nothing back. Did HD not listen? Apparently not.

 

Harley Davidson (like most companies) listens to $$$. So long as the sheeple keep buying these ridiculously low bikes as a fashion statement they will keep cranking them out by the 1,000's. The Superlow was a huge step in the right direction that is killed in it's effectiveness by a retardedly low ride height and pathetic lean angles. At least it takes fewer upgrades to make it a good bike as opposed to some of the others. If they really want to keep the seat height low to accommodate short people and newbies REDESIGN THE STUPID FRAME to have more of a drop in the seat area. Of course, that would take some engineering work and we all know Harley has no engineering department. They just use the blueprints from 50yrs ago.

 

i don't know the spring rates or the change in weight bias. if you're buying from progressive, call them and ask for help choosing components. they'll have some idea of any spring rate requirements with your setup. they might come up with numbers that don't match front/rear. again, when you change one end, the other end changes. so let the pros do the math for you.

if you are poor like a lot of us and can't afford brand new suspension, you can always get road king air shocks for the rear and heavy duty fork oil up front. its not ideal, but its a huge improvement over stock.

 

Ok here goes:::
The Roadster,,I have the 2008 1200R,,,
Lean angle Is 32 degree's both sides,,
Rear stock shocks are 13.5"

Most Important :::::
If you change shock angle for more height you will Loose some of the natural "progressive" shock action.
All shocks have this action If they are not verticle,,the more verticle the less "Progressive",,,,,
This will require a stiffer spring or a true progressive spring.
Cornering loads are far more than you think,,I would never change the angle of a shock.

Im closer to 33 degree's cause I'm on the most shock preload and
I added 3/4" of preload to the forks and thicker Oil to lessen front end
dive in the corner entries. (Dive Is Important because you need It for weight transfer for traction)
BUT Too much limits lean angle and steepends front rake too much for a near 600lb bike,
and this makes the bike squrilly In a Hi-speed turn.
Also a fork brace Is a MUST especially to run thicker fork Oil,,you have to limit fork stiction,,
I got the "Super Brace"
Check out my "Chicken Strips in the first pic,,shows my max lean angle
tire sidewall wear limit,,,

The Chicken strip Is the grey line just on the outter edge of the tire sipe's..
Its where you have road contact but not enough to grind smooth so It "feathers"
a tiny bit and holds sand and such,,,looks lighter and slicker.

Black Denim Super Brace,,second pic.

FYI the XR1200X has 39 degree's lean angle,,
Customs about 29,,,the 48's about 25 degree's

Some said, Quote:::you wont get much more out of your front. there are two front ends for the newer sportsters. one has standard-length forks. the other is the short fork. the iron has the short fork.
if you dont change the fork tubes/damping rods to the longer version, springs and spacers will only net you a small fraction of an inch in ride height.

This Is very critical you under stand what that rider means.

Custom forks and Roadster forks seem to be the same length,,IF you have shorter forks then the change In rake can cause stability problems,
Too steep and ya get a wobble at hi-speeds,,a bit farther into the too steep area you could get a dangerous "Tank slapper"
Remember Sportsters,,any and all sportster's limits must be respected,,these heavy bikes are NOT Sport bikes and the suspension Is
Too "slow",, to perform or react with the speed needed to stay Hooked Up at very mean lean angles when you encounter road Imperfections.
Always set the bike up for maximum cornering and limit all cornering to 80% of that limit.
Then back off to 70% max so you can grow old and ride along time.

Basic rule of thumb: Lower frame rails level or a bit lower to the rear,,never lower to the front or your headed to a wobble or slapper.

I am perfectly happy with 32,,and yes I use almost all of It..

I'm often affraid a "low model" with a newer rider might try and follow
me into a turn. They think I'm a Braggin dork If I warn them..
Their view's change after the first curve,,so far so good..

 

osco, certainteed and captain,
thank you all very much for sharing your info.

certainteed,
i am still very interested in your current angle with you 13" shocks. do you feel any wobble with your setup?

osco,
please understand that i do not want to build a sportbike.
my thought was to improve my ride quality with some progressive brand shocks and fork springs. while i was at it i thought i would try and add a bit of height for both ride quality and lean angle.
i have no plans to change the spring angles out back, thats out of my league.

all i want is a better ride and to be able to make the same turns i do now, at the same speed i do now.... but without dragging my muffler. that ****'s embarrasing.

heres what i have come up with:
1: progressive 412 @ 12.5" out back. (thats 1" taller)
2: progressive fork springs up front.
3: heavier fork oil.
4: fork brace (money permitting).
5: no more bruised tailbone or scraped muffler.

am i close?

 

I bought a 1200 low because I liked the looks.
Mag wheels (sick of spokes), red paint, black and chrome motor, no forward controls.
On the way home, I knew it needed work, from all the sparks.

It had 11.6 inch long rear shocks stock, worth every penny of the $5.00 Harley paid for them. I went to 12 inch progressives, then 12.5, and now 13 inch long rear shocks.
I put the progressive springs in the front, with preload, and pushed the forks as low in the clamps as I could, and got a lot out of the front.

The bike now handles turns reasonably, and the ride is vastly improved.

Its not a sport bike, but its reasonable around turns.
Go as long as you can in the back.

Harley is making bikes for dwarfs and small girls, got to get those seats LOW!




Brett

 

YES dead on,,BUT careful with the fork Oil without the fork brace.
I'm running Screamin Eagle heavy,,thats 20wt.
It's hot down here In Florida,,But It's getting cooler now,,
20wt prolly has to come out, even with the brace.
http://www.progressivesuspension.com/pdfs/7100-105.pdf
Remember,,choosing the correct spring is everything

 

holy crap thats a lot of options in your link!

i was under the impression i could just order these and theyd all drop in:
http://www.onestopmoto.com/ProductDe...2D047&CartID=1
http://www.onestopmoto.com/ProductDe...2D040&CartID=2

i guess i need to start doing some more homework........

if'n i can't afford the fork brace i will skip the fork oil for now. though, i am in northern virginia and i would probably be able to get away with a thinner 'heavy' oil than you would use in florida anyways due to the temp difference, no?

edit: above i said 12.5 is 1" longer than stock. it's actually 1.5" longer than stock. but i figure i could go either way if i can keep my lower frame rails level.....

 

I shipped my 2009 1200 Low to Italy where I have a home and I leave it there. I ride it while I am there on vacation for a month in the summer. I have close friends I ride with, one has a V-Max and the other has a Triumph Thruxton. I just can't keep up because the side stand drags on the left and the lower muffler drags on the right. I tried raising it using 13 inch Road King shocks and so much weight was transferred to the front that any little bump caused the front to bottom. The next year I brought progressive springs for the forks and the bottoming was a little less, but still a pain. The next year I brought progressive rear shocks of the right (stock) length and I had no more front bottoming, but still I dragged the side stand and the mufflers trying to keep up. So, there is no solution, a Sportster is still a Harley and you can't keep up with normal bikes, especially on twisty European roads.

 

By the way, I was a professional road racer for many years, so it has nothing to do with my riding.