Hello Everyone, first post here.

I was wondering if I could get some advice...

I'm going to be selling my '07 ZX-6R to help pay for a new 2011 XL1200X Forty-Eight and I have a small problem that regards the max load weight.

For the most part (about 98%) I will be riding alone. I'm 5'10" and weigh in at a very muscular 200lbs.

Here's where it gets a little tricky...

My GF is mainly letting me trade my current bike in because we want something just a bit more comfortable than the Ninja. I've already found that I can easlily order another 2up seat, footpegs, and a nice sissy bar with back pad but the real problem is her weight.

She is not a small girl and weighs in at about 160lbs. I have read that the 48 has a max load rating of 1000lbs however this is just too vague for the info I need.

With our combined weights I'm under the impression we will definitely be bottoming out frequently so here is my question...

Is it possible to do some suspension work that will help us from not bottoming out? And if there is how much am I looking at for the parts and labor?

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I understand that this is kind of a crazy thought considering I could just get a bigger bike but to be perfectly honest I test drove many bikes from each family and I fell head over Harley boot heels for the 48 Sportster and the main reason I want it is for solo riding but I have to make the missus happy yano? If I could get this bike and still manage to carry her on it without doing damage to the precious bike I would be in Harley Heaven.

Any help, advice, comments are greatly appreciated but please don't suggest a different bike as thats not the topic.

 

You'll need:
Better/taller rear shocks, rear seat and foot pegs...Plan on spending around $450-500 at retail.
I would suggest to look around on the internet and the forums. You could save a couple hundred off retail prices.
Good Luck.

 

Yes, I actually priced out the exact pegs, rear seat, sissy bar, and sissy bar back pad that I wanted.

The only problem was wondering what I needed to do to the suspension. From what your saying it seems a simple replacement of the stock shocks should put me in order?

 

progressive shocks. go with 12" heavy duty. works great

this is where i got mine

http://www.jcmotors.com/p-14904-prog...portster-.aspx

 

You can also get a pair of Road King shocks off eBay for a reasonable price, and they are very comfortable, plus adjustable for different weights/ride qualities.

 

I was wondering about this myself.

So how do the road king shocks or progressive shocks perform when you go back to riding solo? I've seen where a lot of guys change out the stock shocks just for a better ride, but whats the difference when going two up or solo?

 

I'd sure like to hear about your experiences riding two up on the sportster and how much weight your loading it with?

Also as Jimmy85 said, I'm interested in reading about how you feel about riding solo with these heavy duty Progressives or RoadKings.

 

I'm still riding on the stock suspension, even two up (about 400# loaded). A good friend of mine has the Road King shocks on his Nightster, though, and they are really excellent. You add air when you're going to ride heavily loaded, and let it back out when riding solo. This way, the ride is nearly the same either way.

 

This is wonderful news. The combined weight of my GF and I is about 360lbs. I was worried I wouldn't be able to get the bobber style bike that I really wanted because I need it to support both our weights, but from I'm hearing its totally do-able and for a decent price too.

 

Don't misunderstand me, it rides hard with the stock suspension, but is do-able. It doesn't much bother either of us, but we're used to riding a hardtail, so it's better, but...

Change to a Road King set of shocks, and you're golden.