i have a 2014 forty eight. so my buddy is giving me his stock 2016 street glide rear shocks, non air. are they a direct bolt on? or do i have to do any mods? his shocks are 12".

 

Pretty close to a direct bolt-on. You will need schrader valves on the shocks (or a place to mount the factory air lines and valve).

Also, you may need to use some washers to space the shocks out from the bike a tad for clearance.

Use the same factory shock bolts you already have.

 

yes, i did some research about the Schrader valves, but he said they aren't air shocks. so if it's just a straight up shock it should just switch out maybe just with some washers?

 

Good. HD upgraded the FL shocks in 2017 and ditched the air. Besides a better ride, they will look better than the air shocks.

 

Ah, sound like he has the "Premium" coil over shocks.

Do they look like these?




We've never tried those on a Sporty.

There are two things to be aware of-

1. I believe the springs will be too strong and give a rough ride, even at the least amount of pre-load.

2. If they are the premium coil over, one of those shocks has an adjustment ****, not sure if there is a clearance issue with that or not.

 

yes, it's those shocks...obviously i hope your wrong about the rough ride lol

 

the 2016 street glide shocks....

 

You're in uncharted waters, this should be interesting. Please let us know how this works out. You may be able to fit the shock with the adjustment **** better on the left side, looks like it would be real close to the oil tank cover on the right side. I'm running RK air shocks on my 1200, and they're a big improvement. I needed spacers for those, but these shocks don't look bigger than the stock ones. If you do use spacers, be sure to use the same amount top and bottom.

 

I hope I am too, for your having a better ride.

But the SG is a heavier bike than the Sporty. The reason the air shocks of the heavier touring bikes work on Sportsters is because you can run them with very little air, which in effect is adjusting the pre-load for a lighter bike.

Not sure the coil over can be adjusted for a lighter bike...the pre-load, to a great degree is based on the spring rate.

As Imold said, you're in uncharted territory. Looking forward to hearing what the ride is like with these.

 

If the OP weighs less than 250 - 260 those shocks on a Sporty will be like using square stock, even on the lowest setting.