My 2013 Limited just made its first long trip, 1800 miles on a lot of country roads. With railroad track crossings. And bridge seams. And horizontal road heaves. So, with 2-up and loaded bags, I discovered spine pain from the rear shocks bottoming repeatedly. When searching for a remedy, dealer guy says to pump more air, maybe 50 lbs. parts guy says get Progressive 412's.

I want this two wheeled water balloon to track twisties where I point, (yes, it's a tourer, but roads do curve and I hate freeways.) I also want reasonable comfort. I ride 1 up 70% of the time! but need comfort and confidence when the Queen joins me. And her luggage... Read many articles on what shocks do, but cannot decipher which spring rate I should get, or..... I'm 170 lbs., the Q is less, and we don't carry bricks. What is an optimum shock for good performance yet not $$$$. Thx.

 

I replaced my shocks on my 13 Limited with the jri b shocks and even wife has noticed the ride difference. She used to raise up for bridges and joints and now doesn't move. Took a little while to get them set but now can't imagine having anything else. We had tried progressive and they aren't even close to the jri shocks. They are high but worth it at end of long rides.

 

Had a similar experience on 2000+ mile trip recently. After much research decided to go with Ohlins. Not much more than Progressive. Just ordered them and anxiously waiting for them to arrive

 

After a bike week i was at last week i think im gonna give the diy air ride a try. Talked to a guy runnin that set up and he said he loves it. Handles good and rides a lot smoother so for like $250 why not give that a shot is what im thinkin. Plus the cool factor when i get my extended fender and bags of bein able to slam it down.

 

My solution for this was a combination of the Harley hand adjustable shocks and the Hammock seat.

Bike handles much better, and no more shocks up the spine.

 

anything is so much better than stock air. That is why you will get similar reports of night and day difference. Used JRI or Ohlins rarely are for resale, all the others mentioned do come up with more frequency. Many have worked their way up the $$$ ladder before getting the last one.

 

I tried Harley's Hand Adjustable Premium Rear shocks for roughly 1,000 miles. These shocks were much better than stock especially when riding two up. I thought they were a little stiff for one up riding. (I weigh 180/ wife 130).

HD Hand Adjustable =$425 after my 15% discount
Ohlins S36e =$555 from Fuel Moto
Well worth the extra money to purchase a well made rebuild-able shock.

 

I set my air rides at 20 pounds for me at #175. Add the wife and set them at #40 to #45 with luggage. Not the best ride but, any replacement shock will start around the $500+ range which is more than I want to spend when I have a set that works.

Wish I could afford a nice "Smart phone controllable" shock, but then I also know the limits of my pocket book.

Make some adjustments on the ones you have and see if you can find the sweet spot. You'll have to do the same with any adjustable new ones so why not attempt it on the current ones first?

 

I have 10,000 miles on my hand adjustable shocks. They are a huge improvement over stock.

 

X2 on the hand adjustable. If they came on my bike they would still be there instead of the Ohlins. Never could find an acceptable pressure when riding two up on the air shocks. Anything past 30 pounds and they road like a rock. Anything less and they bottomed. What I did find acceptable was 10 pounds riding alone. Problem for me is I ride two up 80% of the time.