I noticed I have to put air in the rear suspension more often than I used to, I checked the fittings with soapy water for leakage, but they look ok, didn't see any damage on the lines ether, what should be the proper diagnostic procedure ? The manual calls for 50 psi when riding two up.

 

I add air until I don;t feel the shocks topping out or bottoming out- but floating between the stops.

I use the little syringe like pump - A bicycle pump or compressor can blow the seals out.

experiment with different settings- the 09+ shocks can be run at 0 psi for lightweight riders.

don;t forget to take into account the weight of any junk left in teh saddlebags or tourpak-

mike

 

Your bike is roughly six years old, perhaps the shocks are showing their age and loosing air through wear rather than the air lines. Those things are as cheap as chips so we can't expect them to last for ever.

 

I use the over price HD pump.

 

my 07 was the same way until…. it puked oil.

 

Time to look for some good shocks, you will thank yourself.

 

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AGREE!

I have an 09 FLHTCU and if i reduced air psi in rear shocks so it wouldnt break my back when i hit a moderate bump it bottomed out & when i added enough air to not bottom out it was like you had steel rods for shocks.

I said enough of that and just bought & installed progressive 944's with std springs ,not the heady duty springs.

So far i have only had only 1 chance to test ride new shocks riding 2 up with the wife and factory preload setting wanst that good being a bit on light side making the bike a bit mushy/bouncy handling wise at times.

So i stopped and cranked in 2 full turns additional preload on spring adj and that made the bike a bit less mushy and more stable while also making it a bit less harsh on bumps which surprised me with more preload but was a good surprise.

So on the way home on the 1st testride i cranked in an additonal 1/2 turn down/tighter preload and it was even better yet with 85-90% of the bouncy mushy feeling gone.

So when i got home i cranked in another 1/2 turn preload for now 3 full turns down/tighter additional preload from factory preload setting to see how that does.

So far without having yet finsihed dialing in the preload for best ride & handling riding 2up on my bike with the new prog 944's they seem to handle bumps (esp large harsher bumps) better being less harsh when i hit larger bumps with better dampening too then the inferior stock air shocks did which is am improvement for sure.

I hope the additional 1/2 turn preload i added and have yet to test out will haev the shocks close to or at their sweet spot for best handling without the ride being too harsh .

So far the new 944's seem to be coming in better each time i adj the preload a bit more/tighter and am satisfied thus far with their perf esp being a bit less harsh as not to pound my spine to death with each bump i hit like with stock air shocks when they had enough air in them to not bottom out riding 2 up with combimed 2up wt only being 310-315lbs .

But keep in mind there is no way your going to retain good handling if you install shocks that provide a real comfy cushy soft ride over lrg bumps or swells in the road so what i am saying is the 944's still pass a fair amount of umph to your butt when you hit a lrg bump or swell in the road,its just that by design they can be adj to better handle/dampen the lrg bumps & swell s without transferring as much of the harshness / shocking back breaking type jolt like the stock airshocks do when adj to not bottom out in my case riding 2up.

I considered Ohlin shocks (SP?) but couldnt go the additional $200-250 they cost vs the $589 i paid for the 944's for on ebay.

Scott

 

It's not just '09 bikes, for years the touring bikes have had bad shocks. Get new aftermarket, you'll soon be wondering why you didn't do it sooner.

 

Thank you all for your input

 

The Harley premium hand adjustable seem to be getting pretty good reviews, except from very light riders.
Easy bolt ons and they need no pump. Their is a hand adjustable **** of the left side that turns to adjust for loads or riding double.

Much smoother, less bottoming out and far better control.

Usually around $300 used on this forum or e-bay or $500 new from discount Harley shops.

Easy install with just two bolts.