Hey people

I was looking to upgrade the suspension on my 05 1200R Sportster Roadster model. I wish to get the bike to handle as well as possible. Went to the harley dealer today and the part's guy couldnt really help. All's he came up with were the standard replacement shocks and springs.

Yet it seem to me that there is someone online here who just did the same thing. He updated his 1200 roadster suspension with HD High Perfromance shocks and springs. I thought I saw a post about this but now cant find it.

Anybody familar with this type of upgrade or know any aftermarket suppliers. Please let me know asap. would love to get hd part numbers.

Thanks

LordVngr

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LordVngr

i have seen people use the after market shocks from performance shock and it looked good and handled even better

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Jim Hefferman

Hey LordVngr,
My '05 XL1200R has Harley Sport shocks that I bought on ebay for $188.00. I set them for max preload. The front fork springs have been replaced with Progressive springs and HD Screaming Eagle oil. Also, I just installed a SuperBrace on the front forks but haven't been able to test it due to the weather. The bike rides and handles 1,000% better than the factory setup which was pretty poor. No more bottoming on every bump...no more front end "collapse" from the front brake at stop lights and signs and the bike feels much more secure on the curves. I have also replaced the seat with Mustang Vintage Solo & Passenger seats ( the 12" wide version). Now I don't feel like I'm going to be left behind every time I roll on the throttle. The only thing missing now is "stickier" tires.

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Phil R

Phil

If possible I would really like to get with you on this. Do you have part numbers of the shocks and springs you used. I just bought a New Pair of XL1200 Sport shocks from ebay ( Lot more then the price you paid ) I'm pretty sure there the ones your talking about. Harleys Part number is # 54629-99. Havent looked into front springs yet. Any help you can give me on this would be Much Appreciated. Thanks......

LV

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LordVngr

Yepper I know That Feeling. Didnt get as fancy as you did. I got a Solo seat from a New 883 coming from ebay. Your right about one thing though. Everytime I do a little Performance shifting I feel like Im gonna slide right off the back. And when I hit the brakes pretty hard I feel like Im gonna slide up over the gastank. Thank god for the handlebars...


LV

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LordVngr

Phil

Are these the rear shocks you used. The seller told me he didnt think these would work on a 04 or 05 roadster. I said screw it and still bought them. I'm pretty sure They Will Fit and if they dont I can resell them back on Ebay. You know Harley doesnt make them anymore and the list price is 599.99.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...RK%3AMEWA%3AIT

LV

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LordVngr

LordVngr,
Yes, the rear shocks that you bought are the same as mine and they will work on your '05 Roadster. I bought from a dealer in Connecticut who sells on ebay and usually gets from $175.00 to $240.00 for these shocks. All the talk on the bike forums may have pushed the price up a bit, or the Conn guy may have run out. These shocks are 13 1/2" hole spacing which is 1/4" longer than the stock shocks (I think). It helps to jack the bike off the ground when mounting the shocks. I'm just over 200 lbs. and find that the maximum preload setting works for me with the compression and rebound settings somewhere in the middle. I haven't experimented much yet. They should mount with the nitrogen canister to the rear on your bike with no problem. On the fork springs, I had the dealer order and install them and I can't find the part #. At the time, I called Progressive to make sure of the proper springs and gave the part # to the dealer. www.progressivesuspension.com is a little confusing on which 1200 is which so I called them. I did not use the springs designed for lowering the front of the bike.

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Phil R

Phil

If you got yours for 188.00 consider yourself lucky. Mine were 265.00 and the auction that closed after mine they went for 290.00. Funny you mention connecticut as Both were for sale from People in connecticut and Both stated they were their last Pair. Personnaly I think these are going to just go up in value as people realize they will fit the 04/05 roadster model's. thats why I bought them cause I was 90% sure they would fit and were the ones you mentioned and also cause I Knew I could resell them if they didnt fit.

When you mounted the shocks on the bike were you able to use the Original Mounting hardware from the OEM Shocks Or did you have to purchase new mounting bolts, etc.

In talking to the parts guy at the HD dealership he was Useless in helping me with this issue. These Springs you bought were they aftermarket or harley davidson. I was thinking that Maybe since the shocks were for a 1200 Sport model I could go to the Harley dealer and look up performance springs for a 2003 harley 1200 Sport model and they would probably work too. I will check the link out you sent thanks.

Finally you stated you used HD Screaming Eagle oil in the springs. Are we talking regular oil here OR Fork Oil. I'm assuming fork oil here. Thanks for your help. hope to get my bike to handle as well as yours sound like it does.

Have you gotten that book about sportster performance tips yet. sound like a Must have book for people like us. Thanks and keep in touch.....

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...duct_id=356498


Tim

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LordVngr

Phil

Ok, are these the springs you ordered and installed. there listed at the bottom of the page in this link.

http://www.progressivesuspension.com...ppsNumber=5388

Btw what color did you pick for your bike and did you get the spoke wheels.


Tim

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LordVngr

LordVngr,
The standard factory hardware does the job nicely. No extra parts needed. I didn't use blue Loc-tite on the upper shock bolts but have since read in the Sporster Manual (I think) that I should have.

I assume that the Progressive springs that I used are the same as you indicate in your post. The difference between the factory springs and the Progressives is that the Progressives are progressive(with a small p). The effort required to compress them increases as they compress whereas the factories compress evenly as you push down. I belive that you can buy adjustable front forks from HD that were used on the HD 1200S a few years back. I expect that they would be expensive. I'm very happy with the improved front end performance with my setup.

HD has Screaming Eagle Fork Oil Heavy Duty and Screaming Eagle Fork Oil Extra Heavy Duty. I used the heavy not the extra heavy. Now I can make fast stops using both brakes without the front end bottoming out.

Besides the mods mentioned, I have done the Stage I with HD Screaming Eagle II parts and, have I mentioned, I love my bike!!!!!!!

Edit: I forgot to mention that my bike is black pearl with the standard 13 spoke aluminum wheels. I'm more into performance than chrome.

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Phil R