Ohlins back orders
What "feels good" is damping circuits. Ohlins are God's, Harley doesn't give you any. Sure... The crudest non-adjustable rebound damping... which is a must... But no adjustabiliry, no compression, and no preload... At least up front... Which is THE most important one. They put preload on rear, but no other adjustability.
So yes, they are all that... They give you an actual suspension and not just a spring. I thought mine was awasome after install and setup. Some fine tuning with Big Bear, testing, fine tuning tire pressure.... It's so dialed in even better than I thought. The thing about food suspension... You should never even know it's there. No Chatter, no bottoming, no pogo, rebounding... You should just have perfect contact with road. I am an admitted snob. I refuse to put up with a shitty ride. You don't always use throttle and brakes, but suspension is 100% of the time.
And I have no problem shilling for Big Bear Performance. Fantastic Ohlins shop, great services, fantastic customer service.
the big difference is it has adjustable damping and rebound where the stock does not. The stock shock is completely fine if you dont ride aggressively, but if you do it makes a world of difference.
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
The SE Ohlins are not set up for a particular rider weight. They are adjustable for Preload, Compression and Damping (Rebound). When I was doing my upgrade, HD parts said it was a 13" shock; but I can't find any written reference to the shock length. That matches the stock height, so it is probably correct. If they have added a 13.5" shock, they're not listing it in their online parts.
If you order the shocks direct from Ohlins, they are different. You specify the rider weight, and they supply an appropriate non-adjustable spring. The shock is adjustable for rebound and preload. Ohlins says the length is 320.6 mm, which is 12.6" I can't find anything about an Ohlins 13.5" on their website anywhere.
When I did my upgrade, I wanted more travel, so I went with the Legend fully adjustable 13.5". Given Ohlins reputation, I'm sure that they are well-engineered and ride every bit as well as the Legend.
Last edited by JCunningham; May 12, 2025 at 09:59 PM.











