I have not tried the straight rates. I never really saw the for sure length. I still might get them before my riding seasons starts and I still have a while before I can ride since I'm in Minot

 

I'd like to see a real ride comparison for these new HD shocks from a forum member who's tried them. I know they won't stack up to a $1,200 set of Ohlins, but I'd like to know how they do against mid level competition. For $600 I'd hope pretty well.

 

What's the mystery?

The fronts are made to try to compete with the kits from progressive.
http://www.progressivesuspension.com...r-hd-2006-dyna

The rears are an "upgrade" from stock because they are oil filled vs the stock spring only set-up.

Only trying them out will tell how well they're designed.

 

Exactly...

 

RaceTech set up - $300
Ohlins #2-#2B - $540
So, less money than harley and I 100% guarantee they will outperform the "premium ride" shocks from HD.

and yes, i've had quite a few different bikes and set ups. Ive also ridden brother's bikes with dozens of suspension combos. unlike some, i dont get on here just to 'bash' HD and spew nonsense.

oh and as far as deep pockets go, i work hard for my money and i spend it where it counts. dealership tshirts, chaps, boots, stupid doodads and other bullshit adds up...so i dont buy any of that **** and buy what is worth it - shocks, brakes, motor, and comfort

 

Cool sounding setup. I too like to buy things that count and don't like to buy things twice so I do lots of reading to make sure what I buy is to my liking. No doubt your setup will out perform the HD setup. Military here and just about to retire after 20+ years so I definitely what to make the right purchase.

 

For some reason some people get totally angry when Harley comes out with stuff, and have to call it crap. I don't know why these people would even ride a Harley if they hate them so much....?
As far as being a guinea pig...I am guessing they have done plenty of testing, but I could be wrong.

 

I can see both sides of this argument but more than anything I think people call it crap after it proves itself as crap.. I think most people are irritated at the downhill slide of Harley's quality to the important stuff. More and more parts being made in Mexico and China.. I haven't looked much into the new harley suspension stuff, and have no need to buy any of it. BUT, if I were in the market for suspension right now, you can bet your *** I would not be sinking my hard earned money into suspension products coming from Harley. They have been selling bikes with crap suspension for so long, how can you expect your customers to trust you now? Make your bed and lay in it. For your average rider, the stock suspension is probably fine (although still junk). I'm talking strictly from a performance standpoint. People buy Harley because of the timeless style and because a lot of the bikes make great platforms to build what you want. Obviously they are built that way for a reason, that's why the catalog is 2" thick. I'm sure Harley didn't "come out" with anything. They took someone's product and put it in a HD box. This way your average guy can look in his catalog and find his "premium suspension" and spend $700 on a $400 pair of shocks. They're probably made by Showa (Japanese) which is who makes the stock stuff

 

i figured you were military because your location says minot...not too many people live there voluntarily lol

i did 6 myself and got out. congrats on pushing the button, enjoy retirement

 

Comparing these shocks to some of the bigger names I've seen thrown out there so far like Ohlins, etc, etc, is overkill and not really a fair comparison at all. Clearly they're out to compete with companies like progressive which are middle of the road upgrades making for a profitable margin at the price HD is selling these things for. HD isn't going to come in and try and compete with those high dollar best of the best companies. They're not in it for that. They're only gearing themselves for sales for the typical rider that walks in and bitches that the ride sucks on their bike. Wow really? Well you know we make a "premium shock" for your superglide now, right? Out comes the old catalog and... Bam, SOLD! Another $600 stacked on top of that first service bill. Food for thought... How many people that even ride HD (besides us obsessed bike junkies that are a tiny percentile of riders) even know a damn thing about performance products? How many people do you see out on the road with a set of JRI's on their bike? Almost never. How many bikes do you see with Progressive? Alot but still far fewer than factory OEM garbage. Point being let's compare apples to apples. That being said I'd still take my Progressive 444's over these any day. Less money for one, and for two the simple fact I don't have a to carry around a couple spanner wrenches in my bags to adjust my preload for different roads/terrain, and/or when my wife decides to go run with me. For three, given that whomever makes their shocks currently offered on the bike sucked *** I'm pretty sure these aren't going to be best bang for the buck (not saying they're complete junk), ESPECIALLY since it's got HD's logo on it. Obviously they're re-tagged, packaged with the badge, and set out for sale for an over-priced product with profitable margin just like 95% of their products are. I wouldn't go knocking them just because they're now offering an upgrade to the factory garbage, however I would assume for the money they're not going to be the best choice. Just because it's over priced doesn't necessarily make it "junk" as much as not getting what you're paying for. I just personally wouldn't spend 6 hundo on those when you can go with someone more reputable for that kinda cash. That's my stand point on this.