I am considering options to upgrade the ride on my 04 FXDLI which currently has the stockers, the bike has 7,200 miles on it and I feel there are better options for the rear suspension. So, with that said, I have heard that the rear shocks on the FXDF are substantially better than what comes on the Low Rider, that's my first option. They look sharp and can be had used at very reasonable prices. My second option are the Burley 12.5" shocks with the two stage springs. They are a great idea in design but do they truly improve the ride? I appreciate all feedback in advance and I am a newbie here so be gentle on me
Kevin

 

There are many options, however you need to provide a budget and some realistic riding expectations as some rear shocks can exceed the $1K mark.

 

Sounds like you're on a budget? People seem to like the 4xx series Progressives. I don't think I'd expect a measurable difference from any stock swap but if you can get them REALLY cheap, maybe worth trying just to get something that isn't 15 years old and tired.

 

Yes, I am on a budget, the best bang for the buck. The FXDF's can be had for 100 or so for newer ones on eBay and the Burleys are 270.00. I have read in the forums that the Covered chrome shocks the come on the FXDF are a notable improvement over the stock low riders shocks. The Burleys have great reviews but only a small sample of 7 reviews. I know the cats meow are the Twin Adjustable Bitubo. But they are more than I want to spend but not out of the picture. For right now I am looking at the ones I mentioned or maybe the Progressives 412's? I weigh 175 lbs and ride solo most of the time, I have my stockers set at the lowest preload to get the most comfort I can but they bottom out fairly easy, I tried stepping up the preload but than the ride becomes to stiff on decent roads. That's why I think the Burley with the 2 stage springs is a great idea in theory. I just don't want to spend money and get no improvement. I took a look at some comparisons at this site, http://www.dkcustomproducts.com/over...-shocks-63.htm
I have also wondered, given the mount position and angle of the shocks how much higher would the rear wheel be if the shock is 1/2 inch longer?

 

 

I think the Burley's and the Progressive 412s don't offer enough improvement to be worth the money. I tried them both but currently have the Progressive 444s and they are much better.

 

Thanks Jay...I thought the Burley's would be an improvement...with the soft spring to absorb the light stuff and the stiffer one to prevent bottoming...did you find improvement in the comfort aspect or were they to soft? The 444's are twice the money but at least it wont be wasted if you think they are a big improvement. In other words, if I am going to spend 450 bucks it better be better in the comfort dept. yet not jar me over a railroad track or bottom out on a dip in the road. I am really confused as I have never used any after market shocks other than when I used to race motocross. I am considering going with a slightly longer shock for more travel. I really have to lay over pretty aggressively to drag something. The right side drags the the bottom exhaust bracket but I'm over pretty hard and on the left I have only dragged once coming into a left hand reducing radius off ramp and I either had to lean or hit a guard rail...I was down close to 40 degrees and my rear tire was slipping a bit as I was slightly dragging my peg. ( I know lean angle pretty well from a weekend course at Lime Rock CT. back in the crazy days and owning CBR 1000 with 165 HP...thing was insanely fast and during the three day course the furthest a dared go was 45 degrees. GP racers get over to about 50 with a good sticky hot tire. So I wouldn't mind a bit more clearance so the right doesn't drag and an inch would be plenty at the rear axle. Just by eyeballing, I think a 1/2 inch longer shock would raise the rear wheel one inch.
Has anyone tried the FXDF shocks? any others tried the Burley's?

 

If the rear shock were a half inch longer, and mounted vertically, it would raise the rear exactly 1/2 inch. Since the shock is laid down a bit, it would only raise it a percentage of that 1/2 inch. I don't remember my high school trigonometry, but the actual height can be figured if you knew (or closely approximated) the angle that the shock is laid over (appears to be around to 45 degrees to me) and the swingarm angle.
I'd guess it'd only raise the seat height around a quarter inch.

 

Thanks for the reply. However, the opposite is true since the shock is mounted forward of the rear axle and closer to the pivot point. Think about it this way, if you were to move the rear wheel up and down 1 inch, the swingarm will move the same distance at the axle. now think about how much would the swingarm move if measured 2 inches from the swing arm pivot point...it would move far less distance than at the furthest point from the pivot point.

 

I had some progressives on my Dyna. They were 12" instead of 13.5". They were so stiff that I removed 1 shock and rode the bike around for about a half hour. It actually was an improvement over the BOTH shock set-up! (I weigh 240#.) Obviously, I'm not going to ride around with only one shock, so I returned them, along with the progressive fork springs. Rode the bike for another 20 years and hundreds of thousands of miles, all on the stock, crappy suspenders HD put on it from their factory. Btw, the forks were Showa, that is owned by Honda...