street bob rear suspension question...
Road Captain
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 577
Likes: 4
Sorry, I didn't explain myself very well.
For good handling in the twisties, the stock shocks are too short, plus low quality. Being too short results in very little shock travel, and more importantly very little cornering clearance. You will scrape stuff long before you are going fast. HD uses short shocks becasue the look cool, and many riders don't seem to care. The FXR, often considered the best handling Dyna has 13.2 " shocks.
Finally, raising the rear reduce the "trail",which will let the bike "turn in" much more easily. Hard to describe on htis thread, but lots of article written on it.
I changed my rear shocks to 13.2 ( (in my case Ohlins ), which mase a remarkable difference in riding comfort and cornering ability.
Progressive brand shocks, imo, aren't really any better than stock. I would at least go to Works.
Here is a thread on my bike
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/dyna-...-upgrades.html
For good handling in the twisties, the stock shocks are too short, plus low quality. Being too short results in very little shock travel, and more importantly very little cornering clearance. You will scrape stuff long before you are going fast. HD uses short shocks becasue the look cool, and many riders don't seem to care. The FXR, often considered the best handling Dyna has 13.2 " shocks.
Finally, raising the rear reduce the "trail",which will let the bike "turn in" much more easily. Hard to describe on htis thread, but lots of article written on it.
I changed my rear shocks to 13.2 ( (in my case Ohlins ), which mase a remarkable difference in riding comfort and cornering ability.
Progressive brand shocks, imo, aren't really any better than stock. I would at least go to Works.
Here is a thread on my bike
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/dyna-...-upgrades.html
Last edited by gregbenner; May 22, 2009 at 09:37 AM.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,572
Likes: 5
From: Templeton California
Progressive 12" would be a waste of money for sure. If you want to go low get the Progressive 11" in Heavy Duty. It's about as low as you can go without going to rigid struts it'll ride rough as hell and hard parts will scrape but if you're going to reduce suspension travel I wouldn't waste money on high end shocks. If you want a better ride without spending a bunch of money look for Electraglide or Streetglide take off air shocks on Ebay. Before I got my Progressive 11" I had 12 3/4" Electraglide shocks on my Street Bob, that was the best it ever rode and handled and I bought them used for $80. When I chopped my fender it looked funny with the big Electraglide shocks so I slammed it with the Progressives. I wish I still had my Electraglide shocks I would have already put them back on and not cared how it looked.And yes you can buy much better shocks from Ohlins,Penske or Works if you have that kind of dough but I don't. I also wouldn't waste money on a front end lowering kit when you can easily slide the tubes up in the triples up to about an inch.
Tourer
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 275
Likes: 1
From:
I've had 11" (Skull Man), 11.5" (PS 440s), 11.75" (HD low rider custom), and 12" (HD stock) on my '06 Street Bob. I still own all 4 sets and change them out from time to time for different reasons. The 11" Skull Man shocks definitely look best - slammed down low and chromed inside and out. The stock 12" Harley shocks are the most comfortable tho a bit spongy in the corners. It only takes 10 minutes to swap them out on a Dyna so it's not much of a hassle.
If you just want one set of all around shocks I think the 11.5" are the way to go. They still give you that slammed look but with enough suspension travel so you can dial in a decent ride. If I had to choose today I'd probably go with PS 418s for the adjustable rebound damping or the new PS 430 gas charged. I'm still gonna hang onto my Skull Man slammers for bike night tho
If you just want one set of all around shocks I think the 11.5" are the way to go. They still give you that slammed look but with enough suspension travel so you can dial in a decent ride. If I had to choose today I'd probably go with PS 418s for the adjustable rebound damping or the new PS 430 gas charged. I'm still gonna hang onto my Skull Man slammers for bike night tho
Road Master
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,168
Likes: 1
From: Cornwall UK
Just changed my Street Bob shocks (12") for Hagons (12 1/2"). I wanted to improve the ground clearance as well as a better performing shock. Well the difference is chalk and cheese, as said by many on this forum the stock shocks are of a really low grade quality. The extra 1/2" length really does help the bike to turn easier and the better quality shock, well as i said, chalk and cheese.
6th Gear
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: west bend wisconsin
so, im in the exact same boat as the guy who started the thread. I have burley slammer shocks that are only 10.5" and I destroyed my tail light wiring because I bottomed out more than once. So, my question is, did the electraglide shocks just bolt on then?
6th Gear
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: west bend wisconsin
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Joe Kucinski
Cruiser
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 169
Likes: 26
From: San Pedro, CA (So-Cal)
Those aren't any better than stock. They're not really performance shocks. Also, not sure what you weigh but the heavy duty version is 250lbs+
Do yourself a favor and save up to get some quality shocks. You won't regret it.
Do yourself a favor and save up to get some quality shocks. You won't regret it.
6th Gear
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: west bend wisconsin
oh seriously? I thought they were supposed to be, at least, a little better than stock. Im about 220lbs and my girl is pretty muscle-y as well, so we easily go over the 250lb minimum they advised. I just need something taller than these burly slammers. ive ripped up my taillight wires three times with them and caused a circuit failure. So, along with running the wires on the frame instead of right under the fender, im gonna get new shocks.