Hi everyone,
I'm Gene and new to the forum as well as being a new Harley owner. I have a 2010 street bob and am really wanting to put a set of the 11" progressive 412's on it. Does anyone have these shocks and can you tell me if you have any issues riding a passenger and bottoming out? My wife and I together weigh in around 320 lbs. I'm concerned about my fender hitting either the belt guard or the passenger foot peg mount if I use these shocks. Anyone know if this could happen or would the tire hit the fender first. Progressive told me the shock would bottom and stop before this would happen but then also said I could possibly hit the belt guard. Just looking for a straight answer from someone who is already running these on same bike as mine.
Thanks

 

I'm running the 12 in (same as stock length) 430s on my bike. I would think if bottoming out is such an issue you could go with the Heavy Duty version of the 412s. Now heres the problem. Without becomming too personal you need to think about where the bulk of that 320 lbs lies. If your 220 or so and the wife is a 100 lber you might be alright to then ride these springs solo. If the weight is a bit more spread out the heavy duty springs are going to be super stiff when you ride solo.

Are the 11 inch shocks stock on your bike or are you dropping it an inch. You might be able to get around the whole issue by just going with the stock length. I personally would rather have stock length regular springs than -1 inch HD ones. Thats just me, i dont think the ridability and comfort to be worth the look of a 1 inch loss. You can always call Progressive back and ask about either of those 2 solutions.

Sorry I dont have specific info on your bike, me and my old lady weigh about 260 lbs together. Im short and she is tiny. At the least though you can go back to progressive with some more questions.

 

I have 1 3/4" lowering blocks in the back and have no troubles. Me and mine weigh about 365 total. You shouldn't have a problem

 

My bike currently has 12" factory shocks so the 11" 412's would drop it an inch. Progressive also told me I shoud go with the standard shock instead of heavy duty sinc I weigh 190 and the heavy duty woud be a stiff ride when solo. Should I go with the heavy duty anyway and just run them on the softes setting during solo rides and crank them up for two up riding? Do you think the heavy duty would be to harsh on solo rides. Id rather have a little harder ride than damage from bottoming out.

 

There are plenty of threads on this topic. I researched heavily before i put the 11" 412 series on my superglide (not the exact bike you have but comparable when dealing with 11" springs). The concensus was that the great majority of people didnt have a problem. I put them on recently and even though the clearance between the fender an the belt guard looks minimal (like maybe just over a thumbs width) i havent had any issue at all with bottoming out/hitting the guard. For comparison, my girl and i collectively weigh in at about 315. However, you really feel the missing spring recoil. The ride is considerably harder on the bumps (not so noticeable on smooth riding) and i haven't even cranked up the stiffness on the preload (the springs come with multiple settings if you didnt already know.) But because they are shorter, firmer springs, they have a much sportier feel and look cool as hell

Again, there are about a hundred threads on this subject and i can think of probably at least a dozen members with your same make and about the same year bike running the 11" 412's. Good luck 'cause everyone's got an opinion or wants to tell you how they have longer shocks or how you should get the air rides etc. (pretty much everything except the question you asked.)

 

Thanks guys, I may play it safe and go with the heavy duties.