Is it just me, or do the shocks on the 2012 Wide Glide leave a lot to be desired? I'm 6'2" and 210 lbs, and I seem to bottom out with minimal effort with the factory suspension. It's not like I'm off-roading or hitting huge potholes all the time. I'd hate to feel the ride with a passenger.

I'm looking for suggestions on aftermarket shocks. From the searching I've done, people don't seem to care for the progressive shocks...especially the cheaper ones. I'm not planning to go cheap, but I'm not wanting to break the bank either. I've only had the bike 3 weeks today, and I've already put about $2500 into it, and that's with doing all my own labor. Any suggestions that you guys have would be greatly appreciated.

I have to say, with the exception of the above comments, I love this bike. It handles like a dream, and I think I made the right choice trading my 06 Softail for this one.

 

I just ordered Ricor shocks for the rear and intimidator valves for the forks on my 2006 WG, I'll post when I get them installed.

 

The stock shocks are not the greatest, I ended up with Ohlins from Howard at Motorcycle Metal. He will give you a discount as a forum member.
That being said, where do you have the shocks set? It could make enough of a difference so you could be happy for now.

 

You didn't mention if you adjusted your shocks. They do that ya know. They might be on a very soft setting causing you to bottom out

 

I haven't messed around with them yet. The bike has the stock shocks. I guess I should have looked to see if they're adjustable. I had an 07 Super Glide for a while that I added Harley's adjustable shocks, but these aren't the same ones. Those had an obvious adjustment and numbers to indicate where you had them set. If these are adjustable, then maybe they were a bit more discreet with it. I was just reading the factory specs, and sure enough, it mentions an adjustable suspension. I guess I'll try that before I spend more money...though what's the harm in spending more money?

I've only had the bike for three weeks, so I haven't done much playing around with it other than replacing the bars, cables, and air intake. Thanks for input, and I'll check out the shocks mentioned above. I've read in several posts/threads about the Ricoh shocks

 

There are notches at the bottom of the shock. You could spend the $20 for the wrench at your dealer that fits in those notches to adjust them.

 

The stock shocks are not "heavy duty". With a rider over 200lbs and a passenger, you are going to want some that are. The Progressive 412 heavy duty version is a low cost alternative...I picked up a pair for $244 and the difference on my WG is night an day. I didnt have stock shocks, but had a pair of the Harley "fox" lowering shock (12" vs stock 12 5/8). I could tighten them to their highest setting and still get it to bottom out.

With the progressives...I am only on the 2nd setting and the ride is very smooth and not harsh over the bumps. Havent bottomed it out yet either.

 

You must have it adjusted in the lights position. I am 6' and 250 and i never bottom out, even with an extra 100lbs on the back. I have it set in the middle setting.

 

The stock shocks on the 2010 Wide Glide are not adjustable for either compression or rebound damping. However, even if they were, this would not be the correct adjustment for a bottoming-out situation. If you're hitting the bump stops/end of travel, then that means your springs are not set to the appropriate pre-load and you have excessive rear suspension sag.

Now, even with a passenger on the back and coming to a total weight of 300 lbs., I have never bottomed the rear suspension at the stock setting of "3" (where 5 is maximum preload and 1 is minimum). It sounds as if your preload is set to 1. Dial it up to 3 and see where you're at. If it's already there, try 4 or 5. (5 is recommended for riding with a passenger).

Keep in mind that with a rear suspension travel of only 3.1", there's only so much you can do to get a compliant ride without bottoming out. But the first step is to set your preload so that the rear sags by about 1/3 of total travel (about an inch in this case) with full rider weight. Measuring this requires either another person or a device to hold the bike upright while you sit on it with all of your weight, and someone to measure.

 

On my 2012 WG, I chnaged the supension before it rolled out of the dealership. Added 13.5" Ricors on the rear and Ricor intimidators on the front. Rides like a dream.

By the way -- I am 270 lbs and a few inches taller than teh OP.