I went from an '08 Roadglide to this '14 Roadglide and I have to admit, I do not like this '14 at all!! I bought it brand new and it has beat the hell out of me since day one. I have tried everything on the shocks from 10 psi up to 40 psi and everything in between, and I can feel every crack in the road. If I hit a decent sized bump, with me and my girlfriend on the bike, it about throws us off the damn thing. What the hell do I need to do to make this thing ride better, any ideas???

 

Throw the shocks in the bin! Unfortunately stock shocks are poor quality and give poor results, especially when riding two up. You will find there are threads about changing shocks all over HDF, especially the Touring section, so your problem is a common one! There are lots of alternative shocks available, however many of them will not be much better. IMHO if you try to find a cheap solution you are likely to waste time and money chasing nirvana.

If you want a quick solution with guaranteed results, call Howard of HDF sponsor Motorcycle Metal. He custom builds Ohlins shocks with the correct damping and springs for you and also offers discounts to HDF members. He has three price and quality points. Mrs B and I have had ours for about 8 years now and love 'em! We have never bottomed out and they give a smooth comfortable ride at all times. We can ride longer each day when touring and be happy to make an early start the following morning.

 

I went ahead a replaced my front fork inner workings with Proressive monotubes and this past spring changed out my air shocks (HD) to the Progressive 944's standard height in the HD version. The down fall of making this change was the bags have to be removed to adjust for one up or two up. The ride works for us. I figure if we are going to be on the bike for hundreds of miles per day might as well be comfortable.