looking for some good advice. I have short freind that need to lower the bike a little bit. She did the lowering kit and hated it. Cause we know it takes all the ride out of the bike.
So what the best way to lower the heritage with out losing the ride. I heard someone said put washers in a spacers. Does that mess up the ride? Let hear what good advice you have.

 

I'm thinking about the washer trick but I looked under my slim an there's not a lot of bolt sticking out so I'm thinking I can't stack but maybe 2 washers....I may look into if I can cut the front bushing down a little to allow stacking a few more on the back side to lower it...I've hear/read you can get about half an inch of lowering this way but in my case the shock bolt is barely sticking through...did she get a thin seat?

 

Ya she has a thin seat but she's barely 5 foot in boot or maybe 5''3

 

A standard height softail (not a model with "profile" shocks) has approx. 3 inches of down travel with rider on board. Any way you lower a softail reduces available travel and moves the swingarm crossbar closer to the hard rubber bump stop on the frame. Lower it an inch and you only have 2" of travel etc. The swingarm hitting the bump stop is what really sends the spine shocks up your back and kills the ride. Softail can ride pretty good if not bottoming too hard.


Just backing off the preload on the shocks will lower the bike some and may work well for a light solo rider.

 

Not exactly the cheapest route but i have -2" progressive monotubes (front) and shotgun shock (rear). Ride is easily adjustable for weight and the bike handles way better than it did OEM.

Oh! and it's LOW!

 

^^^ This^^^ Would be your/her best option.

 

This is correct, loosen the lock nuts on the shock cans, turn them as far to the rear as possible and bike is lowered 1-1.5 ". This is very doable with a light rider. Any more and sparks will fly.

 

One of the worst options I've experienced. 2 air bags opposing to each other and no real damping or shock.

Air bags can be used to replace springs but some form of damping or shock is incorporated with/in the system.


Had a friend with a SS that removed and sold his after making sure there wasn't something wrong or he was missing anything.


I also ask the owner of SS at a show about the lack of damping. He set the SS on his personal bike and had me sit on it, it bounced up and down almost like a car with the shocks removed. He then reset the SS again same as first time by maxing out the raise/compression bag and then lowering the bike with the lowering/rebound bag to have some sag. Again the bike quivered like a fish out of water as it would bounce up/down as fast as I moved, pumping the rear suspension up/down.


At that point the owner of SS, unable to explain the obvious lack of damping went into ogre mode, raising he voice to insult me with still no explanation for the lack of damping. The S&S guys across the isle enjoyed the show. I walked away as I realized that I wasn't dealing with a person demonstrating intelligence or maturity.


IMO Shotgun Shocks:
- Have a dangerous lack of damping.
- Lack reliability despite the expensive price, Many on another "tech" forum I'm a regular on have had to send their SS back for repair "multiple" times. Having your rear suspension fail while on a trip is real inconvenient. Most have given up on SS and replaced them.




sbarron, not sure how you can say
"the bike handles way better than it did OEM." "Oh! and it's LOW!"
Maybe your preference for "low" has you stretching it some.


Here's an article that addresses some of the effect of ride height on handling:
http://www.sportrider.com/all-about-geometry
Quote from article:
"If the bike is higher, wheelies under both acceleration and braking are easier as weight transfer is magnified; however, taller motorcycles tend to turn from side to side quicker for a given effort from the rider, and less lean angle is required for a given cornering force."


Understanding of the physics of motorcycle geometry and suspension should clear up any misconception that lowering an already low center of gravity Harley cruiser could somehow improve handling. Even if you were to overlook the obvious fact that a lowered Fat Boy doesn't have enough lean angle for more than modest turn speed. If you tried to raise the rear up to stock height the 2" lowered fork would still handicap the bike in addition to being a poor combination geometry wise.


Having more spring rate in the fork is the only plus I see of the suspension mods done on your bike...lowering a 5" travel fork by 2" negated that improvement. -Rick

 

Ahhh... a physics professor chimes in. I can see you put some thought into your reply so I will do the same...

The air pressures on each side of the piston are infinitely adjustable, (as you so astutely pointed out). I can therefore infinitely adjust rebound and dampening as the air is compressible, (unlike the fluids in a normal shock which control damping/rebound rate but which require a spring to rebound at all). Dampening is controlled by the initially compressed side of the piston, rebound by the compression of the air in the second side as the piston returns to its original position following the initial load transfer. I have no issues setting the rear suspension soft or firm, with either a lot of travel or very little. In addition, I can instantly adjust for the added weight of a passenger or other ancillary gear i choose to strap on the bike.

Also, by handling better, I meant that in addition to being lowered and more stable, I don't suffer the THUD when driving over the slightest interruption of the road surface as i did when i originally had the 1930'3 technology oil bypass front suspension.

And your quote is correct, a taller bike with a higher center of gravity will turn more quickly, because it is less stable. My bike being lower is more stable. Will it out-turn a CBR or an R1? No. But neither will any other HD.... Besides the "obvious fact that a lowered Fat Boy doesn't have enough lean angle for more than modest turn speed". a modest turn is all I'm after in a cruiser. If I wanted to carve canyons or go to track day, I'd pick a different weapon. I still have enough lean angle to avoid a turning car or dog that runs into my path. Have I scraped my boards, absolutely, to no harm.

My "more comfortable": comes from many miles ridden both in the current configuration and the previous.

EDIT: and it looks bad-assed!

 

I appreciate a polite reply and at the same time will respectfully disagree with a few things. I'll reply with hope that this is not considered high-jacking or disrespectful to the OP.


No physics professor, didn't take physics in high school let alone college but I sure would if I had to do over.


Grew up as a youth in a Harley dealership and have been involved with car and M/C racing as well as having a network of friends that are or have been successful in various forms of car and M/C racing. I have helped with basic suspension tech on another Harley tech forum for a few years.


A little info that clears up the fact that we are playing different games:


My personal softail with 130K miles has Ohlins rear shocks that Brad Stokes at Ohlins USA revalved in conjunction with modded Race Tech emulators and 1.0kg/mm fork springs. Besides being ride height adjustable some of the Ohlins pieces have been trimmed to allow an increase in ride height approx. 3/16" higher than stock. Shocks are also adjustable for damping and spring preload. Bike is capable of mid 30 degree lean angles and doesn't just clean but scuffs/wears a sport touring rear tire all the way to the edge. Some tires will develop stings of rubber hanging off the edge and any dual/multi compound tire will be worn bald on the sides with some tread still in the middle when removed. Turn speed at apex is not that much different (3-7mph) between my Deuce and my 916. Of course I'm getting all of the Deuce and the 916 has more left. Many I've ridden with have been surprised at what a Harley is capable of when you move them in the right direction for function/performance. You get over the "cool" look of a lowered bike real quick...most just look broke down to me these days.


As far as making a softail stable, proper springs rates and quality damping at both ends go a long way toward accomplishing that. My raised softail is way more stable than it was OEM/stock, especially uneven surface high speed sweepers. No doubt more stable and yet more maneuverable than your bike.


I'm not a proponent of soft stock fork springs (most Harley models except some Dyna's) and fixed orifice damper rod forks but for a long time forks have had a hydraulic stop which mutes the bottoming of the fork making it unnoticeable to some. A stock height unmodified fork shouldn't bottom with much of a thud. Was your bike a Fat Boy Low?


In regards to Shotgun Shocks, your statement about the chamber pressures being infinitely adjustable on each side of the piston is misleading. The owner of SS aired the raise/compression chamber on his personal bike till the compressor stalled (max available pressure) then he picked the optimum rebound chamber pressure, lowering the bike some to give it a little sag so it would not be topped-out. The bike still rebounded almost instantly each time I compressed the rear, more than one cycle down and back up per second. My impression is that as the suspension is compressed the compression chamber pressure increases and at the same time the rebound chamber decreases, this alone makes the system want to rebound or equalize which it does faster than any conventional softail shock including worn out high mileage conventional shocks.


Here's a book by Tony Foale that many in the industry including motorcycle manufactures use: https://tonyfoale.com/book.htm
He's latest book of 2 I believe, is on my list to get.