Update on Legends Rear Shocks:

My son-in-law is in town, and he measured the rear shocks for us two up and we definitely needed more pre-load. With both of us on the bike we now have a perfect 12-inch center mounting bolt to mounting bolt. First impressions with us two up are very good. I may adjust the rebound a little as we ride more but not bad at setting #3.

Then I took the bike at by myself without adjusting and it is RUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Since we are usually two up, I will not sweat it, but this really stinks compared to Pro-Action and the SE Ohlins. Maybe I am being overly critical, but Legends stresses the 12-inch center adjustment with all riding conditions. I am not sure I will find a sweet spot with these Legends based on that. I feel like I have gone backwards to the stock air shock days when you were constantly adjusting rear suspension.

#1 = Pro-Action
Close #2 = Ohlins with external cartridge
Distant #3 (probably 4th, 5th or 6th if I had others to compared to) = Legends

 

Sorry you have gone backwards. Pro Action all the way.

 

The Carolina Girl and I rode 120 something miles last Sunday. I played with the rebound and for us two up setting #4 works very well.

She is very happy and complimentary of the setup.

I just watched a Matt Laidlaw video where he compared Legends to Fox and Fox won out.

Just my opinion, but Legends are way over rated. Live and learn.

Time to just put some miles on and enjoy. We have three trips planned this year including Milwaukee and I’m sure I will enjoy every mile.

 

@Cosmic Razorback , thanks for this great thread. It's not often there is a great comparison of 3 highly regarded suspension setups.

Curious as to why Carolina Girl place the Ohlins kit last in her comparison???

I purchased a new 2022 RG 107 last spring, and suspension was quickly added. I was coming from a 2013 Dyna Switchback with Hagon 13" Nitro shocks with Racetech Gold Valve and Emulator with Traxxion straight rate springs for the fork. Huge difference to stock in handling, bump absorption from road imperfections, fork dive, etc. My wife also has a 2013 Dyna Switchback with Traxxion straight rate springs in the fork and Bitubo Twin Adjustable shocks

The RG's suspension mods include the following....

Fork -
Traxxion AR25 fork kit - I'd guess it's very similar to the Pro Action fork kit. They both use modified damper rods, with the Traxxion's being topped with their version of the Racetech Goldvalve. The AR-25 also comes with straight rate springs and 2 quarts of oil. When I bought the kit a year or so ago, it was $500, and it still is. I spoke to one of the their techs, and we spoke of riding style, weight and so on. The kit was sent with valving tweeks based on our discussion. @Cosmic Razorback 's thread on his Pro Action fork kit install was hugely helpful and I wound up buying most of the tools he referenced, including a Pit Boss fork holder. I only have a scissor lift, but it worked for both the fork tube removal and shock replacement.

So far, the kit has massively decreased the sharp jolts I was experiencing with the stock setup. Fork dive has been greatly reduced, and overall, going into a turn aggressively is very confidence inspiring. I have about 3.500 miles on the kit now, and noticed in the last few hundred, it's seems to have broken in a little more for an even slightly more compliant ride. For the money, it's a great upgrade. I have no experience with higher end cartridge kits to compare to, so don't know what I'm missing, but the AR-25 has proved to be a very worthwhile spend.

Shocks

RWD RS-1: I bought these shocks with them having the longest travel I know of at 4" in a 13" package, their claim of not needing to readjust the preload when riding with a position and lots of positive reviews. They are $995. They are fitted for preload adjustment, as well as high and low compression damping, and each clicker gives about 14 clicks IIRC. The set I ordered came with the standard spring. After installing and riding a couple of hundred miles for break in, I set about setting them. Preload was adjusted to 1" of travel, based on RWD's instructions. I had experimented with settings 1-7 on the low compression adjuster (smaller black ****), both solo and with the wife on board. The Tekonic Parkway in NY was where much of the testing occurred. if you're not familiar with this highway, it runs north to south on the east side of the Hudson River from just above NYC to the Albany'ish area. It is a fast narrow 2 lane per side highway with a wooded divider and some of the most jolting asphalt I've ever experienced. One has to be on their toes on this road.

My findings with the RWD's were that I did have to adjust preload to optimize the load with a passenger. They make the claim of only needing to add a click of 2 of low compression....I didn't find that to be the case. I found I could dial in a very plush but taut ride for roads that didn't have that joltiness from expansion joints in what (like what is found on the Takonic), but couldn't also find a good compromise with the Tekonic type joltiness. Ultimately, I decided that I wasn't going to compromise the ride of the new bike and moved on. I understand RWD is using upgraded valving since I had purchased my set, and will work with the purchaser to fine tune the performance of the shocks.

Ohlins HD 044's: When I first bought the RG, I wanted these shocks. My perception of them was that they are one of, if not the best shock available, but at $1,499, in addition to the other doo-dads that were purchased, the cost was just too much. Somewhere along the way, the piggy bank was somewhat restocked, and after crying once, I pulled the trigger. I went straight through Ohlins USA and worked with their tech for riding variables to define spring weight and so on (in reality, he just used the Ohlins online spring calculator, but still, a nice guy to work with). During the first ride with them, it was immediately evident to me, I had made the right choice. Sadly, I had gotten them towards the end of last year's riding season, but have put on 1k or so miles since install. I rode for 200 miles or so before futzing with the adjusters. These shocks are adjustable for preload, compression, rebound and overall length and use a braided steel hose to a remote compression unit that can be mounted near the shock behind the saddlebags or can use the supplied bracket to stick out of the end of bike behind the docking area, much like the HD SE Ohlins kit. I had asked the Ohlins rep what the differences were between the Ohlins branded and HD branded versions of basically the same shock. He said there were slight valving differences, but the HD set uses a more universal spring to cover a wider range of weight. IIRC, it's also a progressive vs straight rate spring. According to the Ohlins online spring calculator, these shocks handle me without luggage, up to a passenger with a full tour trunk and fully loaded luggage.

I found this video from Big Bear Performance on setting the Ohlins HD 044's very helpful. Basically, setup the preload as necessary and adjust the compression and rebound clickers to the halfway point of 15 clicks out from full in. I setup the shocks based on their recommendations of a starting point, and used the Ohlins online spring calculator for recommended preload. For me riding solo without additional luggage, preload is set to zero. With my wife on board, I'm using 7-8mm's of preload. We had tried the Ohlins suggested 10mm, but it was too stiff and jolting. After making adjustment changes, I found myself smiling ear to ear. The wife likes these a lot too. I plan do some so solo riding this weekend and will be fine tuning the compression / rebound. These are the best shocks I've ever had.

 

Rauchman,

Thanks for the added information. I sure this will all be very helpful to others considering upgrading.

I was about to plug the plug on Legends and offer them for sale. Then I remembered something George from PA told me about adjusting shocks. Even through Legends does not mention this I decided to experiment. The first setting was greatly improved but not 100%. Today while riding I saw a nice parking lot of made a second adjustment. I actually think I have it setup now where we can truest enjoy them.

CR

 

Learned that 5 yrs ago . Now I'm on RWD and much better.

I know rear tire is supposed to be at 41. I noticed something this year, after winter my rear PSI is @36. Must say I like the ride, not sure if that is good idea or I should put some air in my rear tire. I'll prolly bring it to 38. With 41 I can definitely feel the bumps.

 

For best tire life I have learned to run them at full inflation which is 36 psi front and 40 psi rear on my bikes. I consistently get 18-20k miles out of a set of tires.

 

If your cold time temp is 36, you're going to hit 40+ once it warms up, especially on a hot day. I run mine at 35-36 cold and haven't had any tire issues.

 

Glad you figured it out, I like my legends just fine. I was staring to think yours were defective, lol!

 

Hey CR, love the writeup. Still loving the PA shocks? Getting ready to pull the trigger on some suspension, and have these rolling around in my head, with RWD being right there. I was playing with the idea of Wilbur’s, but they’re damn expensive. Thinking the PA or the RWD’s are the ticket.

Best place to buy these?