Greetings all and I'm sorry if this was addressed in the past, if so point me in a direction and Id be happy to look...


I ride 90% 2 up the wife and I...Im 220ish she's 130ish....We have a 16 ultra limited that hasn't even hit a 1000 miles (3 weeks old and too much rain). I find it almost bottoming out on what Id consider not horrific bumps making life a bit uncomfortable for my better half....


I was going to add air to the rear suspension but Id like to know what you all suggest is a good starting point...


Thanks in advance and 'Im loving this new machine!

R

 

In your owners manual it states you should be between 40 and 50 LBS at least it does on the 2014 manual..
My wife and I are a total of 290 Lbs, I keep it at 45lbs, I would think you want to be 45 to 50. 50 is the max.

Im sure the Ultra comes with a better seat then the RK did? But the seat was the first to go, jaw rattling terrible long distance seat.
All in all had 5 different seats on the bike in 3 weeks. Went with a Saddlemen Explorer Ultimate Comfort. Briefly also tried the Harley Hammock from dealer 2 hour loaner (that makes six seats) my wife and I also liked that one and worth checking out. I just felt the quality vs cost wasnt there. The Saddlemen is (guessing here, been a while) close to $150 to $200 less and quality seems no worse.
Still doesnt mean I wouldnt have a Hammock, just worked out that we got the Saddlemen.


Good luck with the bike. Looks great!

 

Just experiment, no one can tell you what you like. Up to 50. Thats it. My wife and I are over the max weight so I run 50 all the time...

You don't need the HD pump, but a zero loss is nice to have.

 

I don't have a HD pump, I do have a compressor that I can regulate the PSI coming out on so I don't blow em up....that would suffice?

 

Adding air to the rear shocks helps some with bottoming out but causes the rear suspension to rebound excessively. At your weights (and ours also) the stock shocks are woefully underdamped. An inexpensive & effective improvement can be had by changing the fluid in the rear shock from the stock 5W to a 10W.

Here is a thread with instructions:

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/new-r...il-change.html

 

I would get a small hand pump myself, they take very little air.

 

I wouldn't chance it myself. The shocks hold such a small volume of air that it would be easy to over pressurize them and blow the seals out. I bought the Harley pump and I'm glad I did, the zero loss connector alone is worth the asking price.

 

What you might do is turn the compressor off and drain the tank pressure down to the pressure you want in the shock. That way there is no chance of over pressurizing them.

 

Read the owners manual as a starting point and use the proper HD pump so you don't damage your shocks. Then you can adjust air pressure that suits you.

 

I can tell you right now that you will never be happy with the stock shocks. Period. No matter how much or little air you put in there, change the oil or not etc.
As @rwven correctly stated the dampening is the main issue at high pressure (which you do need; and yet it's still going to be too little pre-load).
You are much heavier than I am (our girls are about the same) and I already had serious issues with bottoming out and general bad behavior in any situation - when riding 2-up, mind you. The TourPak is heavy (so no use in comparing it to e.g. an FLTR) and when you have some crap in your saddlebags and/or TourPak (as I do) this will make a (negative) difference too.

You have an awesome bike. Do yourself (and your girl!) a favor and get a set of Ohlins for the back. Progressive etc might be ok too, I don't know, I got the Ohlins so I can only talk about them in comparison to stock. Never again anything else (for the rear suspension).

Have fun and safe riding!