Pro-Action - Spoke with George Today
 

Well it been over a year now since the wife and I showed up at Pro-Action unannounced with blown HD air suspension while on a vacation ride. George and DJ took immediate care of us and we went on a test ride with George.

Fast forward and a newer bike and about 10k miles on our shocks and we have been very happy. Well like a dumb butt I could not leave well enough along and had to fix something that wasn't broken. I had been watching some of the setup YouTube videos and decided to play with some settings and just see if it could get any better.

First I turned the collar one turn tighter on both sides. Then I checked the clickers to see where they were set. On the clutch side it was at "1" and on the throttle side it was at "5". The clutch side seemed it had to be set wrong (right?), so I set both sides to 5.

The wife and I go for a dinner 60 mile round trip Saturday evening and I immediately felt it was too harsh. I asked her opinion and much to my surprise she said it is GOOD. Well okay if she is happy we are all happy right? So Sunday afternoon after church we rode Hwy 601 up to Mt. Airy (Mayberry), then took Orchard's Gap Road up to the Parkway, then North on the Parkway to Tuggles Gap, then Hwy 8 back to Winston-Salem, then I-40 20 miles home. We got every type of road and road condition known to man. Got home and the wife was NOT happy. It started by "Why did I change the shocks" in a nasty tone. I explained why and her immediate reply was "PUT THEM BACK THE WAY THEY WERE NOW". We I let the bike cool down and while watching "Evel Live" I start to set them back and guess what. I totally stripped the hex head (3mm) bolt on the collar of the throttle side shock.

Well GREAT, what now. I slept on it and knew my only solution was an easy out. But decided to call Pro-Action first before proceeding to both make sure when I totally removed the bolt there would not be any issues, to confirm that a 3mm hex key was correct and to also discuss setup.

George answered the phone when I called and he was so pleasant and never once criticized anything I had done. He answered all my questions, he went into great detail on setup and why the clicker on one side was set different than the other side and made sure I was comfortable moving forward. He offered me to send the shock back but that was not necessary. Then we spoke a few minutes about their new front fork kit. I really liked what he told me and I am in. Pro-Action front kit is definitely going on the bike this winter.

Then right before I hung up I asked him about Travis Pastrana knowing that is response would probably be "He is a Friend" which it was. George like me watched Evel Live last night and it was nice hearing his comments and point of view.

Well I got home around 4pm today. Drilled the bolt, took the easy out and removed the bolt. Went to Fastenal about 3 miles from the house and they had exactly what I needed. I reset both shocks to the original settings, put a new bolt in each collar and buttoned her up. The wife will be HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A couple of suggestions:
1) If you have any question about this suspension call George or DJ. They put it in easy to understand terms, are extremely helpful, want to hear your feedback and are NICE people to talk with.
2) DON'T make more than one simple change at a time. I did too many things at once. Again refer to suggestion #1 above, call them and get their recommendations if you feel you need to make changes. Now that I have a better understanding of what is going on i'm sure I can fine tune if needed.

Thanks George for a great product and for your time on the phone today.https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.hdf...d586d4f3af.jpg

Yeah I never see galling as being an issue. These things turn super easy when you loosen the screw. No complaints at all.

George had a prototype front end on his RG when we rode with him last year. I was watching it closely and it really looked to work great. He explained that they designed it to work with and compliment their rear shocks. I cannot wait to get it installed. It will probably be my November project prior to our annual Christmas Florida trip.

I am hoping to head down to PA this week for a complete suspension upgrade.

Congratulations that is awesome. You doing the front also? Keep us posted.

what did he say abut the reason one side was at 1 click and the other 5? I just installed pro actions but haven't messed with those settings yet?

Well he is so well versed having done this for 40+ years that I cannot give you word for word, but my take is it allows the two shocks to work together to provide a much greater/wider range of function. You can easily back yours off "counter clockwise" and count the clicks to see how they are set up and then turn then back to where they were originally set without causing any issues. I can tell you that putting both up to five was pretty harsh on the large asphalt buckles.

365 lbs.

Okay back to actually looking for bumps to experience them disappear instead of avoiding them! The wife has not ridden yet but I know she will once again be happy. I may take her for a ride this evening. We have been enjoying those 7pm to 9pm evening rides.