does anyone know what the stock length of the rear socks are? also are there any good socks out there besides progressive. Ive been looking at the 412 from progressive but i wanted to look into others

 

On my 79 they are 11 1/4 in bolt cente to bolt center Heres a pic

 

Should be 12" center to center on the mounts unloaded ( bike up no load on shock's ) 1972 and back are 13 1/2". Anything shorter is aftermarket .

Keep in mind bike just sitting old shocks will compress a bit and most stock where shot in less than 2 years new off the showroom floor .

 

what about brands what do you guys like? is progressive the only good brand out there?

 

Progressive's are over rated and over priced plus stiff unless your running a hotrod and doing hard . I've been putting Ultima shocks on bikes for several yrs now and everyone loves them so far , set going on mine after I mod my swingarm again . Good looking to and you can't beat $140.

Jerih cycles #116-155

http://www.jirehcycles.com/

 

I'm a big guy do you think they'll hold up to my 280lb plus ridding someone one on the back?

 

That case I'm gonna say go with the progressives man not much else will handle that kinda loading sorry , the geometry on the old shovel shock & swingarm setup is tight and about double's the pressure of later models . One of the reasons the old girls ride so rough shocks are a shade under 2"in travel . The Ultima's are rated 325lbs maxed and that does shorten the life on them run full out , you'd be bottoming after a while I'm sure .

Whatever you do don't do air shocks you'll blow them . Good luck wish I had better things to tell you .