No issues here either. We have had our SS for over two years now with no issues. Blueraven, I see that you have the Progressive 442 set up, have they ever had issues with them? Probably not as they are just a standard coil spring gas/oil dampening shock system where as the Shotgun Shock system is a pneumatically controlled air ride suspension system that give the BEST ride out there PERIOD!!!!!

 

I've found getting the ride how I want it on my ABS(*) fatboy takes enough time each ride that I'm starting to get a bit sick of it. (It doesn't hold pressure from one ride to another; I've had the unit replaced and although better, the replacement doesn't either.)

Yes, it does make the ride more comfortable if you get it set up nicely. And yes, it does look cool when you slam it. But whether you let the "holding up" air out or add more "pushing down" air to achieve the look, you then have to fiddle around getting the ride back the way you want it.

When I next do a transmission oil change, the shock is coming off and the stocks going back on.

I just want to be able to ride the bike without having to fiddle quite so much.

(*) I mention the ABS because I think half the problem might be the gutless compressor that ships with the ABS version. There's limited space, so the compressor is smaller than the standard and I guess less powerful, which means that changing pressures takes that much longer.

 

Or maybe we actually do love it? No?

This is the honest deal with mine:

I had lowered my Slim a modest 1.25 inches using lowering bolts. Even with a spring solo seat taking up some of the bumps, that modest amount of lowering made the bike very uncomfortable on the rough roads of this city.

I was very skeptical of the SS, just like you. Perhaps even more. But I went to visit JD's shop near my workplace and he let me ride his Slim with the SS installed for as long as I like.

I was sold almost immediately with the comfort of the ride. Not only was his bike lower than mine, almost 2 inches I'd say. But it was running the very thin stock seat that didn't take up nearly as much bumpage as my spring solo. But it was still more comfortable.

JD did the install of my SS a few days later. I was able to take off the spring seat, and put a very low profile seat to get me back in the cockpit of my Slim again. (A spring solo raises you up on the bike.)

I tend to lower my bike about 1.25 to 1.5 inches with it because I like the angle of my body there as opposed to slammed. And I like to keep the ride a little bit rigid for twisties here and there.

Four months ago, I went to Hawaii and rented a Heritage Softail. The roads are very smooth there and the Heritage had a big billowy seat. It was stock height, of course. But my Slim with the SS was still just as comfortable, perhaps more, here on the rough roads of L.A., lowered and with a low profile seat.

Just a while back, I felt like my SS was maybe losing air overnight. I was always a set it and forget it rider, and never used it to slam the bike for show. I asked JD to take a look and see if my suspicions were correct, or if I was just getting so used to the comfort of the SS that it was in my head.

The bike was not riding rough, but you get so used to just how plush it is that any little perceived difference seems to register.

Instead of wasting time, JD replaced the entire unit, free of charge, based upon just the suspicion I was losing air overnight.

Shotgun rides great. Always has really. You just get spoiled by it. Customer service is second to none. I wouldn't ride a Softail in this city without it.

 

First to all the Shotgun Shock owners out there; just relax my response is not a personal attack on you.

My statement was related to "air" suspension systems in general not specifically Shotgun Shocks and if you tell me that an air suspension never requires any maintenance I'll have to question that statement.

I consider maintenance anytime you have to screw (adjust) something in order for it to work properly.

Aviator asked about what Shotgun Shocks were and I described what they were and I rendered my opinion on them.
I appreciate the fact that there are those out there that don't share my opinion.

It seems every time someone renders an opinion that may be construed as derogatory toward Shotgun Shocks someone feels the need to attack them for their opinion.

 

Maintenance on ShotgunShocks? Never heard of this...

 

Blueraven, how long does your bike sit for it to lose the air charge?


If mine sits for a couple of weeks, YES it does loose the air charge. To be totally air tight the cost of the unit would be astronomical, just my

 

I am thinking about getting them for my Breakout, but here is my question:

Is there anything that could break on it that would not allow me to ride the bike back home? i.e. stranded?

 

I've had my Shotgun Shock for a little over a year now.
In all that time I never had to readjust or add air from one day (or week) to the next.
That is, until recently.
Sometime earlier this year I noticed a slight drop if I let the bike sit for a couple of days.
Never more than an inch, and I could always put it right back where I wanted it by hitting the compressor for about 10 seconds.
Sometimes it did and sometimes it didn't.
It was just such a slight event that I never even bother to call it in.

Now lately, I haven't ridden much at all, in fact not since early June, due to a pinched nerve in my neck. (I'm going in for my steroid injection procedure tomorrow.)
Two days ago I went out to the garage and noticed it was almost all the way down.
I traded a couple of emails with Jessica at SS, and she suggested it was probably a bad check valve, and since I wasn't interested in tearing it off and sending it in, she said they'd send out a new valve and that it was an easy fix.
Today I got another email saying "scratch that - we're just sending out a whole new unit..."

So, except for this slight glitch (which I read about in another thread regarding shocks made during a certain time frame) the unit has performed flawlessly, as has their Customer Support.
No complaints here...

 

I personally don't view adjusting the air in the system via the switches as maintenance, and I doubt any SS owners do.

However, I don't think anyone thought you were personally attacking them, but if someone makes a statement about a product they don't own that seems incorrect, those who use and love the product will come out with enthusiasm to correct it. I am sure it would be the same way if any of us stated something about the adjustable 422s that you felt was incorrect.

 

UT I didn't say anything that I consider as "incorrect".
I only penned my opinion.

As for 422 RAPs, I hope and encourage those that do and don't like them post their opinions so people can make an educated decision on whether they will meet the application that's desired.

For me they fit my needs, for others they may not hence I encourage good and bad reviews.

I believe we are getting off subject here so I'm out of here!!!!!