I purchased brand new a progressive 422 RAP for my softail. It works ok, nothing stellar.. however last May I went to the Tail of the Dragon and pushed my bikes brakes and suspension to the max.. the bracket that holds the RAP vibrated and broke with all bolts still intact and tight. Nothing obstructing or touching it. Just vibration. The original bracket is about 1/8” thick. Maybe 1000 total miles on the bracket.

So I made one out of of 3/16” thick steel… about 700 miles and it broke on my way home last night…. Nothing touching it. It just broke from vibration, all mounting bolts still tight.

Has anyone else experienced that? I guess I’m making one from 5/16 or 3/8?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a 127” motor and a sticky 150 tire that I can chew up quick. Lots of 40-50 mph roll-on racing with Busa’s and CBR1000’s. Not to mention some tire lifting launches… but really, gotta go to 3/8” bracket from a 1/8?

 

Not sure I have ever heard of this issue before.....

I don't have RAPs, but I believe that RAP adjustert bracket is attached inside the frame where the passenger foot peg usually goes, correct? That puts it between the frame and the swing arm... Maybe make sure your bracket isn't contacting the swing arm when the swing arm makes a full swing to both extremes.....

Other than that, it would seem that how you use your bike (applying a lot of twist & torque to the rear tire), is going to require a stronger bracket...

Keep us posted on how this works out...

 

Yep, passenger peg mounting hole. With the shocks out and the swing arm fully collapsed it still doesn’t come close to contacting the rap. I checked that when I built the bike. I wanted to see if at a later date I could move the rear softail fender toward the rear of the bike to give more rider room (I’m almost 6’5”).

 

Sounds like perhaps your beefed up performance mods may be have created some serious vibrations.
I’ve had my RAP’s installed on my Stage 2 ‘09 Heritage for 10 years and ~35,000 miles with no issues

One thing that you mentioned;
My experience has been a lot better than “nothing stellar”.
For the first 10,000 miles they gradually got softer and then once I made some adjustments to the non-RAP shock the ride got even better.

Perhaps a thicker bracket is your fix.

 

I have had the RAP on my lowered 2007 Night Train for about 7000 miles. No issues re bracket. I bought heavy duty springs and eventually changed to non hd and it rides much better after.

 

Over 10K on my RAPS, drag the boards, pound the brakes hard, no problems at all with mine either. "Nothing Steller"? You're doing something wrong, snapping mounting brackets and you don't like the ride. 🤔 Hmm.