Hey Fellas

I just bought a 98 softail custom, the bike is amazing but with in minutes of my first exilleratingride i noticed how rigid the rear suspentionwas. The rear suspension was bottoming out even some small bumps. If it bottoms out justwith me on it, I cant imagine how bad it will be when I take the girl out for a cruise.

I knew the bike had been lowered in the rear. I took a look andthe bike has a Progessive Suspension with the model numbers 413-4035 on the two gold canisters. I looked at the website but cant seem to find that exact model number, (do any of you know how this kind of suspention is adjusted?)


Any information would be greatly appreciated !

Thanks Guys

 

How Many inches was it lowered and how tall and whats your wieght.

 

413's are the older version of the 422's. read the manual on the 422's and it will tell you how to raise and lower. you'll also need the two prong tool to change how bouncy you go...it'll make sense when you read the manual, but basically u need to shorten the long bolts that face forward to raise your ride up. then twist with your new wrench to adjust how much spring you want. make sense lol

 

The 413 was replaced with the 422. With the 422 you can adjust the ride height but I don't think you can with the 413,I may be wrong.
To adjust the preload you will need a special tool (about £12 in the uk).
To increase the preload,loosen the locknut and insert the tool in the holes and turn anti clockwise.I'm told there is 8 turns between min and max,make sure you mark the units before adjusting to ensure they are both at the same preload. (I've just read Imbodens reply, sorry to duplicate)

 

Im 6', 200lbs
I believe it was lowered about two inches, the maximum I think. I really hope that the ride height can be adjusted also.


Thanks for the info guys, It is much appreciated. I'll check with my dealer tommorrow and see if I can pick up one of those wrenches.

 

Use this link for more info on adjusting and replacing shocks www.fatbillscustoms.com

 

I put the Prog 422's on. Had em on there for a couple months. Took one long ride (300 ni aprox).
Put em on ebay the following week. Good riddens !!

I'm sorry.I don't see what all the hoopla is about them. They did rebound better than the stock shocks (train tracks etc), but other than that, I was NOT impressed. I had them as close to stock height and on the lightest setting (I'm 180#). That thing rode like a Mack Truck. Worse than a Mack Truck - No air ride seat. Every seam in the road, you name it. My wife's 03 Heritage with Harley's lowering kit rides better. You just have to watch bottoming the forks out.

I have the stock shocks back on there, and I actually enjoy this bike again.

It depends what you want. If you bought your bike to ride it a few miles and park it in front of a bar and look cool, keep it slammed. If you actually want to RIDE IT, I'd only go 1" lower than stock. Otherwise, it'll scrape on everything and ride like a bucket of crap.

I do have a few miles under my belt and have ridden several Softails (all different models) over the years, so I have a fair idea what works.