Stiffening shocks
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Joined: Apr 2010
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Stiffening shocks
How do you stiffen the shocks on a softail?? I have a 2001 Heritage and it seems to bottom out when I ride my girlfriend and it annoys the mess out of me when it does and I heard that they can be adjusted
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 19,364
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From: Los Angeles, CA
You need a speical wrench to tighten them. Loosen the locknut and turn them around.
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http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://accessories.harley-davidson.com/cat/product/94448-82A_large_1.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.hdforums.com/forum/softail-models/374685-adjusting-softail-shocks.html&usg=__O1BvaWYAgBztmfIenz0o9FNtcjc=&h=6 00&w=600&sz=11&hl=en&start=5&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=3Oa CLwqZSgIfUM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsoftail%2Bshock%2Bwrench%26um%3D1%26h l%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 5,977
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From: Nevada
Yes it will help the ride quality and keep you from bottoming out. If you're heavy or ride alot of 2 up, you're going to want to adjust them out quite a bit.
Former Sponsor
Joined: Jan 2009
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From: Los Angeles, CA
Drew
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Joined: Oct 2006
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From: Nevada
Good point. I hated the shocks on my Heritage.
Tourer
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 393
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From: Gaylord Michigan
Im trying to ajust my shocks .... when I try to turn the disc with the special wrench , I cant do it without the whole shock turning . Any Ideas ?
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2006
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From: Nevada
If I remember correctly, the whole shock does turn.
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From: Punta Gorda,FL
The shock body turns.
I change the setting on mine quite a bit, depending on if I am riding solo or two up.
I painted a white stripe on the bottom of each shock. This way I can count how many turns I have adjusted them and know that they both have been turned the same amount.
I learned it is best to back the shocks off just a bit if you are going to turn them all the way one direction or the other. This way they wont be jammed into place next time you adjust them.
I just barely snug the retention nuts, so that they also are not that hard to break loose next time. The retention nuts never have worked loose by themselves. I don't know why HD puts loctite on them, from the factory.
Tom
I change the setting on mine quite a bit, depending on if I am riding solo or two up.
I painted a white stripe on the bottom of each shock. This way I can count how many turns I have adjusted them and know that they both have been turned the same amount.
I learned it is best to back the shocks off just a bit if you are going to turn them all the way one direction or the other. This way they wont be jammed into place next time you adjust them.
I just barely snug the retention nuts, so that they also are not that hard to break loose next time. The retention nuts never have worked loose by themselves. I don't know why HD puts loctite on them, from the factory.
Tom