I just had my 2012 Heritage lowered at the dealer's by an inch, and I swear that the ride is bumpier, less smooth.. is this the case? I thought that the HD lowering kit didn't change the ride.. ?????
Thanks for info.. I checked other threads and didn't really find the answer.

 

Yes, it does. Did you just lowered the rear? How did they lower the bike? Just extensions or different shocks?

 

Lowering the bike will lessen the shocks travel range & it will ride firmer. Adjusting the pre-load will help. If you are not bottoming out soften the pre-load for more cushion but riding 1 up or 2 up will change the ride dramatically if it's not set properly. Both of my bikes are lowered about an inch to 1.25" & it took a few adjustments to get it right. I actually raised the Heritage back up a bit because I take it out with my wife & comfort matters when she's with me. Be prepaired to scrape the floorboards on a lowered Heritage quite often. It's down about 3/4" and the pre-load is set at 2 turns from stock (soft) on the progressive 422's. I had it at 4 turns but it was rough. The Standard has stock shocks set at 2 turns firmer from stock at 1.25" lower front & rear. Rides like a champ 1 up.

 

It absolutely affects the ride. Even 1"
I tried the lwr'ing extentions, even tried the 422's. Maybe for a heavier person (I'm 180) they'd be better. I had them on the lightest setting with the height raised all the way up (still lwr than stk) and it rode like a buckboard. At that point, I hated that f-ing bike!! I raised it back to stock with stock shocks & fork springs. Rides great now !!
When I need a reminder, I ride my wife's 03 with the Harley "Profile 1" kit - which btw lwr'd it 1" in frt & 3/4" in the rear. The front is mushy. You hit the brakes (barely) over a bump-you'll bottom the forks out. It rides like a pogo stick in the rear.

I'm sorry, just not a fan of lwr'd Softails. They do look bitchin though. But for a road motor . . . doesn't work.

See old pic att. Lwr'd 1.5" rr & the (garbage) 1" Harley kit in frt.

 

Lowering really only works if you install an airride....

RJ

 

My air ride isnt affected much by lowering but by adjusting the rebound. That makes an incredible difference. Definately an art to it but i would never go back to a stock shock ever again!

 

Are the fatboy lo or deluxe shocks any different, or are they the same shock with longer bolts from the factory? The FBL crowd have complained with 2-up riding it seems.

 

I haven't tried air shocks. I've read they actually have more suspension travel since the air spring takes up less space than the coil springs. But reduced suspension travel on traditional coil-over shocks leads to a much firmer ride or more bottoming out in my experience.

There are some things that can help - heavy duty springs prevent bottoming out, higher quality gas shocks can help smooth the bumps, and a lot of fine tuning. But without the extra suspension travel, the shocks will not have as much to work with when trying to soak up the bumps. And you can always do the same to the standard length shocks to dial in an even better ride.

 

Lowering, if done properly, will have very little effect on ride quality.
If done improperly it can only have an adverse effect on ride quality.

One of the biggest factor in ride quality is rider and passenger weight. The factory HD thinks that all their riders are 180lbs and set the rear end preload to zero for that rider. They also think that if we have passengers that they are 120lbs soaking wet. So they allow you to set the rear preload up to try and compensate for the added load. I my opinion the stock shocks are adequate for a solo riders up to about 225lbs, and useless for two up unless you're both jockeys.

The shocks limit the wheel travel to 4 inches, (yes air shocks have about 4.5). You can lower the rear end about 1.25 inches before you start to cut into the available suspension travel. You can get away with pressed in adjustable bolts for this but you will still have barely stock springs and dampening.

Progressive 422s give you height adjustment with much better springs and dampening.

Shotgun Shocks, air ride, offer the best in adjust-ability of ride height, preload and rebound dampening.

And of course you will be lowering the front end with shorter tubes to maintain the proper handling.

 

Yep! For a softail this is the answer and anything else just won't give the ride that you are after.