Since I'm no longer debating whether or not to pull the trigger on the 422 RAPs for my 09 Heritage, I thought I would start a thread on my review of them.

On Saturday I found that jcmotors.com had them on sale and as a first time buyer, you get 10% off your first order and free shipping.

With the sale, my total cost was $500.84 delivered.
Now how could I pass that up?

Not only was the price the lowest I've seen, but I got them delivered in three days.

I went with the heavy duty model due to my primary desire is to better the ride while 2-up.
I've always felt the stock ride solo was acceptable.

After I figured out how to read, it took me around an hour to swap my stock shocks out with the 422s.

The instructions were rather straight forward and the swap rather easy.
I can't think of any need to explain how to install these. If someone has problems installing these 422 RAPs then you probably should pay someone to install them for you. That's not to say I didn't scratch my head a few times and I did leave a little knuckle DNA on the garage floor.

With the 422 RAPs you can set your ride height from stock to 2" lower.
I read somewhere online that you get the best range of dampering if you keep the ride at stock height.
Seeing that I already scrape my boards at stock height I don't have a desire to lower it anyway so I set the ride height at stock.

There is a pre-load calculation that you can do, but my Wife is at work and we both need to be on the bike while someone else takes a reading, so I decided to just jump in and play with it.

As for the pre-load, from the least amount to the most I measured about 80 twist of my wrist on the adjustment **** which I figure is about 30 or so complete turns of the adjustment ****.

There's a road nearby that is by far one of the worst roads around so I decided that is the road to test run on.

I started out with 0 turns of the adjustment **** (minimum pre-load) and the ride felt like it was bottoming out.
I then turned the adjustment **** the maximum turns (max. pre-load) and it felt like I was riding on a board, pretty stiff. (of course I'm solo at 240 .lbs.

I then went half way or about 15 complete turns of the **** and that's where I figured the stock suspension is about, however I did notice that the "bumps" didn't feel quite as sharp as with the stock shocks so there is still some dampering.

I then adjusted the preload to about 10 complete turns of the **** or about 30% preload and I have to say the ride is absolutely better than with the stock shocks.
It's not like I'm riding on a cloud, I can still feel the bumps however there is certainly a much noticeable less jarring ride.

I then took the bike on the highway and the ride was a dream.
Again I can still feel the bumps but they are definitely less pronounced.

I've still got some more test riding to do and of course my Wife will be the best judge of the ride, however my initial feelings are that at $500 for me I made the right choice.

I'll be heading to the Black Hills in a couple of weeks for a pre-Sturgis vacation and will update my thread when I return.

 

That's great to hear. I am planning on the RAP shocks for my Fatboy too, so I will look forward to hearing the review after the road trip! Have a great time!

 

Your bike IS setup for travel, nice! I look forward to your 2up review. Given your weight, bags and tour pack, heavy duty RAPS definitely. I suspect you will also like the RAPs for touring 2up. Probably even more then for 1up.

If you have the funds, consider upgrading the front. The front springs are designed for riders weight of about 150lbs. It was very surprising how much better the bike rides and handles with both suspensions upgraded. Totally different bike!

Ride safe, enjoy the trip.

 

Great thread BluRaven - I am considering that same rear shocks.


What front suspension upgrade did you use?

 

Ricor Intimidators.

http://cycleguidemagazine.blogspot.c...ator-fork.html

Going to add Race Tech constant rate springs. You chose the spring rate per your weight. The ricors alone are an obvious improvement.

 

I hope they serve your needs well. With the way I ride, where I ride, in and out of my driveway I had to have air. I also agree with upgrading your front, you won't be sorry. I have the gas monotubes and am very pleased with them and how the bike rides and handles. It's like a new bike. good luck.

 

Well I certainly wavered back and forth whether to go with the 422s RAPs or Shotgun Shocks.

But using your quote "the way I ride", even though I can afford it, I just couldn't justify spending $750 more for air ride.

The RAPs at $500 is just more of an attractive upgrade for "the way I ride".
Also, I just didn't want the hassle of dealing with the inherent issues that air ride systems seem to have.

I do however still plan on adding a Touring bike to my garage in a couple of years for days the Wife and I want to go on a real long ride.

However I can never see a reason why I will ever get rid of my Heritage so the Progressive upgrade will always be worth it to me.

 

Glad you posted this. I've been wanting the 422s but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

 

Today the Wife and I loaded up the tour pak with a 6 pack of Miller Light and hit the road for a tour of the Loess Hills of Iowa for a three hour back roads ride to Waubonsie State Park.

This was our first 2-up ride since I installed the Progressive 422 RAPs HD.

At first the ride was rough and not a noticeable improvement over the stock shock ride.
After 4 stops to adjust the RAP we hit the sweet spot and the ride was greatly improved.

I could see the bumps coming and felt them somewhat in the front end, but the rear never wavered. That's not to say we didn't feel the big bumps, but there's no doubt the small ones are gone and the big ones very much less pronounced.

We rode around 30 miles of interstate riding and I never felt a single bump.

After we got back to the house I asked the Wife to rate the new Progressive 422 RAPs;
1-10 with 1 being no change over stock and 10 matching the ride in her Chrysler 300.
Her score was a 6; not a totally smooth ride but a much improved ride over the stock suspension.

So to me a 6 is a big score and there's no doubt that these 422s are well worth the $500 we paid.

I will say though, with the HDs, my solo ride wasn't a 6 but rather a 3-4, but that's OK the 2-up ride improvement is what I was really after anyway.

But if your plan is riding more solo and your load is under 250 .lbs I would certainly get the "standard" version of RAPs.

Of course this is just an initial opinion and we have more riding/reviewing to do.

Next ride will be likely in a week as we travel down Spearfish Canyon in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota.

More to come.

 

duplicate post for some reason.