My take on the the progressive shocks is yes they're an improvement to a degree over stock but....your wgt. and whether you ride 2-up makes a difference and even more so the length you choose. I liked the low look but after having run 11", 11.5" heavy duty and 11.5" std. progessives 412s for about the last 15k miles on my 06 1200C I'm probably going to now change to 12.5" std. spring progressives.
The shorter shocks though looking cool end up with about 1" of travel and thus compensate for it with 90-130 rate springs on the std. on the 11",11.5" & 12" and 115-150 rate springs on the heavy duty models in the same length range (only get these if your at least 225 or more and or ride 2-up often). For lighter folks like myself (142 lbs.) on up to about a 190lb rider this gives a harsh ride. You have to go to the 12.5" shock to get a little more travel (about 2" under load) and the smoother riding 75-120 rate springs. To really get the best ride out of progressive 412s you need about 1" of sag under load (this also prevents topping out over bumps) and about 2" of useable travel for the smootest ride without setting the preload real high. I still think the 412s are the best bang for the buck (since they run about $169-189) but only when you take into account your riding style, wgt. and length shock.
I've talked a few times with Justin from progressive and on avg. the dampening and spring rate on the 11, 11.5 & 12" 412s are best suited to a 180lb rider with preload set at the lowest setting but will bottom out unless you increase preload, for the lighter folks the spring rate is only marginally better than stock but the dampening is better. The stock length progressive fork springs are a vast improvement but to get the most comfortable ride you have to play with the wgt. of oil used and maybe even the PVC preload spacer length.

If you like or need the shorter shocks then you will really only get a marginal improvement over stock but it will also affect the handling in that you will occasiaonlly scrape cornering (will really drag on both sides if you ride aggressive or run some bumpy corners). Again if you lower the front with the progressive lowering springs you will sacrifice travel and lean angle.

These are just my personal observations under my riding style (not overly agressive) and based on my wgt. and the amount of 2-up riding I do (about 25% of the time). I ride alot (about 1000 miles a month when I can year round).

I've looked into many other shocks (Ohlins, Works, Hagon, etc.) and for the money I'm still going to run Progressives I think. My next shocks may likely be the 12.5" std. spring (75-120 rate) Progresive 430 (if I find a good price). This model shock looks good in black or chrome, provides a decent amount of travel and better yet has an infinite preload adj. via a threaded adjusterwhich can be turned by hand so no tool is needed.
Overall I've been reasonably happy with the 11.5" std. spring 412s and it sits a little lower than stock under load but the ride is not as smooth as it could be (since they use 90-130 rate springs) and I tend to run the preload at 2-3 though harsher to keep from bottoming out over big bumps and give me adequate lean angle without scraping my kick stand or exhaust. The ride 2-up is pretty good as wellusing max preload with my wife and I running about 285lbs.

Bottom line is to get the best ride you have go with longer shocks and match the spring rate to your wgt. either riding solo or 2-up otherwise make sacrifices.

 

Thanks rx3732, chornbe, & capttawes for the responses. I weigh 190, never ride 2 up. I'm a competent rider (I have50 years of riding experience), butwouldn't consider myself to be an aggresive rider. A smooth ride & good handling is what I'm looking for, so the 12" standard may be what I need. Any thoughts/comments would be welcome.
Thanks again guys.

 

progressive shocks are great,use the longest on you can for better handling and ride i went an inch longer on my 06 lo and there was little ride height difference,i would like to sell my 12.5 in standard chrome 418 series and get 13.5 for more clearance

 

I put 412's and fork springs on my 06 1200C. For me, the biggest difference was in the feel of the front fork. Much smoother and no clanking. Not a hard job if you use the fork nut socket that can be found on ebay.

 

Pab,
Sounds like a good plan.

captawes,
Your Progressive shock review is excellent - should be a sticky

 

For those of you that did the front fork springs....did you cut the spacer? I think the instructions say to use the full spacer but I know that some people prefer to cut them to make them less stiff.

 

Hi Guys and Happy New Year,
I happened to pick up on this discussion, but do not ride Sporty any more. My current ride is a 1993 80" Evo FXLR, that weighs about the same as a Sporty. As you can see from my sig photo, 11.5" Progressive 412's are already on the rear.I like them alot and have had no ground clearance or handling problems.

I also have the 39mm narrow glide frontend common to the Sporty's and FXR's and have the bottoming problem that many of you have mentioned. I will be rebuilding the front end this summer, what kit have you guys been buying for the front forks? I also read about a kit Progressive makes that lowers the front end by 1" to 2", I would really be interested in that. I just swapped out the stock 21" front spoked wheel for a 19" mag wheel. It did not drop the front of the bike down much as I had hoped.

 

Buddy WMC,

Nice FXR! You have the greatest Harley model ever made. Thanks for the photo because now everyone can see that the FXLR was truly the design imspiration for the XL Custom with the large tank. I recently sold my FXRD and moved "up" to an 07 1200 Custom because I feel it is the closest thing to an FXR in appearance and performance. Justin @ Progressive should be able to match you up with the appropriate set of springs. He is very informative and helpful. Happy New Year!



Doug

 

From all of my research I agree with a lotof what 'capttawes' said. Juston at Progressive told me, 190 lbs solo rider, for the smoothest ride that will not raise the bike much, to go with the 412- 12 1/2" standard spring. He said that will give me close to 1" more travel over the stock shocks, and a full 1" over the 412- 11 1/2" that they use for stock replacement.
I have them home now, but won't know untill the first of April how much improvement I will get. I'm in Michigan, put 85 miles on my Snowmobile today, had a blast. But I'm still looking forward to Harley time...

 

I put 12.5" Progressive 412s on my '06 XL883C. They don't make the ride great, but the extra travelhelps on rough roads (I believe the stock 11.75" shocks have only 2.4" of travel). If I could do it over again, I might go with 13". I haven't done progressive fork springs yet, but plan to eventually