All I can say is this is how it's supposed to work. Researched what shocks I wanted. Talked to the guys at Ohlins and Fuel Moto and everyone agreed so it was time to order.

I order my shocks last Friday morning from Fuel Moto. They called Ohlins and they set up shocks to my specifications and shipped them the same day! I received two emails from Brian at FM. First the invoice and later in the day my tracking number. They arrived today at noon, Wednesday, and I already have them installed.

I bought the Ohlins HD 022 13" Emulsion rear shocks. I heard a lot about having "Shocks Built" and was curious exactly what that meant. From what I understand from Ohlins they take the shock you want, install the right spring that will basically set the sag (pre-load) to the middle of the range for your needs and send them to you.

Installing shocks are not very hard assuming you have a lift. The whole process is less than 30 minutes from start to test ride. I measured the shocks as the manual says and they had set the sag perfect! I really expected to have to adjust it a little so I was pleasantly surprised.

One thing to note is that on my Street Glide I have a detachable riders backrest and all that still works perfect. Ohlins provides some spacers that ensure that all works well. Also Brian at Fuel Moto said a good place to start when I add weight/rider is one turn of pre-load per 25 pounds of added weight on the bike. From what I can tell on my test ride I should be able to have my wife ride on weekend rides without any adjustments as they told me.

They performed well on my short test ride. Now I need to ride some more and see what they do on country roads. I am expecting a lot better ride than the stock shocks. I have had at least 5 Ultra Classic but this was my first Street Glide. When I bought it used a few weeks ago I really didn't know it had a shorter shock and was really disappointed in the ride. I really don't see how anyone could ride with the stock shocks.

And to top it off Fuel Moto has the best price with shipping of all the Forum Sponsors.

I'll post more comments on the shocks after I do several rides but for now back to buffing out the swirls in my black paint. That's a topic for another post but I have found success in getting the swirls out easily

 

thanks for sharing your experience and hope you enjoy your new ride.
Fuel Moto has a terrific rep here on HDforums and sounds like you got the expected customer treatment.
If you didn't get guidance on how to set your sag and rebound ( I presume the shocks have rebound settings) it would be good if you understood how that all works.
Ohlins USA techs are first rate too.

When you get some riding in and have a chance, report back.

 

Cool didn't know FM sold them. Keep us posted!

 

Subscribed...

 

These shocks are entry level and the only adjustment is the pre-load for the sag adjustment. To get the basically same shock with the compression and rebound adjustments you have to spend a little over twice as much as I did. This being my first time changing out shocks at almost $600 was my limit. I think I will be more than satisfied with them as I have been living with stock Harley shocks for years. When I rode around the neighborhood today I looked for pot holes and bumps and the shocks responded well. The country roads out in east Texas will be the test in the next few days. Right now I am obsessed with getting all the swirls out of my paint. The guy I bought this bike from had been pretty harsh on it's short life. Doesn't take much to screw black paint up though.

This is my second Fuel Moto purchase and I really like the way these guys operate. They sell a lot more stuff than just tuning aids. I also got a Power Vision and High Flow air filter from them. The PV is the coolest gadget I have ever had on a bike. Downloading a tune is only the start. The gauges it lets you set up are really useful.

 

Watching!

 

Your shocks are what is known as 'emulsion' type, which means the gas and oil inside the damper body can mix. The next shock up is not the same as yours, although very similar in appearance, but a 'separated' type. These have a diaphragm between the gas and oil, so the two can't mix, which gives them sustained damping over the emulsion type. The damper design inside is not the same either, so the separated type also give better damping performance, in addition to providing damping adjustment.

 

Just wanted to add next step up is not double the cost. For $276 you can upgrade from the emulsion shock to a separated. I have the S36e and love them but admit I still experience buyers remorse from time to time wondering if I should have invested the extra funds.

 

Good points. The shocks actually come with a manual that explains the different shocks you mention and how they work.

We were talking about adjust ability and I was trying to say that to get the ability to adjust the rebound and damping you have to move up and spend more. I may want to move up to that at some point but from what I can tell on the forum most if not all users of the basic shock I got seem to be very pleased with it's performance.

 

I hope to read more about your experience with them, i want a set of shock too, i have the HD Premium and don't like them at all, way too stiff