There is limited information on peoples experience with these shocks so i thought i would give my own impressions.

first, some background. I was very happy with how my 2014 SGS handled with the stock 12" premium adjustable shocks. where they failed to impress was on less then smooth roads. Every bump or rough patch of pavement felt like much sharper of an impact then i believe it should have. Additionally, on big bumps that come close to bottoming out the suspension, i would bounce out of the seat. I believe this is because even when the stock suspension was at its softest setting, it was much too stiff for my weight (140#).

When i initially started looking at shocks, the brands i were considering were Progressive, Ohlins, Super Shox, and Pro-action. I ruled out Progressives early on as it seems like they were on the stiffer side. There is plenty good written on the Ohlins so they were my fall back if i didn't like what i read about the Super Shox and Pro-actions. In my research, there was very limited information on Pro-action, so i decided to call them for info. Pro-action was great to deal with on the phone and explained how their shocks worked and answered all my questions. They sounded like what i wanted.. they looked great, were pre set-up to my weight, and shouldn't need to be readjusted for pillion weight. One thing i didn't want to do is have to play too much with the shocks settings, either for initial setup or for changes in weight. I was initially just calling Pro-action for more info, but i liked what i was hearing so i decided to pull the trigger on the same call.

Before i installed the shocks, i took a short ride so i could get a good baseline on what would hopefully be a improvement after the Pro-action shocks were installed. My route include one large dip that would bounce me out of my seat, a street that has all the potholes/dips/cracks marked for repair, and a 50mph road with both elevated and sunken manhole covers about 50 yards.

After install, the bike does sit a bit more "into" the travel of the shock, so the bike is just a bit lower (i ordered the 12" shocks). On the initial ride hitting as many of the same bumps and road imperfections as i could, i noticed the impacts were lighter, but still felt more jarring then i wanted. After the initial hit though, the shocks felt a lot smoother in their rebound, not once did i feel like the bike was being pushed off its line. Additionally i no longer got bounced of the seat at any point. On the large dip i did feel the bike bottom out, but it was very smooth both before it bottomed out and after. I called Pro-action about my experience vs my expectations. DJ at Pro-action (who was also the person i talked to when i ordered) take me through a few adjustments which i should make to get what i was looking for. It only took one click of the bleeder screw to get the ride i was looking for. On the last test ride i did, all the initial impacts were soft like i wanted and the shock behaved very well after initial impact. The bike handles great, the ride is still firm and sporty like i wanted (i did not want it to be Cadillac soft) but small road irregularities and rough pavement no longer bother me.

I plan on riding the bike as is for a few hundred miles, then i might add some pre-load if the bike bottoms out on me and go from there.

probably not the best review, but hopefully it provides some insight to anyone else interested in the pro-action shocks.

 

Good info. I am going to keep an eye in these as a change from my current Progressives will happen some time down the road...and not too far down.

 

Glad to hear you are happy with your Pro-Action shocks. You are correct, very nice people to deal with. They tried in vain to make me happy with my shocks but in the end I had to send them back. I thought normal bumps felt sharp and the big dips such as recessed manhole covers and the raised road seams were no better than my 13" air shocks. They did excel in the way the bike handled. I will also say they appeared to be a quality built shock. They were the 13"ers.
I now have Super Shox on the bike and am experiencing a similar ride. They are smoother over the small stuff but the dips and raised seams still break my back.
Next step may be Progressive 444 or 944.

 

What model Progressives do you have and why don't you like them?

 

Thanks, sorry your experience wasn't the same. My initial ride was probably similar to your experience, i guess it's fortunate i was able to get the "sharpness" dialed out for me.

Its unfortunate that you might be moving on to your third pair of shocks, but you should be a good resource for this forum since you will have first hand experience with multiple brands! i look forward to hearing more on what you think about all three if you decide to go progressive!

 

I Purchased my Pro-Actions Shocks, 12" at first, George switched them to 13" shocks, they didn't perform as expected and they overnighted another set with larger springs to Custer, SD. I switched them out and they were better, but after 2000 miles they still jar a bit.
What are your settings on each side? Looks like 10 threads showing on the right, How many clicks?

 

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I will say this, It's a damn pretty shock. But, for some reason, I just have a hard time pulling the trigger on new shocks. Not that I haven't blown 8 bills on much worse stuff. I just want to be convinced that I'm gonna think "Wow...These are the ****!!!!" Every time I have myself talked into a pair of shocks, I read someone saying "Yeah, the were OK, but not great."

 

i believe the springs are different depending on the weight you speed to Pro-action, so I'm not sure if the preload can be compared by threads on the shock body. I was making adjustments from the base setting so i can not say right now how many "clicks" i have on the adjustment, all i know is its one down from where Pro-action set it when they shipped it. If i get a chance i will check how many clicks they are.

It's interesting that three of us so far have said the shocks are/were "jarring". Yet i am the only one who has been able to adjust to get rid of it. I wonder if its because i did not have air shocks previous so perhaps i was dealing with a harsher ride before the pro-actions. I will say the ride i have now after adjusting the pro-actions is not what i would describe and jarring or sharp at all, and its the perfect balance of comfort and sport for me, but it could all just be perspective.