I'm curious, what leading brands are you referring to? When I wrote about my experience, I was very specific on what I noticed with the brands I tried. I'd like to know your thoughts on each of the brands you tried. What's your style of riding? All of this helps to put your opinion into context which adds value to your position.

 

Mongomark , Streetrunner doesn't know how to adjust shocks to get a quality ride and that is apparent by his many post . I have used Progressive 940 , Ricor , JRi B , Ohlins #3-#3 and Ohlins #6 . The Ricor were terrible and worse than stock , all the others were a huge improvement over stock air suspension after properly being adjusted . The JRi and Ohlins were a huge improvement over the Progressive and the Ohlins #6 are simply the best . This is all based on being adjusted properly , if not the improvement would be marginal. I took my bike out this weekend riding solo and had my shocks set at my 2up settings . I had forgot to adjust them back . It rode good but when I hit railroad tracks it hammered me , as soon as I pulled over and softened my preload it was perfect again. Guys who upgrade suspension and do not see the improvement both in smoothness and handling simply do not have them adjusted correctly and need to deflect blame so they can feel good about themselves rather than admit they are having trouble dialing them in.

 

You have me beat on weight. I'm 225lbs. Close enough to be the same. The 1 1/2" of thread is from the bottom spring collar to the end of the threads. Would also suggest trying different damping settings. As others have said, and from my experience, spending a little bit of time adjusting your suspension is the key to a great ride. I am still amazed at how much a quarter inch adjustment in the sag makes. Additionally, I suspect that you don't get the full benefits of a shock upgrade without upgrading your front suspension. My bike feels very balanced. Hope this helps

 

I ride solo most of the time and I wouldn't classify myself as an aggressive rider although I will bring it up to 80 on the highway and lean into a few turns but overall I like to cruise and enjoy the ride and the scenery.
My first pair was Pro Action. Can't say enough about George the owner and developer, great guy and outstanding service. The shocks were made well but the were entirely too stiff for me. We tried many different settings, none to my liking. George practically bent over backwards but in the end was gracious enough to refund my money.
Next set was Super shocks. Again I worked with the manufacturer trying to find the sweet spot but it didn't exist for me. Super shocks is a much simpler set up than Pro-Action. They don't offer any dampening and rebound adjustments. I also found them to be too harsh. I was refunded again.
At this point my 13" air shocks were out performing both the Pro action and Super Shocks on most surfaces as far as a plusher ride goes.
In NJ there are many potholes, the back roads are pretty rough so I had a lot of area to test these shocks.
One thing I will say is that the Pro-Actions did make the bike handle better but the trade off of the harsh ride wasn't worth it.
Lastly I tried Legend Revo-A's. I still have them on the bike and I'm still looking for that elusive sweet-spot. I have also dealt with the guys at Legend seeking their advice. All of the shocks mentioned were in the $700 to $800 range so when I look at what I've tried so far and weigh the expense with the result I can say, for me, it wasn't worth what I paid when I compare the difference between the shocks that came with the bike and the other 3 brands. For me, they were not worth 7-8 hundred more than stock.
I have never tried Ohlin's but at this point I have the distinct feeling I will wind up with the same result.
I am going to keep the Revo's and just ride without trying to analyze every bump hoping that in time I will accept the ride as normal and enjoy. That's what it's all about. I love being in the wind!

 

I'm not trying to start a feud but I do take exception to your comment that I don't know how to adjust shocks. I have received one heck of and education from a few manufacturers and have also followed their direction. I am also very mechanically oriented and extremely analytical, sometimes to a fault.
You see, here's the thing; what makes one person happy doesn't necessarily make another happy. My expectation of what I'm looking for in a ride may be much different than yours. Yes, I would say I'm very hard to please so when I ask myself is the ride $800 better than my stock shock I would have to say, no! If I were to put a dollar denomination on them I would say they are about $200 better therefore I conclude what I have purchased is not worth what I paid for.

 

Good grief I thought we just a suspension thread the other day.

Here's the deal buy once cry once. Howard has good prices on shocks, he also knows what he's doing.

You'll need to educate yourself on how to do things like set your static sag and adjust your rebound there's no mystical number of threads from location x for y amount of weight.

 

So how would you rank Pro Action vs Super Shox vs Legends Revo A at this point? I don't know of anyone else who has had all three on their bike. Personally, I think this is valuable information for the forum. Then again, could be my lack of Kool Aid talking..

 

I think the Pro Action may be a better shock. First off they are a gas shock. The Revo's are not. The pro action had better handling characteristics but may be a little stiffer than the Revo's. I know George has made some changes since the version I bought from him. If you decide to give him a call mention my name, tell him I said hello. He'll probably tell you how picky I am but he'll also tell you I provided excellent feedback as to what I was experiencing.
I forgot to mention Super Shox, I would say they are not in the same ball park as the other two mentioned above,

 

Wait hold the phone so for $925 I can get a generic spring rate shock with pre-load and rebound damping, but no where can I find whether or not it is and emulsified type shock.

For another $82.19 I can get a set of 3 way adjustable non emulsified shocks with a spring rate based upon my most common load and riding style?

And to be quite honest a set of emulsified #2's is dramatically better shock than stock and they are a shade over $200 cheaper and are pre-load and rebound adjustable like the $925 shocks...

No brainer to me. But I'm a die hard believer in Ohlins suspension components, the only thing even in the same category in super bikes is Penske shocks.

 

I think the #2 is Motorcycle Metal's designation of the Ohlins S36E. But, yeah, I concur what you said.