Sorry, this is a bit long. Feel free to skip to the end if you just want the ride report.


I see lots of reviews and comments about the higher priced shocks from Ohlins and Motorcycle Metal but not a lot about the #2 series so I thought I'd post up my initial impressions now that I've got mine broken in.


The Bike:
2003 Ultra Classic - all original suspension, no frame brace or stiffener (yet)


I do short trips to and from work or to the grocery store solo but most of the time we're 2up. I wanted a better ride and better handling, especially over mid corner bumps. My wife wanted a smoother ride and was tired of the painful hits over bigger bumps.


The Search:
I did a ton of reading, probably too much, and talked to most of the major players in the aftermarket. I talked to Howard at Motorcycle Metal and George at Pro-Action, I talked to a Progressive rep, Legend and Supershox, I even talked to Fuel Moto about there Ohlins. Everyone was really helpful which made deciding that much tougher.


During all my research the Canadian dollar went in the toilet which shrunk the budget by a fair bit.


Progressive said that because I'm on the lighter side, the 444 would be a bit firm solo, even with their standard spring. They did say that 2up they would ride well but that wasn't good enough for me. That, coupled with the huge price increase in Canada to $900 due to the dollar, and Progressive was out.


I filled out contact forms on the Motorcycle Metal and Pro-Action websites with some questions and both Howard and George called me in addition to replying to my emails to make sure that everything was clear and to make sure all my questions were answered. I also got a pretty good crash course in suspension. That kind of service is almost impossible to find, that put the two of them on the top of my list.


I had it down to the #2 adjustable or Pro-Action but with the dollar either one of those would have put me over my $1k limit, even with Howard's generous discount. That left the #2-2b.


I had a couple of phone conversations and emails with Howard about these and decided that they would do the job. I asked him to set them up with a focus on 2up riding knowing that there would be no adjustment other than preload once they were on the bike.


The Ride:
I put them on and checked my sag solo, they were really close out of the box so I just left them and took them for a ride. The ride was so much better that I can't really describe it. The small ripples and bumps were all but gone and bigger bumps and dips that used to rattle me were felt but the were much smoother and the bike seemed to settle more quickly. It felt much more controlled. I took an on ramp that I know has a mid corner dip and hump that used to make me pucker to see how that would be. Again, I felt it in the seat but the bike soaked it up and settled without ever feeling like wanted to leave my line. The bike just stayed where I pointed it. I still felt the little bend in the middle but it didn't upset the bike. I'm going to put a brace on it in the spring and that should help even more. I definitely see what everyone means about the front seeming even worse after the rear is done though. It's amazing that the front can feel harsh and too soft both at the same time.


I didn't have a spare pair of hands to set my 2up sag so I put a zip tie on the left shock shaft and loaded up. I made a couple of adjustments and then we went for a ride. It took a few tries to find the right preload doing it this way and having a third person there would definitely sped up the process. My wife was initially less than impressed, until she realized I wasn't weaving around the bigger bumps anymore. She hadn't been paying attention to the bumps because they weren't an issue anymore. It wasn't until we hit a couple of big bumps and railroad tracks that she used to get tossed on that she held the grab rails and braced herself only to say "wow, that was really smooth".


Now that I've got some km on these, they've gotten even smoother. I've rechecked and tweaked my preload and put a card in the Tour-Pak with my solo and 2up settings. The little bumps and ripples are completely gone and solo or 2up the ride is much more composed. It's somehow tighter in the handling dept and yet smoother at the same time.


I have no other comparison other than to the factory shock and I know that there are better shocks that are more tunable for different riding styles and conditions but these were totally worth it for us. I also can't comment on what Howard does to the internals so I can't compare these to an off the shelf HD022 from any other supplier.


For anyone who doesn't have the budget or the desire for the more expensive offerings these are definitely great bang for the buck.


These should have been the first thing I put on the bike after the license plate! Now I just need to decide what to do with the front end. With no recovery in sight for our dollar, it might just have to be Mono-Tubes.

 

It's funny... I can't count how many Ohlin threads I've read that end with, "This should have been my first mod."

Congrats and thanks for the review...

 

Nice write-up. I have the 2-2a on my King and the settings were almost perfect out-of-the-box (Howard sure knows how to set them blind folded with the specs you give him).

I have the monotubes up front and they do augment the ride and handling.

 

Good write up and you describe the way they improve the ride very well. Had my Ohlins from Howard for about 8 years now and they are the only way to travel - especially 2-up!

 

I used to laugh about that too. I always thought it was just cliché.

I'm the cliché now. Lol

 

repeat customer of Howard, new 15, olins are #1