Adjustable Air Ride / Suspension
Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 636
Likes: 35
From: NorCal
Yeah. My 26 years in automotive told me going longer shocks with less air wasn't a great idea. As much as I like the idea of the handle bar switches, I would need to runs more wires in my bars and no way. I had enough of a battle the first time around. Where do you have your gauge mounted?
Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 581
Likes: 28
From: Sunbury, PA
I had an air ride on my last bike and just starting to gather the parts for my streetglide airride. How is the fast up kit? Is it worth the effort? My last bike didn't have a tank and just relied on the compressor.
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Tourer
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 356
Likes: 24
From: Illinois
That's good info. Did you get a kit with 12 inch shocks? Did you get the bigger or smaller pump? I just sent them a message asking some specifics.
Tourer
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 280
Likes: 10
From: Botha,Ab,Canada
rblahetka, I went with the basic kit solely on price (Canada so double the price you see). I believe they're 12" and it's the smaller compressor. At full extension the bottom bolt just touches the muffler. Even with the seat cut down I had issues backing the bike up (I'm 5'6"). Now I just dump the air and am flat footed to back up.
They're AWESOME to deal with and being in Canada I'm surprised how quick I get their kits when I order them.
They're AWESOME to deal with and being in Canada I'm surprised how quick I get their kits when I order them.
Last edited by raggmann; Jun 30, 2017 at 04:53 PM.
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Tourer
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 356
Likes: 24
From: Illinois
rblahetka, I went with the basic kit solely on price (Canada so double the price you see). I believe they're 12" and it's the smaller compressor. At full extension the bottom bolt just touches the muffler. Even with the seat cut down I had issues backing the bike up (I'm 5'6"). Now I just dump the air and am flat footed to back up.
They're AWESOME to deal with and being in Canada I'm surprised how quick I get their kits when I order them.
They're AWESOME to deal with and being in Canada I'm surprised how quick I get their kits when I order them.
Our recommended, and preferred shock, the JNR Touring shock is 14" fully extended, 9-1/4" fully compressed, but no one rides with them fully extended, most ride between 11" and 13"....however the additional travel helps the ride quality when hitting a bump by extending rather then picking the rear wheel of the ground...The ride height repeater ensures you stop on the rise when airing up, in your case at 12" regardless of the shock's extended length.
So, that being said, I wonder how long your shocks are. If factory is 12, and if you had 12 I would imagine the bolt shouldn't touch the muffler? Of course I'm no where near my bike to look at it. That is my other concern with any kit. If something happens I don't want anything getting torn up, and I def don't want things banging around while riding.
Tourer
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 336
Likes: 19
From: Central Florida
So, I asked about the lengths and this was their reply:
Our recommended, and preferred shock, the JNR Touring shock is 14" fully extended, 9-1/4" fully compressed, but no one rides with them fully extended, most ride between 11" and 13"....however the additional travel helps the ride quality when hitting a bump by extending rather then picking the rear wheel of the ground...The ride height repeater ensures you stop on the rise when airing up, in your case at 12" regardless of the shock's extended length.
So, that being said, I wonder how long your shocks are. If factory is 12, and if you had 12 I would imagine the bolt shouldn't touch the muffler? Of course I'm no where near my bike to look at it. That is my other concern with any kit. If something happens I don't want anything getting torn up, and I def don't want things banging around while riding.
Our recommended, and preferred shock, the JNR Touring shock is 14" fully extended, 9-1/4" fully compressed, but no one rides with them fully extended, most ride between 11" and 13"....however the additional travel helps the ride quality when hitting a bump by extending rather then picking the rear wheel of the ground...The ride height repeater ensures you stop on the rise when airing up, in your case at 12" regardless of the shock's extended length.
So, that being said, I wonder how long your shocks are. If factory is 12, and if you had 12 I would imagine the bolt shouldn't touch the muffler? Of course I'm no where near my bike to look at it. That is my other concern with any kit. If something happens I don't want anything getting torn up, and I def don't want things banging around while riding.
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Tourer
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 356
Likes: 24
From: Illinois
The bolt only touches the muffler when tgetheshocks are fully extended. With the repeater you don't have to worry about it. Now with the repeater you don't want the fast up kit. I have a tank and it goes up too fast for the limit switch to stop it at the same spot every time. The larger compressor is a good idea too.
flip up, let the bike fill while I'm starting it, etc and the. When it is done just flip it to off if that makes sense.
Tourer
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 336
Likes: 19
From: Central Florida
When you say full extended, do you mean inflated to beyond what would be the normal 12 inch length? I.E. filled to 14 inches in length? Thanks on the heads up on the fast up kit. I was looking at doing that but now I won't. I can't find any info as far as how much time the larger compressor fills verses the smaller. As far as the height repeater, can you have a switch you don't need to hold and let it fill and then just stop? I'd rather have a switch I could
flip up, let the bike fill while I'm starting it, etc and the. When it is done just flip it to off if that makes sense.
flip up, let the bike fill while I'm starting it, etc and the. When it is done just flip it to off if that makes sense.
Yes I mean fully filled to almost 15". They actually extend to about 14-1/2" or so fully filled. But fully filled would be a terrible ride anyway. When I have mine at the right height they are probably a bit lower than the stock 12" shocks that came on my RGS. As far as the switch goes I'm not exactly sure if they could do that or not. You'd have to ask Ray at jnr designs if they offer something like that. I use the lock-unlock accessory switches in the dash under the ignition swith. They are momentary switches. I told Ray that I wanted to use those switches and it was already wired up when they sent it.
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Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,430
Likes: 239
From: northeast
OK, that makes sense. I was wondering when other street glide owenr's were doing, like using a 13 inch shock and only adding enough air to get it back to where it was, which would seem like a PITA. I asked because there is a guy selling a legends system at a good price, but it has 13 inch shocks.
I have a JNR designed kit installed and after about a month of riding know where to pump it to when stopped for a comfortable ride.. you don't have to stop at 12" like stock I think most of the time im at about 12.5" when riding and lower it when I need to back it up or stop and go traffic..
best part about about an air ride it is being able to adjust on the fly for road conditions