I'm fine with the stock shocks on my bike.. The stock springs are very stuff so preload is critical or it rides like a buckboard, but once you nail that, no complaints.
That being said, I'm sure throwing a grand or so at new aftermarket ones with adjustable compression and rebound damping would improve things nicely but I'm not willing to go that route yet.

 

I have enjoyed the updates on rushmore [2014 ] and on the 2017 i own. I am happy to say i am not as smart as many here who know more about everything and throw snide comments on every part of a Harley. And somehow they sell 100000 touring bikes .

 

The issue with the Harley suspension is the traditional design doesn't allow for the mono shock design which is the industry standard. The mono shock is superior because the larger longer single shock makes designing a frame with a stable soft ride easier. Harley's success comes from the traditional nostalgic Vtwin appearance and the mono shock doesn't fit very well in nostalgia. But, Polaris has found success in their mono shock nostalgic Indians, so I think it's one step Harley could should do. Infact, they have already made the conversion on their Softails. The bags hide the shocks on the touring bikes, so it's not going to take much away from the nostalgia attraction.

Beary

 

It is the same basic design front end HD has been putting on bikes for what seems an eternity now. It was crap then and it has not changed. The rear shocks are better than the air shock, however, they are a low bottom unit compared to aftermarket shocks.

 

Harley made monoshock bikes just down the road from Milwaukee for many years - I've owned two of them since 2004! So they have experience, also with far superior suspension than they routinely use, thanks to Erik Buell. However the underlying criticism remains, that Harley routinely uses mediocre products for their suspension. There is vastly superior stuff out there that corresponds to their current set-up.

 

They have tinkered around the edges in recent years, at least done away with the ghastly 'top-hat' of the 41mm fork legs and, along with the larger OD tubes, beefed up torsional stiffness a great deal, however there is still a gulf between what they choose to sell us and what they could choose!

 

Look into the 2018+ Heritage Softail that I just bought. Monoshock rear with 4"+ travel. New frame. The ride is really nice. See videos:


The last one is LONG and some is irrelevant to the topic, but the comments during a ride (about the last third of video) describes the ride.

 

That's still no excuse for any motorcycle that bills itself as being touring-capable. Hell, there's lots of standard bikes with more comfortable suspension.

 

Man, what he said. After half a dozen BMW's, and a smattering of other brands, both Japanese and Euro, I bought my first Harley, a 2016 SG. Man, you mean they sell these things new for $25g + with suspension like this? Truly horrid -- bottoming everywhere on the back and mashing in the front like a pogo stick. Ohlins going on both F+R as we speak --

I'm a big believer in aftermarket suspension, I've done Ohlins on just about every BMW I've owned too, so it's not just Harleys that can be massively improved. But sheesh, I've never seen anything THIS cheap come off a supposedly premium brand.

 

After less than 5 miles from the dealership on purchase day I quickly realized how bad the rear suspension was. After much fiddling I could never even get mine to move. It was basically a rigid. A couple of bad dips in the road after about 2 weeks of ownership hurt my bad back bad!!!! I didn't even want to get back onto the bike afterwards. Ohlins made the bike incredible. I have no real complaints about the front. It seems as good or better than any bike I've owned including an older 1500 Wing.