After taking delivery of my (new to me) used 16 Street Glide, I quickly decided to do something with the suspension. It would bottom everywhere and the front forks bounced up and down like they were made of spaghetti. I'm new to Harley, but I've done suspension to just about every other bike I've had, mostly BMW's -- they almost all benefit incredibly from it, and I like to ride hard.

But no more than on this bike.

This upgrade isn't for everyone -- you should only do this upgrade if you like riding motorcycles.

I cannot tell you how transformative these suspension mods have been to the bike. The pieces I used are the HD772 blackline rear shocks at 13" and the FKS212 cartridge kits, both with custom springs for my (not very) svelte weight. I know that Legends has made a reputation for Harley aftermarket suspension, but I've had nothing but success with Ohlins before and I guess you go with what you know. I couldn't be happier.

It soaks up everything -- potholes that used to jar my teeth are just eaten up without drama. The bike handles like on rails, turning into corners confidently and controllably planting into the pavement when on the gas hard. The connection between your bike, the tires and the pavement is all about the suspension -- and now the bike accelerates and brakes better too. Its a real motorcycle now.

It's not a cheap upgrade, I'll admit. I had the Ohlins distributor that I've used several times in the past drop-ship the pieces to my local Harley dealer. If you are looking into it, I want to recommend Howard Messner from motorcyclemetal.com here on the forum. He was very fast and courteous about getting back to me when I asked him a question, and seems to know absolutely everything about getting this install right. I just had other relationships.

If you have any questions, let me know. If you have the scratch and like riding -- well, I'd plunk for this before I'd even THINK about an aftermarket pipe or Stage 2 kit. But that's me.

 

 

+1 for the HD772 on the rear. I ended up getting 2 sets of springs from Howard so I can swap them depending on solo/2-up and trip length. Wife and I have a little extra padding. But man, the ride quality for just the rear shocks is nothing short of AMAZING. It really shows how poor the front suspension is now.

When your wife says it feels like the bike rides smoother than her car, that says a lot. I can just imagine how much better the front would be with Ohlins too.

 

 

Let us know how you like the 772's versus the PA's, please.

 

The market for suspension to upgrade our bikes has improved markedly in recent years and plenty of us already have Ohlins. I'm looking for the day when, at the very least, the CVO models all come with top shelf Ohlins or equivalent quality suspension.

 

They'd have to pay for that. Cheap suspension is.....cheap. Keeps profit margins up.

HD ain't the only one. Most of the stock suspension on motorcycles is crap -- just not quite this crap.

 

Good points - but one day - just some day, maybe?!