Yup I am a Suspension Snob. Now allow me to explain why. I come from a back ground in Road Racing. Having properly adjusted suspension and bike geometry is crucial to winning races, it also helps if you can ride lol. So I am new to the Harley Davidson Touring machines. My last two Harleys were a 1997 883 that was a track bike and raced in the AMA/NASB 883 Cup Races. The other a 2009 XR1200R with the full V&H race kit and used primarily as a track bike. I wont comment on the 883 suspension, but the XR1200 was actually decent in comparison to some of my other Penske, Ohlin shod race bikes. I now own a 2007 Ultra Classic with all stock suspension. Its horrible at best, especially in New England where the roads are equally horrible.

I have read 90% of the shock / suspension threads in the touring forum and realized we are limited on options. I do not expect the Ultra to carve curves like the XR, but I do want something that will make it fun to ride and comfortable. There is some really good info in the numerous posts, and then there is some really miss the mark ( mainly peoples confusion with compression and rebound ). The first thing will be shocks. I have read some of the threads that address cost vs performance vs perception etc etc .. My take away is the more adjustability the higher the cost. This is no different than in my racing days. When racing I wanted a minimum of compression and rebound dampening with a range of spring rates and length adjustments. I paid a premium for these, however I could actually feel a difference with as little as two clicks of adjustment. That is over kill for a touring machine, in my opinion. So most options are either non adjustable or rebound adjustment. I see a lot of posts about setting the sag and then to keep it from bottoming add more spring pre load which will reduce your sag. This is due to a lack of compression dampening adjustment, and we are at the mercy of the engineers who designed the shock. Hopefully they got it right and you can keep your sag in the optimum range. I can live with this, if they didn't get it right they wouldn't be in business long. Rebound is something I will want, I am not going to give a primer on suspension basics, but rebound dampening will allow me to keep the rear in firm contact with the ground with the preset compression dampening.

So I will be getting a set of Ohlin 3 series S36DR1L shocks. I have used Ohlins in the past and have always been happy with performance and customer service. For the front I will most likely go with Gold Valves and some progressive springs.

Ok open for replies. I hope I am on track to a well behaved and fun Touring steed! If I am off track and full of crap I am sure you guys will let me know lol ..

Thanks for reading !

Craig

 

I read your post and, for me anyway,I still am a bit in the dark about the efficiency of shocks. I have air shocks on my 07 CVO Road King. Lots of folks are not impressed with them but I've had no issue with them. I saw a u tube video from the guy at "Fix My Hog" and he said, basically, the air shocks were junk because the air from one shock is forced to the other side during cornering. I asked about this and was assured that that statement was false. Anything you might add to that would be helpful. Not trying to hi-jack your thread just thought you would be someone with some insight Thank you.

 

I like you came from a bike racing background, and also thought my first touring bike, an 06 street glide from a suspension view was a steaming POS and how on earth could anyone ride it like this? you are heading in the right direction. one more thing to consider is the frame to engine 3rd link, to keep the bike in line, i used a tru-track, made the 06 night and day better. and the heaviest oil you can find in the fork helped the older bikes too (slow down that terrible brake dive they have, i'm not really a fan of progressive springs, but they worked well on the front end on that bike.

 

while, I'm sure the swingarm flexes/twists a bit, that sounds like a BS statement to me if i ever heard one. i mean the contact patch isn't moving, how is it loading one side much of any different from the other?

 

So I will try and explain this without making it even more confusing and to my understanding.

The motorcycle has two very small contact patches on the tires that are in contact with the riding surface. Going around corners that patch shifts from center line of the tire to one side or the other. The tire/wheel is mounted to the bike via a solid straight axle to a swing arm. Both legs of the swing arm are connected together. Some have a single center mounted shock, in our case we have two shocks, one on each leg of the swing arm. As you go around a corner there is some compression of the suspension, that compression is equal on both legs with the exception of some very minor flex in the swing arm and frame. That compression force is transmitted to the contact patch regardless of its shift.

So I agree that the above statement is False. This is based on my opinion and understanding of how suspension works.

Craig

 

I am thinking a trip to Computrack Boston will get me straight and true. I'm not a huge fan of progressive wound springs, but I figure on a beast this heavy it would work better than on a feather weight 600..

Craig

 

Sounds like you're definitely on the right path with getting the Ohlins 3 series shocks for the rear. I think they'll serve you very well on a touring bike. As for the front, I would recommend going with a cartridge style setup. The stock damper rod setup is always going to be inferior, no matter how many little magic do-dads you throw in there. Legend and Ohlins both make great cartridge style forks and I have used both. The Ohlins is hydraulically operated. One side handles compression and the other side handles rebound. 5W oil is optimum for them and you'll need to service them every 20K miles or so to keep them in good working order. The Legend Axeo cartridges are superior to the Ohlins in my opinion. They're a sealed unit with a floating piston that separates fluid and gas. They also have preload adjustment to suit the needs of most riders. And Legend has a lifetime warranty on their stuff, and it's all USA made. But they're both going to cost you. It all boils down to how comfortable you want your ride, and how good you want the handling to be.

I went from Ohlins 2-2b shocks to Legend Revo-A shocks and I'm glad I did. The Ohlins were good and were a great upgrade from the HD Premium shocks that came on my glide. But the Revo-As were even better. Probably because the Ohlins I had didn't have a rebound damping adjustment and were emulsified. The Revo-As have rebound damping and the preload is hand adjustable. I went out for a 250 mile ride yesterday and played with the rebound damping adjustments a little. Even one click made a pretty noticeable difference. My bike finally rides the way it should and I'm perfectly happy with the choices I made and the money I spent.

 

the engine is rubber mounted and moves with the swingarm, not just up and down, like Erik Buell intended(HD was too cheap to buy his patent, so came up with their own system, 2 link instead of 3) creating a huge hinge if you will in the middle of the bike, have you heard the term bagger wobble? hit some rollers in the middle of a turn, and the bike get all crazy, it's due to this side to side flex, (and maybe worn swing arm bushing) not up and down, something like the tru-trac eliminates this. not the same as a re-valve or different suspension.http://www.true-track.com/

 

^^ This is where a lot of the handling issues come in. The motor/trans/swingarm move as one unit and the shocks ride between that movement with the top of the shock mounts on a ridged upper frame. This is what caused the dreaded "Bagger Wobble". If you do a search on this forum and youtube with that name you will find the shortcomings of the HD design. The aftermarket links and shocks do a pretty good job of nixing it but the pre 09's before the frame was beefed up are the most vulnerable to it.

 

I had a Progressive Touring Link on my 2004 Road Kind and it made a great difference when taking corners fast and hard. I just wish they made one for the newer bikes.