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Hi guys.
Im looking at some progressive 412 shocks
for a 2018 Street Glide.
The stock shocks measure 12 inches
center to center and they say LOW on them.
I only weigh about 150 pounds and the shocks that are on are ****, I have played
with the adjustment **** from as
loose as it goes to as high as it goes and they are terrible at any setting, hit a bump
and it almost hurts. The Question is.
Would a pair of 13 inch progressive shocks be beneficial?and would the 13 inch shocks
compress to 12 inches with the weight of the just the bike on them?
I can flat foot the bike with no problem so if
it was slightly higher I could still have both feet on the ground. The 412 shocks you can turn the cam style preload bottom to set them to your preferred ride. Im in Calgary Alberta Canada so bike season is about here finally about here... Your thoughts, here is a picture of the stock shock and the 412s
Normal or standard touring shocks are 13" measured eye to eye. The issue is the 13" shocks have approx 3 1/2" travel and 12" shocks only 2 1/2". Add in sag, the amount the shocks compress with rider and gear is approx 1/3 of the shocks travel. This does not leave a lot of travel to adsorb and cushion the bumps. The 13" shocks will be an improvement maybe not enough to meet your satisfaction.
Shocks that have preload, compression and rebound adjustments can be tailored much closer to your satisfaction.
Lots of info on shocks here for sure, just do a search. I went with 13" Pro Action and my wife loves them back there. I hear you on stock, I had the air, went to the HD Premium, then got the carpet ride I have now.
Normal or standard touring shocks are 13" measured eye to eye. The issue is the 13" shocks have approx 3 1/2" travel and 12" shocks only 2 1/2". Add in sag, the amount the shocks compress with rider and gear is approx 1/3 of the shocks travel. This does not leave a lot of travel to adsorb and cushion the bumps. The 13" shocks will be an improvement maybe not enough to meet your satisfaction.
Shocks that have preload, compression and rebound adjustments can be tailored much closer to your satisfaction.
I could order the same shock but a 13.5 inch
Version. Would probably be better if they drop with the weight of the bike on them.
I dont have any idea how much the stock shocks or the 412s will squat when on the bike.
I could order the same shock but a 13.5 inch
Version. Would probably be better if they drop with the weight of the bike on them.
I don’t have any idea how much the stock shocks or the 412s will squat when on the bike.
The squat is called "sag".. there is "bike sag"- the sag with just the bike's weight on the shocks, and "rider sag"- the sag with both the bike, and rider(s) on the bike
"Rider Sag" is frequently just called "sag"... it is something you should control or set on your suspension... it is not a characteristic of a shock...
The characteristic of a shock, that gives the best hint to its ride would be the "stroke" (total travel of the shock). The springs, and valving control the amount of preload and speed of comression/extension of a shock. The spring strength/rate should be selected according to the rider(s) weight.
When you buy a shock, you select the type, the stroke, and the spring rate for your wants/application/weight. Once mounted on the bike, you use the preload to set the proper sag...
You should set sag to get the best performance out of any make/model shock you put on the bike.
On a Harley bagger, the rule of thumb is to set rider sag at 1/3 the total travel of the shock.... that will give you 2/3 travel for compression and 1/3 travel for extension over bumps ...
For example: If a shock, any make/model, has 3" of stroke (total travel) then when you are sitting on the bike, the shock should be compressed 1"...
Here is a video by Ohlins, explaining the process..
Second the motion on the 13" RS-1 shock. I have them on my 2020 RGS and they are great. The nice thing is that the stock shock had 2 1/2" of total travel, the RS-1 has 4". After setting the sag to 3/4" I only gained a 1/4" of seat height and it rides so much better. Going to have the Progressive front springs installed next week when I do my 180 tire kit.
your problem is that with the hd shocks, you just don't have enough *** for them to work properly. even set at '0' they are going to be too stiff for you. especially the 12'' version. just about anything would be an improvement over what you have, with progressives being at the bottom of the list. for almost the same money, there are several other options you can go with. my wife was in the same situation as you. the 'premium hd shocks' would kill her just riding, almost like riding a hardtail. got a set of progressive 944s and while they were better, they would still kill her. went with super shox as I could get them from the Harley dealer, use my hd visa card, and chrome cash and, more importantly, she had 30 days to try them out and if they weren't all that and a bag of chips, return them. she absolutely loves them.
I would recommend that if you go with super shox, to give them a call first. they will give you the correct part number to order. apparently, there is a 'newer' version for lighter folks like yourself.
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