have 2003 Ultra need new rear shocks, tired of checking and putting air in before every ride which is best. I weight about 170 and boss about 140 usually carry maybe 75lbs.
Thanks for any info dkitch

 

IMO, Penske is better than Progressive. Give FastHarley here on the forum a shout, he sells a good setup.

 

+1 to Dawg on this - also the Penske's are twice as hard on your wallet. Check out Works Performance as another alternative.

 

Penske's shocks are GREAT!! I've had the Progressive 440's and the Penske's make the 440's feel like OEM shocks. www.motorcyclemetal.com is FastHarley's website and he will set you up with purpose built Penske shocks. There is no substitute!!

 

I would look into a set of Ohlins first.They dont do a set for the Ultra but do a set of 340mm units for an FXDWG which can easily be customised by someone like DanKyle.
Not sure on the US price but I'd guess around $650 per set..

I'm going to get my local Ohlins rep to get me a set and replace the cartridges and springs in my EGS forks,around US$1000 total.

I'm betting I get at least 100% improvement in the ride quality.

Dale

 

Ohlin's here are over $1000, they are more than the Penske's

 

Dale, you are correct in that a 36E that is 340mm (13 3/8") will work on a FL as an upgrade. Unfortunately the valving and spring rate must be changed in order for the shock to work right.

A Dyna has an angled shock position (more importantly) and the weight of a Bagger + Riders + Gear (what the bike was intended to do) weighs typically 1,200 lbs for a trip (read other post from members here). A Dyna usually is intended to ride single up, shorter trips and not much touring gear. I am not saying or indicating that some people do not ride their Dyna on trips, ride 2 up or haul large amounts of gear et Al.

Your suspension is set for the bike it was made for (re-valving & re-springing takes care of that) for optimal ride performance. If you purchase shocks to improve why would you wish to go backwards and not get the best performance your new suspension equipment will produce?

How do I know this? I did it when developing shocks for Harley's. I did it, not some guy in a large company who answers the phone and drives a car. We used my Dyna as a test mule after engineering the shocks & Dyno'ing them. Once satisfied they were working correctly we than transferred them over to a bagger. Night and day! It does not work correctly.

The answer is you must re-valve and re-spring. Springs cost $90/each and a re-valve job Pricing here here here or do it yourself here They do leave out that you must have a nitrogen bottle, manifold, and other tools to do this (recharge). The pricing goes from $185 ~ $220 EACH shock.

Now if you take the $650/pair of 36 E Ohlins shocks which are: Monotube, 36mm piston, and an Emulsion type of shock absorber with internal reservoir. Oil and gas not separated in the main body. There are no external adjustments on this shock which also it a let down. You will need to fine tune the shock for optimum performance. Now add the expense of re-valving the shock for a different bike and you may or may not be required to buy new springs, add all together and you will see in order to get shocks that work for your bike, buy the ones that are made for it.

If any company were to re-Valve these (36E) set of shocks for you for free than the price margin is not worth it. To say they were re-valved are are not, that is a different story.

This Ohlins 36E is a very good entry level shock and is much better than some of the other offerings out there at a comparable price. We are also an Ohlins Service center.

Before spending your hard earned money on anything always read and educate yourself relying less on word of mouth or recommendations from others and more on the actual facts. In many cases for an inexpensive shock most companies will just tell you that their shocks are re-valved but in reality they are just shipped to you right from the box. You can order different spring rates if the company has a stock of them.

How do I know such things? Again: We are an Ohlins, Penske, Elka, Kayaba, Fox and others complete Service center. I also have charts of all parts needed to lengthen or decrees the length of the 36E which is really not worth the price. My last conversation with Ohlins on this subject was 2 days ago on Friday. And ya, I do know what I am talking about.

Would I buy an Ohlins? Of course as they are one of the best in the world.

 

FastHarley...AKA Howard,

I'm still waiting to get bro's scoot off the lift to get mine up there and measure my fork travel, per our conversation on the phone. I haven't forgotten. Recall, I'm having a bottoming problem on frontend and I set RaceTech up per their instructions...2 turns on Emulators with 20wt. oil.

My question to you though...as you're aware, FLHX came with 12" rear shocks and supposedly a lowered frontend. I went with the 18/21" wheel combo and installed 12 1/2" Progressives and RaceTech front lowered 2". To keep the rake/trail correct, was I right in lowering my scoot 2"? Would 1" be enough? Keep in mind, I'm a short guy, 5'7" and already have a tight to the frame seat so no modding there. I don't really want to raise the front up an inch, but if it keeps my rake/trail correct I'll do it.

Could I possibly have my preload spacer cut too short?

I'm not sure WTF to do other than screwing Emulators in 3 1/2 turns and go with 30wt. oil.

NOT stealing the thread! Sorry!

 

I posted in a new thread HERE

 

hi Howard,

The local ( meaning national here in NZ) rep here is Robert Taylor,he is willing to revalve and spring those shocks to suit.
He really knows his stuff,travels to all the race meets around the country to tune shocks for the race guys.

I've had Ohlins on a couple of bikes and have seen the difference of having a set properly valved vs the std offering as per my Ducati 999R,not fantastic.

I thought they would be cheaper in the USA though as I see Ohlins US listing shocks for the FLHRS for around $650 but yes,if you are having to pay for the extra work they probably would not be such a great deal.

Dale