I weigh 200 lbs, wife about 110 to 115 lbs. Solo, I ride with the preload about 1/4 turn off of the lightest setting. 2-up I have left the settings the same, but I have not done any aggressive or challenging riding. (Not with the wife on board) Loaded 2-up (350 to 360 total weight) I went to one full turn, with no bottoming. I enjoy the way the 940's ride.

 

I'm glad to hear that it is relatively quick to make the change, actually not much longer than it does now with the stock air ride when add and remove pressure for solo and 2 up. I see some progressive 940s in my future.

Thank you vtwin1340

 

I have a 01 Road King and just installed them. A much better ride than the old air but I'm noticing a little vibration at higher speeds (60-70). Does anyone know the correct torque for the bolts? The instruction that came with the scocks are not clear. They require that the shock mounts have a minimum clearance of .02" to insure the mounts are not binding and show a pic of a .02" clearance between the mount and the and the flat washer. Don't know how you can do this as the bolt also has a lock washer. How tight do the bolts have to be?

 

I'm looking for aftermarket rear shocks. I like the idea of 13" shocks that sit at 12" and have the same travel as a 13" shock. How can this be? I can't grasp this concept. Seems to me that if the shock sits 1" lower then you've already given up 1" of travel as opposed to the standard 13" shocks.

If this can be explained to me, I would seriously consider them.

BTW: What is the travel of a regular 13" shock.

Any help is appreciated

Thanks

 

Been running the 940 shocks about 1000 miles on my 09 SG.
My only comparison is to the stock 12" air shocks.

My setting is 1/2 turn from the lightest and that feels just a bit firm to me riding solo at 200 pounds. Add the wife at 125 and it is real nice. Have not bottomed either way yet. The rebound dampening is awesome and smooth. Not the harsh jolt like stock.

The coolest part for me is knowing the handling is going to be the same every time I ride.

 

Great question!

First off, it's important to understand that down travel (droop) is as important as up travel (bump). The world is full of holes as well as bumps and the better your suspension is the more likely your chassis will stay smooth as your suspension deals with these road "imperfections".


The shock uses a compensation spring or what the off-road race guys call a "zero spring". It's a flatwire spring that compresses under the weight of the bike and lets the shock ride at 12", yet allows it to extend to the full 13" on droop. A good example of this style of suspension is off road race trucks, ever seen one rip through a set of woops? The suspension droops down and prepares the vehicle for the next hit, while the chassis remains level. On a smaller scale, the 940 Series shocks do the same for your bike and that extra inch of down travel (droop) is a substantial amount of the 4 or so inches of total travel these bikes are limited to. We don't recommend you huck your bagger off of a jump, but the next time you cross over a pothole and the rear wheel drops in (without taking the chassis with it), then absorbs the hit on the other side, you'll appreciate the technology.

 

Progressive Suspension - Thanks for the reply.

Am I to understand that the 940 is a 13" shock for holes and a 12" shock for bumps?

Please bear with me as I do not understand suspension but want to spend my money wisely, I only want to buy 1 set of shocks.

Thanks

 

Allow me as a rank novice to chip in here! I have ridden Harleys for over thirty years and only recently got sensitive to their ride quality, which compared with the other brand bikes I have also owned has been poor.

The only purpose of the spring in rear shocks is to hold the bike up. The more weight you add the stronger the spring has to be, or the more pre-load has to be added using it. The optimum is that as you are about to ride away the shock should have settled to about a third its total movement. That leaves you two-thirds to absorb thumps and a third to deal with holes.

Now Progressive may have good reasons for using two springs as they describe, but it doesn't make sense to me! I have recently fitted Ohlins, supplied by HDF sponsor Motorcycle Metal, and only yesterday got back from a 2,500 mile tour of France, Belgium, Czech and Slovak Republics and Poland. That has been a pretty severe test of them!

We have ridden minor roads in all those countries and hit every trap set for the unwary rider, unguarded rail crossings and potholes, and our shocks have been brilliant. They have one spring each, well set damping and never bottomed out, despite our total rolling weight (bike plus luggage and us two) being around 1200 pounds.

I had already used another brand shock, which was slightly better than stock, but spent many months reading the suspension threads here. One thing struck me which is that some HDFers have tried several different shocks and settled on very few that actually solved the problems of riding comfortably two up. I took the short cut to Howard of MM and Ohlins.

Your ambition to spend wisely is itself very wise! But there are a lot of suspension makers out there after your bucks, a lot of owners who are happy with them, also a few who have spent lots of bucks trying around. There is a risk you will find yourself following in their footsteps. Or you can try the bold move I took and go straight to the top! Could be cheaper in the long-run.

 

Whats the warranty on these 940's & how well do they stand behind their product.?

 

Are the 940's soft enough on the lightest setting for a 115#rider?