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Is there a difference in the 2009 and up shocks? I thought i had read somewhere that they changed them in 2009 to provide a better ride/handling. Did i dream it or what? Im going to swap out the OEM fork inards for Progressive Cartridges on my 99 FLHRCI and want to do something about the rear shocks without selling a kidney. Ive just got done upgrading the rear swingarm to a 2006 model, replaced the pivot pin with the 3/4" 2006 one (spherical bearings) and replaced the isolators and front motor mount. Once the suspension is handled I pretty much got a new ride. Im needing 13" shocks.
This is a little off topic to the original question, but my Road King fork shocks suck, when I hit a bump with the front tire, it acts like there is no shocks at all, been that way from day one, anyone else have this issue, if so what is the solution to my problem, or do I need to suck it up?
if you've got very little damping or front suspension, have you checked to see if there is any fork oil in there? i know that when i switched to s.e. heavy fork oil, it made a huge difference on my 08 streetglide front end. no longer do i have that dive when coming to a stoplight, and it handles better because the front tire has the planted feel rather than bouncing. if you are low on oil in your forks that could cause what you're describing.
I assume they changed the shocks since the air shocks on my new 2011 Road Glide run at a much higher recommended operating pressure than the ones that were on my 2008 Road Glide.
They changed for 2011, we can pump ours up to I think 50 PSI, I ride at 25 PSI and it seems to be great. I don't think there was a change in the rear shocks with the new frame until the 2011 came out....
My 09 EG has the newer higher pressure rear shocks on it, came that way.
If your having problems with the front fork dampening try a heavier oil, I just put in SE heavy in and really like the change.
I already swapped to 09 shocks and Progressive mono tubes up front. Havent had a chance to ride it yet since its frickin freezing out and there is a foot of snow on the ground. So what kind of pressures can you run in these newer shocks? Just so i can get a base line on where to start my trail and error.
yes, the 09 and newer shocks were made so that the carrying capacity of the newer bikes is increased over the capacity of the 08 and older models. this could likely be attributed to the new frame design. so the answer is yes, the newer shocks from 09 and up have a heavier rating, although they aren't as smooth riding as the earlier ones.
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