I don't have an old lady, I have a wife and a daughter, neither of whom weigh the same. Howard told me (and he's written it in his installation instructions) that you need to set sag for both solo and 2-up riding. The key is to have 1/3 of the stroke in sag. If you're adding a passenger, your sag changes. And as Howard has said before, he can't set your shocks up for sag. You have to do that when you put them on the bike.

For the above reason, I can't see doing that. Who knows, I may feel differently after they're broken in and we get a feel for them. I worked out separate settings today for my wife and my daughter, I'll give it a go tomorrow at my wife's setting riding solo. It sure would be nice if that works, but call me skeptical.

We did about 250 miles today. Huge, huge difference in ride quality, and the bike was just stupid stable in the corners. Really nice having the additional lean angle available too.

 

Oh, and I should add that my wife was amazed at how good the ride was. This is especially impressive, as today was the first time she's been on the bike since the Agitator wheels went on. There's 1/2" less sidewall on the tires to help cushion the ride.

 

I just received my Ohlins 3-3s in the mail the other day from Howard, and will be installing them today. Writeup to follow.

As soon as Howard comes up with the Ohlins cartridge inserts for bagger front forks, I'm probably getting those too.

 

Wow, this is a really impressive review! I was all set to get the Ricors after I saved up the money, but now I am really considering Howard and Motorcycle Metal's Ohlins. Thanks for the review!

 

Just went out to do a few more VTune runs. I kept the shocks at the 2-up setting just to see how they were. Definitely a no-go.

 

Plus or minus 115lbs. doesn't seem to need adjustment on my 3-3s. Howard told me i wouldn't need to adjust them unless it was a couple hundred pounds+or-. I like mine on the stiff side so i gave him the specs for a 70 percent two up riding shock set up. After several hundred miles i closed the dampening adjustment down two clicks but never touched the spring preload adjuster mine was too close to 1/3 rider sag to consider playing with . I play around with my mx suspensions from riding area to area changes from time to time but happy as hell with the Ohlin's at one setting on my road bike. Guess it depends on the weight changes you are throwing at them as to how much you need to screw with them from ride to ride.

 

How do you guys get 1/3 stroke in sag. Do you add the weight of the bike and rider to shocks or do you fit shocks then make the 1/3 adjustment. I fitted mine last month and made a huge difference but just wanting to make sure I've set them up correctly. I was under the impression that the spring adjustment or preload was for the bikes riding height only and by adjusting to get 1/3 sag might make the bike sit too high or too low. I'm obviously missing something here in setting these up properly.

 

The 1/3 sag is with you on the bike. Easiest way to measure it is from the flats on the shock bolts.

 

Ok, so if I set it up like that, do I then lengthen or shorten the bottom eye bolt to get the correct geometry of rear height compared to the front of the bike.

 

bikehe,
Both the lower adjustable eye, and the preload effects the bikes overall ride height. The adjustable lower eye changes the overall length of the shock regardless of where the preload is set. The preload on the coil spring adjusts the point in the overall travel where the shock compresses to when the weight of the bike and rider are resting on the shocks. With 3" of travel, 1/3 would be 1", so measure the shock unloaded, wheel off the gound, either eye to eye or the length of the spring. Then put the wheel back on the ground and sit on the bike and measure again, you want 1" less than your unloaded measurement. If it compresses more than 1" loaded, tighten the spring preload colar until you only get 1" less than your unloaded measurement. If it doesn't compress 1", loosen the preload collar until it does. Adjusting the preload to 1/3 travel compression under the combined weight of the bike and the rider, allows the shocks to perform to their full potential; they will droop up to 1" when the wheel encounters a hole or dip in the road, and they will travel up to 2" upward when you hit a raised bump in the road, all the while keeping the wheel in constant contact with the road under changing surface conditions. 1/3 preload is a guideline for street suspension set up, but it can be altered slightly to suit the individual rider's preference. It helps to have a second person to take measurements, and a front wheel chock makes it a lot easier too. The springs may not be exactly the same length on both shocks, if they are not don't try to make them the same; slight variations in lots and manufacturing process can cause 2 like springs to have differnt lengths at the same compression PSI value. After you set the preload, then you can play with the adjustable eye length. If you have a stock height front end, you will likely find that the taller overall adjustable eye setting will provide better handling. If your bike pushes hard to the outside of a turn, raise the rear or lower the front, and if it turns inward to quickly, lower the rear or raise the front. If you got your shocks from Howard, give him a call, he will coach you through the set up untill you are completely satisfied with it.