I've had Harley's for 25 years and never played around with my suspension until my last bike. I won a $500 gift card from Dennis Kirk and didn't really need anything so I bought the Progressive 940 shocks and monotube fork cartridges . These were a huge improvement over stock and I loved them , I'm 230lbs. and what I've found with the 940's is guys that are heavier like them , lighter guys hate them. I bought my 2011 FLTRX and knew I would upgrade the suspension based on my last bike. I was prepared to put Progressive back on as I was happy with them but I started reading post on here about Ricor and getting them custom made for you , so I decided to try them . I hadn't ran across post on Howard and Ohlin's yet or I probably would have gone that way as I am very familiar with Ohlin's because I ran them on my dirt bikes. I ordered my Ricor in 12.5" sport tune and installed the Intiminators fork valves in my forks. After installing the shocks I began putting miles on them trying to dial them in. 1000 miles later I was very frustrated and unhappy. I called Brian and asked for help , they have a 30 day re-tune policy , I bought them in December and it was now May. Brian offered to re-tune them for free and 3 day them back to me so I could have them for this weekend . He got my shocks back Monday afternoon , re-built them and shipped them back to me on Tuesday , they showed up Thursday and I installed them. I got up today and went for a ride. What a huge difference !!!!! These things are now great , not good great. Brian tuned them between the sport and cruiser tune and they rock. My warning to guys looking at Ricor is he offers 3 different tunes , Cruiser , Sport & Super Sport. Most like me order the Sport figuring it is in the middle and will be fine but this tune gives a lot of road feedback which feels harsh and you probably will not be happy. My opinion Touring shocks should only be offered in the Cruiser ,Sport Cruiser and Sport tune. Once these were re-tuned they are amazing , smooth and handling is great . If you are looking at Ricor do yourself a favor and order the Cruiser tune or the one between it and Sport and you will be happy . I was ready to **** can these and start over but now am very happy , THANK YOU Brian for your excellent service , support and fast turn around

 

Excellent. Thanks for the information. I have been eyeballing the Ricor's, so this is good to know.

 

Glad to hear that Brian got them set up to your satisfaction. Tuning is the key, whether its an engine or your suspension, the tune is dependant on the individual machine and the rider's preferences. Only problem is, it's a time and labor intensive venture that most folks aren't willing to invest. Typically a little better than stock is good enough for most people, so little energy is put forth to optimize these products for the small percent of users who demand the best possible performance. The same inertia valve technology in your Ricor rear shocks is also in your Intiminators, so they can be tuned for better performance also. They have virtually infinate tuning potential by modifying the fluid ports, changing shims and springs, and changing RIV piston weights, but currently the only easy thing you can do to the Intiminators is change the deflective disc shim pack to effect chassis input, aka brake dive.

 

Thanks for the information! I'm 180lbs and the 940's just didn't seem to work for me, but my friend who is 225lbs loves them.
Do you think the Ricor's will work for riders under 200lbs?

 

I'm 170lbs and I too mistakenly purchased the sport tune. I still need to call and get them retuned it is like having a hard tail I hate it!

 

absolutely , I would get the cruiser tune but talk to Brian

 

I'm 195lbs and I purchased the 12.5" sport tuned Ricors. I found them to be quite a bit better than the stock 12" shocks but not $600 better. I called Brian and told him I wanted to go with a set of 13" shocks and was more concerned with a comfy ride than handling. I also explained that I was heading from NY to Arkansas in about a week. Brian had UPS at my door on Wednesday and I had the shocks back the following Thursday (8 days later). Brian built my shocks in between cruiser and sport.

I set the sag to about 7/8" and with 100 miles on the shocks I headed for Arkansas. Not only is the bike much more comfortable but i found I could ride further before i had to hit the bathroom. I guess the smoother ride is easier on my bladder.

Now with about 2000 miles on the shocks I have been playing around with the sag. I went two more turns counterclockwise (more sag) and the ride is even better.

Small bumps can be seen but not really felt. Medium bumps and potholes are barley noticeable and large bumps are felt but are not harsh. Not only is the ride much more compliant and comfortable but the bike seems to handle better. It seems to hold a line better and turn in seems quicker.

With the stocks shocks running down the interstate with my feet on the hiway pegs I'd put them back on the floorboards on bumpy interstate roads running 70 mph. With the Ricors I sat back with my feet on the hiway pegs holding on with one hand and never worried. Hiway expansion joints can be seen but not felt.

I am very pleased with my Ricors. The ride is more like Mercedes firm instead of Cadilac soft. I have never experienced the ohlins but I am quite happy with he Ricors although I don't know how much of the improvement is from going to a 13"'shock from a 12" shock.

My Street Glide really does Glide now.

 

call Brian , based off the feedback he is getting the sport tune is going to be changed to what he did to mine , between the current sport and cruiser tune , you will not believe the difference , when I went out today the first rough spot in the road I came upon I prepared to get hammered , went over it and never felt anything , so next I started looking for dips and things to hit just to see what would happen , never was jarred , never any big jolt just smooth , I was literally prepared to throw them away now I'm glad I called and talked to Brian and had them re-tuned

 

Thanks for posting this information. I was originally going to buy the Ricor shocks to match up the Intiminators I had installed in my front forks, but I've been trying to lose weight and get the weight down before my purchase. In the meantime, I've been reading all the posts about Howard and Ohlins that I was about to spend a lot more money on the shocks. You saved me some money!

 

This is a great post - thanks for the info.

I just (less than a week ago) placed my order for the Ricor shocks in Sport tune. I do believe, based on my weight and desired handling characteristics, I'll be sending Brian an email for the Cruiser/Sport tune.

T