Well the RKC I ordered came in so I went to the dealer to try it on and see what kind of changes I want to make.

I knew it was going to be too high for me but I still held out hope that I'd be able to get away with not lowering the suspension. After 2 hours of trying different seats I realized that l was kidding myself.

So I decided to go with the lower air shocks because they're cheap they do the job and I can replace them myself later. I also got a Badlander seat to ride while I send out the stock seat to be worked over. There were also some other odds and ends like WO 508 bars with installation and internal wiring, backrest for the wife and so on.

Then the sales guy came over (I've bought from him before) and said that they weren't going to charge me for any of the extras or labor I had on the list.

Now I'm under budget and happy. However even with the lowered rear shocks I was still not quite flat-footed. I was on the bike with those 1" blocks they have to let you see how the bike would feel if it was 1" lower and I was still a little less stable than I'd like to be with such a heavy bike. I started thinking since I'm under budget maybe I should have them lower the front.

So looking through the HD catalog, there are regular lowering shocks and the premium for about $400. Is it worth getting the premium shocks? It says they conpliment the premium rear shocks which I didn't get but they should still work, right? It looks like the fronts are harder to replace than the rears and there's a bunch of labor involved so I'm thinking I should spend the extra $200 and put in the better parts, while the rears are pretty easy to swap out and I can buy nice ones later and put them in myself if I'm not happy with the lowered air shocks.

Give me some advice.

 

Just been doing some more research on this over the morning and see that aftermarket front shock replacements can be had for about $400 as well...looks like with some of them, you don't even have to replace oil in the shocks anymore.

So is it worth it? I'm thinking if I stick with HD I'll very likely get the 20% discount, but compared to the price of labor, $50 one way or the other isn't really that big a deal - I'd rather get some good parts in there so I don't have to pay to do it again any time soon...also seems like if I eliminated the fork oil it would save on labor costs later if I don't feel like doing it myself.

 

I have a Road King Custom and the rear shocks are 1 inch lower than stock. I was like you never felt at ease on the ***** of my feet. I'm short legged. I just lowered the front with progessive drop in kit. I coludn't be happier. flat footed now.

 

is that drop-in kit as easy to replace as the video makes it look?

remove a couple of bolts, remove old spring, drop in new spring and off you go?

The dealer wants 8 hours labor to lower the front end. I think they were talking about putting in a whole new suspension....replace the oil and such. Is all this not necessary?

 

Nope the front end still has to come apart.
I was adding chrome fork kit so the labor to change the springs was nothing.

 

what about this kit?

http://www.progressivesuspension.com/dropin/index.html

 

you still have to take the fronrt end apart.
I"m pleased with the ride.

 

yep front end has to come apart for the drop in, and if you are gonna do that might as well do a chrome front end as well. done mine this spring 1 inch, get a service manual and it's a piece of cake. i did take my forks to indy and they swapped the internals. also go with a heavier fork oil. that extra inch make a big difference.

 

isn't the front end already chrome on the RKC??

I think if I'm going to go through the trouble I'll get monotubes and ditch the oil.

 

Did the progressive drop-in 1"drop on mine in conjunction with the SG rear shocks. Had the dealership install the rear shocks as part of the deal when I ordered the bike. I did the front end myself and also had the front end powdercoated while I was at it. I really wasn't hard to do, just needed to take my time and picked up a manual to get it all right. In the end I lowered the rear 1", the front 1.25", and and also went with a Danny Gray lowered solo seat. Now I can get my heals on the ground. I also used the heavier fork oil to stiffen up the ride. It took all of the initial dive out of the front end when braking.