Spoke with Howard tonight. Answered all my questions. The only question I have now is the Ohlins 2-2 or 3-3. Leaning toward the 3-3. Seems like the first few times you have to change the settings it may take 10-15 minutes but I guess once you get proficient at it, it will only take a couple of minutes to reset the two up to one up settings. Anyone have experience with this?

 

after communicating with howard from motorcycle metal back and forth in a few emails, the #2-2 seems to be the choice for me with the price he quoted me at being extremely competitive with HD and reasonable relative to progressives. now just a matter of getting home from the desert so i can get it done and ride!

 

I am another Ohlins 3-3 believer. Best shocks I have ever had on any bike. I also did the front end with racetech single rate springs and Ricor intiminators modified by Fabrik8r. My bike rides like a totally different bike now.

I just talked to Howard about ordering a set of 3-3's for my wife's sportster. if you know Howard, this sounds just like him, when I asked him if he could build me a 3-3 for the Sportster he said " why sure the shocks don't care what type of bike they are on " he asked my 20 questions about my wife to make sure he builds the right shocks. Great guy who knows his stuff. I wonder if he can build me a mono shock for my Ninja ?

 

Actually, there is no rebound damping.

Yes, but the #2's with the HDForums discount (ask for it!) aren't much more than the 440's.

 

If you can stand the sacrifice of that slammed look, the #2-2b or #2-3 would provide a better ride with less bottoming. If you ride 2-up often or tour I would look for the longest stroke you can tolerate at the expense of the "look."

 

Are the Ohlins 3-3 that much better than the 2-2? Money is a concern but the end result is to have a much better shock than stock. I do ride mostly two up and the stock shocks have to go.

 

I purchased 3-3s because of my wife's back problems. The stock ride was not great but if it weren't for her I wouldn't have replaced them. I ride about 15,000 miles per year on everything from freeway to single lane farm roads across the US. We were to the point that she could no longer ride with me. I broke them in and the spent the time setting them up for our annual trip to through the Texas Hill Country. In previous years we had bottomed a lot or the ride was far too stiff. Bumps bounced her into the air. These are rural ranch roads with lots of bumps, cattle guards, and dips over stream crossings. The ohlins performed beyond my expectations. She was comfortable throughout the trip. The bike never bottomed and would just glide over the bumps. Initially you would brace for the impact that just never came. We became much more relaxed and the trip was much more fun. When the other girls were complaining about sore butts she commented that she felt great. It's a bit of a pain to pull the bags and adjust preload but it takes me all of about 5 mins to do it now that I know the settings. For me, they were definitely money well spent.

 

Last year after some email inquiries with Howard, I decided just to go with the 940's, figuring they would be good enough. Howard told me that I would eventually want Ohlins, and would end up upgrading my shocks twice.

He was right- I should have just spent the extra bucks and done it right the first time. You do get what you pay for. I'm going to replace the 940's with the 3-3's in the next month or so.

So to the OP, even though you are trying to think budget minded, I'd really suggest to spend the extra bucks now on the Ohlins- do one thing at a time and do it right- then move on to the next mod, even if you have to wait a bit longer to do the next mod.

 

When I bought my RG I was surprised and pleased to find that the prior owner installed the HD Premium Ride rear shocks. Unfortunately, after riding a few miles it was obvious that they are not in the same league as the Ohlins I installed on my FXDL.

 

I can relate to this, but I didn't have much choice in 2007. I went with 440's before Howard started selling Ohlins, and although an improvement it turned out to be an interim upgrade over stock. As time progressed I wanted more than the 440's offered, and I got it with the Ohlins #2-3. There is no shock upgrade in my future now.