JRI or Ohlin. if you want air ride, theres ways to build it yourself, or go the affordable Arnott system

 

Same thing here, going to go with one of these two shocks this winter (at least that is my plan as of now). Will be calling Howard in Jan. I have done the reading on his site, just hope I can indicate reasonable intelligence when communicating with him. I think the 3-3 was what I had my eye on but have not done the readup on these new JRI's yet. Just when I thought I had a decision made, turns out there are new choices :-)

 

In post #32 of this thread I asked if people running the monotubes could rate the performance of this setup on a scale of 1 to 10. To me this sounded sensible, simple and to the point, but I got flamed for asking such a dumb question. That was before I installed a set on my E Glide. I am going out on a limb but hear goes.
I am comparing stock, race tech springs with Ricor Intiminators and Monotubes.
I have put many miles on the stock setup, 9000 miles on the rt/r setup and 25 miles on the monotube setup.

Highway speed bumps
Stock – 2
Rt/r - 2
Monotubes – 7

30 mph holes
Stock – 2
Rt/r – 2
Monotubes – 6

30 mph heaves
Stock – 2
Rt/r – 3
Monotubes – 6.5

Brake dive
Stock – 2
Rt/r – 3
Monotubes – 6
Flame away but my odyssey for a decent ride is over.

 

Glad you found something you are happy with, PM me if you want unload those RT springs and Intiminators

 

im glad you found them to be decent. let them get a bit more broken in. the biggest improvement for me was the ride dynamics such as staying planted on the road, stablility in curves and sweepers, and firmness in rapid turns/stops

 

I agree with both of you and see the same differences in handling with my Tri-Glide. One of the best mods I have done while my dealer was installing the chrome lowers. The SM at my shop was so impressed that he bought a set for
his personal bike.

 

I would have to say that you did not have the Raceteck/Ricor and fork oil setup properly; pretty difficult to get them perfect the first time. That, in and of itself, may be enoufh reason to opt for the monotubes; just too much work to get the other right. They can be a PITA to get setup right the first time but once dialed in, a far superior setup to the monotubes. JMHO

 

I agree, ride dynamics have improved also. One of the first things I noticed at slow speed was that I am able to turn lock to lock without feeling like the front end is going to slide out from under me, Planted. Much easier to hold a line in wash boards, Planted. Seems easier to hold a straight line at highway speed also, without having to constantly correct steering. Haven't had a chance to do curves and sweepers yet but I am looking forward to it.

 

I can't see any merit in awarding points! If monotubes only get 6-7 in your reckoning I would want something that gets closer to 10, but I have no idea how you arrived at your scores.

I have Emulators in my Sporty with Race Tech springs and while the springs lift the bike and restore sag to sensible levels, the Emulators are invisible, so I would give them a zero. They don't seem to contribute any value to my ride. Reading the instructions for adjusting them they might as well be in a foreign language, they are so unintelligible. The manufacturer is also on the other side of the Planet, so the prospect of phoning them is not one I warm to.

As a result of that experience I have Race Tech springs in my Glide, with fabrik8r's tuned Intiminators, but the bike is apart being painted and modified, so it will be some time before I get to test ride them.

My Buell Firebolt has suspension that deserves top marks and we should get something similar as a right of Harley ownership!