Haven't dealt with him yet. But my buddy just spoke with him a couple times and he is in Daytona. Howard asked him if he minded the wait he would help him out when he got back. Of course my buddy was fine with that. I think that's the way to handle it though. If you're going to be away, at least let the customer know that. I understand your frustration.

 

LMAO...Perfect.

Howard is quite eccentric. But he's a solid dude with a ton of suspension knowledge.

 

What you talkin' bout Willis?

 

There must be 2 Howards out there. I called him a number of times when I was trying to decide what shocks I needed for my '12 Ultra. I am one of those guys that believes more expensive is better. So my first call was to order up the most expensive Ohlins that he had. Well, he asked me a couple of questions about my riding style, how much I weighed, % of 2 up riding, then proceeded with a long and patient explanation of HD suspensions. Based on the info I provided him, he provided me with a choice of 2 shocks, 1 Ohlins and the other JRIs. Both options were half the cost I was willing to shell out. He came across a genuinely wanting to provide me with the best option for MY situation and not the most expensive. He could have shut up, taken my order for the most expensive thing he had, but he didn't. I thanked him for the education, BSed about the weather up here, it was -30 at the time and then goodbye. I had 2 more subsequent calls, which went the same as the first. One of those calls was on Superbowl Sunday. He did not answer the call but called me a couple of minutes later saying he was in the yard and was sorry he missed my call. I even emailed him once, as I did not want to bother him with a stupid question, and he called me within 30 minutes of my email. Like me, he hates email and would rather talk to you directly. I finally decided on JRI Bs, which were shipped a couple of days later. He even called me to tell me they were on the way and to make sure that I called him when I was ready to do the install and he would walk me through it over the phone. I received my shocks about a week ago and will install them later this month. Still lots of snow on the ground so I am not in a hurry. My experience with Howard has been first rate. Sorry you dealt with the other Howard and things did not work out. Recommend you give him another shot. Good bike shocks don't come cheap so you want to get it right the first time. Howard really is the guy to help you get it done.

 

Classic Sienfeld I miss it, and yes I can see where some would feel offended after talking to him he wants you to understand how the shock works and you decide what you need and not him that was my take on my purchase

 

Could be he is the ''shock ****''

 

Have you considered that I may have not received your e-Mail? If you were to call I would go to my computer and immediately check my e-Mail and get right on it or tell you that I did not receive it. I always answer my phone unless I do not hear the ring. I than frequently look at my phone for missed calls because of either the loud environment I live in as well as my poor hearing from Viet Nam. Please just call and you will be taken care of. I am leaving for Daytona in a few hours as it is 8am now. I have a costly headphone for calls received during driving and once I get there I will be setting up. I have just checked my e-Mail and I can not find any unanswered mail out of the 100's of e-Mails I receive each day. Again, just call than confirm I received your e-Mail.

 

Might not spend my money if there was not a great experience. However, I guess context can serve as an excuse. Can't be on point 100% of the time. Have you shopped around?

 

To those people who have a bad phone experience, if you do not wish to hear the truth, don't ask. Rudi, you claimed that I was rude to you in an e-Mail, please copy and paste it here. If you do not have it, send me your e-Mail address as I keep all e-Mails. You have made several posts over several days about this so how about let others know your secret & decide for themselves. What part of the response is rude, I am telling you ruddi that after posting about some shocks you purchased & claiming they are the same as a JRI or Ohlins , yes, it is all here on that same post, I asked you to provide the facts. All you do is provide crap and do not answer the question I asked directly to you. You are all crap and do not know what you are talking about. Man up and when you write something, prove it. As far as laying down your hard earned money, you can not unless you go under an assumed name. I told you that I did not want you money nor to be associated with you in any way. Now get a life bitch.

d-roadglidr, stevenh, I am not rude to anyone unless warranted and by that I mean first being disrespected. What sence does it make to insult a potential customer? Unless you are someone who does not wish to understand how a product works, come to me with incorrect preconceived knowledge, or try to haggle in price by telling me what you will pay, than I could understand why I might have seamed that way. I will not bother and say thank you and end the conversation right than & there. If anyone wishes to be pampered, have someone listen to unrelated crap, or present themselves as something you are not, than please do not call in the begining. If you do not know anything about suspension, that that is just fine. Those are the people I get my best results from. To have someone come on here and say I was rude to them for no reason, than that is is either perception or there is a good reason for it, and NO OTHER reasons than that. There might be a possibility that some people get exactly what they deserve and this is a 2 way street. A customer is not always right all of the time.

2>4, smkinnan, mikebaby, nytryder, since you are not relying on your own experience and by others, why did you bother posting here as there is the "Red Book", "Cosmopolitan" and other magazines you could post that crap in. The HD world should be for real men and not for socialites that have a need to speak drivel. Just what is your point not knowing first hand what you are talking about? There is other places for members like you. If you have a problem with that please find out first hand.

>>> JDEARMON "I got the impression he was brushing me off"
<<< I do not brush anyone off. I can not remember this conversation but I do make it a point for finish off all conversations and provide all information. I guess I thought you were finished with the conversation. I treat everyone the same way.

>>> DanDman " I called and was told he would me call back. Waited a couple of days"
<<< Call me in a few hours like around 12 am EST and I will be in my truck for 4 1/2 hours going to Daytona. Maybe my e-Mail was diverted to your spam folder. In any event, just call me if you like.

>>> Flying Horse "I emailed him over 3 months ago and have never gotten a response and since I don't chase after folks he won't hear from me twice"
<<< I get a lot of spam and I black list it but hidden in the e-Mail is actually my own e-Mail address. At one time I had over 400 e-Mails that were moved to a second spam filter that my provider created. I always answer all e-Mails but quite possibly had missed yours? If you did not call to make sure I guess it was not important to you in the beginning to find out what happened.

>>> 12hdrk "As some have said, it's not the best organized"
<<< I do not understand that point. I tell you the lengths & stroke, the technology involved, and the MSRP. I take a shock apart and take real photographs and do not provide cartoons. I take apart an air shock and show you what is inside of them than explain how a piston and all of the real technologies work. I show you how to install as shock, figure out sag, explain why there is sag and what it looks like inside of the shock. With the sag #'s figured out, you can figure out how long the shock is when you sit on your bike. What other web site does that? What site shows the order and what actual parts are used. Do you know why other sites do not? Because someone will eventually figure out if that shock is any good or not. In the case of ruddi, he has no idea what is is inside but yet he talks about a subject and makes claims he knows nothing about in a thread that is not about what he is stating. Go to Daytona & yes, I do take them apart and let you see for yourself what is inside of other companies shocks. If you want girls sitting on bikes, spinning objects, or anything other than technical information, look some place else.

I have wasted far too much me here on this. I need to get on the road & will not see this again until I get back. If anyone has anything of importance to say and wishes to say it, I will be at Daytona & the map is on my web site or revive this post after March 17th when I get back and I will answer all. This means that anyone who posts after this is not really looking for answers. I fix all suspension problems right on the spot in Daytona. If you have a problem please call me for an appointment as I am coming to you.

 

motorcycle metal is NOT the only place to get shocks. more than one builder out there.