Good to hear. When I searched for this topic, there was a lot of discrepancy over HD v. standard springs.

It will be standard for me.

 

yea when i first put the HD's on it felt amazing but now 3 years down the line of sporty riding and i wish i had gone with the regular ones.
I too have the progressive hd front fork springs. those i recommend

 

Faber I will be real interested to hear your opinoin after your first ride with new 412's

 

It'll be about a month before I get 'em on. Still commuting back and forth to MT and don't have a lot of time for tinkering.

But when I do, I'll post up.

 

Faber, what seat you going with? I am between the Harley sundowner or going with a Mustang vintage solo,,,standard or wide I have to decide

 

Yes, a longer shock = more travel = better ride.

BUT, Progressive shocks, depending on their length, use 2 different spring rates.
Progressive shocks 12.5" and longer have a better (for comfort) spring rate than Progressive shocks that are 12" or less.
The best ride comfort on a Progressive shock is with 12.5" or longer.

 

Hey guys, this is a great discussion. We understand shocks tend to look fairly similar from the outside, thereby forcing the buying decision to be based primarily on parts that you can't see. Quite the struggle for us as well.

To begin with consider what a shock does. In its simplest form, it translates the energy of motion to the energy of heat by forcing fluid through an orifice to control compression and rebound (damping). Without some sort of damping, your shock would likely compress while hitting a bump and then rebound with same amount of energy (bounce a basketball, it hits the ground and rebounds higher than it started, bounce the same ball under water; that’s damping) The better it does this job, the better a shock it is.

A shock also holds your bike up (spring), and should allow for some form of tuning to compensate for varied rider weight and load. Once again, the better the shock, the better the spring (progressive rate) and the better the tuning options (412 uses a simple 5 position cam, 430 and 440 utilize a hand adjustable preload cap that allows for much finer tuning).

That being said, even a high end shock in a short length will seem somewhat harsh (although ALWAYS better than stock stuff). Travel more often than not equates to ride quality.

So here goes:

412 Series: Gas charged (keeps oil from foaming), multi-staged velocity sensitive valving (damping increases with shaft speed) and a simple 5 position preload adjuster. Also, available in standard rate or heavy duty (big riders or those who spend most of their time two up are great candidates for Heavy Duty shocks)

430 Series: High pressure gas mono tube design with deflective disk damping (typical of high end shocks and generally considered the best method to provide damping control). Hand adjustable preload cap (DO NOT underestimate the importance of correctly setting preload/sag).

440 Series: Similar to the 430, with the addition of an Inertia Activated valve that helps separate chassis movement from wheel movement. An example of this would be an encounter with a big pothole. The IAS valve senses the ground has fallen away under it and permits the shock to open up an oil path (speeding up droop travel), allowing the wheel to drop into the hole without taking the chassis with it. This result is a bike that is more likely to stay on one plane while the wheel and suspension are down there doing their getting busy!

We can go into mind numbing detail if you guys can tolerate it, but this simplified overview should give you a good sense as to the differences between the three shock series.

 

Sounds like a good plan. The trifecta of seat, shocks, springs!~ It won't ride like a touring bike, but you're going to really appreciate the difference.

 

[QUOTE=Progressive Suspension-Hey guys, this is a great discussion. [/QUOTE]

Thanks for chiming in
Good info!

 

I'm going with a Mustang vintage solo standard. Heard nothing but glowing recommendations about them. Probably will get the pillion, too. Even though I almost never have passengers, I do keep my sissy bar+rack on, you know, just to strap stuff to. It would look weird without something there.

I actually don't mind the stock seat, until it gets bumpy. But, rather than invest in Stage XVII or whatever, I think I'll upgrade for comfort. Can't have too much of that