Highlights: 2014 FLHP Road King Police (RKP). 225 lbs aggressive rider + gear. 80% solo/1-up with <50 lbs in the bags. 10% solo/1-up with ~50 lbs of camping gear. 10% 2-up with a 150 lbs passenger +/- stuff. Looking for better ride over crappy New England roads. Willing to spend some, but not unlimited $.

I'm finding the stock suspension wanting. I knew this was going to be a thing going in. Just a little surprised at how so. I think my RKP handles pretty well. Unfortunately I think the ride is pretty terrible. I actually expected it to wallow and float more, but be sketchy in the corners. Instead the suspension seems to corner competently, it just can't handle bumps. We have a lot of bumps here in New England. Planning a strategy to remedy this.

No interest in lowering the bike. I value cornering clearance and find those floorboards close enough to the blacktop as it is. So ride height stays stock.

I have some experience upgrading suspension. I had a DL650 V-Strom before this which I dropped emulators and (much) bigger springs in the front end, then a custom valved & sprung Elka 3-way adjustable on the rear. That fixed 'er right up. Ride was marvelous, handling fantastic. Even gave some adjustability as I changed the way I used the bike over time; less off-road, more heavy touring. In my experience upgrading the forks has always improved handling, while upgrading the rear shocks has always improved ride. And due to my weight springs have always been job one. Given that was on machines where I was a much larger percentage of the gross weight. In the case of my dirtbike I actually outweigh the machine!!

Now I have this RKP and folks are telling me to tackle the forks first. That the air-over-oil setup sucks, but is marginal enough to live with for the first season or two. That seems contrary to what I'm feeling; that the bike handles okay, but rides poorly. I have a friend that has a 2014 FLHR RK. He used the Harley "premium" single cartridge kit for his forks and has the factory air-over-oil shocks. I've ridden his bike and it is markedly better, especially over the bumps.

My questions are:
A) Is addressing the forks first really the best place to start?
B) Can I do better than the HD premium kit.. for reasonable money?

I plan to keep my RKP for a long while. I'm an aggressive rider when solo yet I also value ride quality-especially when 2-up. I held back some $ and went used with the intent of upgrading the suspension. But unfortunately my pockets aren't bottomless and so I'm trying to figure out the best way to spread the $ around. I really have my heart set on Ohlins S36D or Race-Tech G3-S.. or possibly something from JRI for the rears. I value the top-shelf components and adjustability.

But I have no idea what to do with the forks.. The cheapskate in me is saying to just go ahead and order up a set of , then pair with appropriate springs and fresh oil and be done, save the $ for quality rear shocks. That's like $300 all-in for the fork work. This really was the ticket on my DL650 and the SV650's I've raced. Does the same apply here?

 

Seems most threads I read are rear shocks first.....

I have always done rear first, because it affects my wife's comfort more than the front suspension.... She comments (can feel the difference) on every rear shock change I've done, and some of the adjustments to new shocks. She didn't even notice the last front fork improvement I made.

In my last bagger, I tried Supershox in the rear and progressive cartridges in the front. Improvement over stock, but not what I expected. I was researching a different front end suspension with Ohlin cartridges and Ohlin rear shocks. Then fate intervened and I traded my '12 Limited for a '16 Classic.

I'm not even going to consider anything from the MoCo. Too many better choices in the aftermarket, based on my research. I decided this time to "buy once, cry once".

My plans are for Ohlin #3-3s for the rear from Howard, and shortly later (after saving more $$$) getting the Ohlins NIX-22 (I think that's the adjustable one for 49mm forks) for the front.....

There are a lot of good choices..... you can search this forum and read for hours...!!!!

Good luck with the decision....

 

I can offer you a 25mm fully adjustable cartridge that has the same type valving delivery system as the 30mm (Ohlins) cartridge system that you have been reading and been reviewed for years. There is nothing better than the 30mm. The 25mm has all of the options to set your stroke,
along with your starting and stopping point without cutting anything, just move the internal delrin spacers. It uses the internal top out spring so you are not forced to use the "Valve Spring" as supplied in the OEM fork as required by the FKC models. Going into a pot hole is much more smoother/suppler than using the OEM spring.

I can and do select a length and rate top out spring per job. If I want a 6" stroke and want the bike to sit exactly stock height, I set the stroke using the Delrin spacer array than use a longer top out spring. The longer stroke is contained under the longer top out spring. Downside is you need brake lines long enough to accommodate the longer stroke naturally. The fully adjustable 25mm FLT cartridge is apx. $95.00 more than the FKC-101/102 (my HDF Member price to you)

FKC-101/102

The check valve is located inside of the bottom of the fork. Do not remove it, I am just showing what it looks like. The top out spring is above & resting on the check valve and the shaft goes through the fork tube/check valve and the oil lock is installed on the end of the shaft.

30 mm Ohlins Cartridge

Ohlins 30mm cartridge piston and shaft assembly.