Hey Guys,
So I have a Dyna FXDX and a couple years ago, I threw a burly slammer kit on to give it a different look. It's my first harley, yes I know, I should've stuck with the higher suspension on this type of bike lol.
So my question is, if I lowered the front by 1" and decide to throw Progressive 412 12" shocks on the back, would that be a problem? should I raise the front back up with it?

Thanks,
Rob

 

Why?

I went for 11" V-Rod rear shocks, and together with softail forks that raised the front a little bit I really like the looks of the bike now. Raising the front and lowering the rear eliminated any kickstand problems, if you are lowering both, maybe thats something to think about.

Lowering front and rear will keep your projected rake roughly the same. Mine (also due to the 2 degrees rake from the ST triple tree) changed a bit, but I never noticed any big differences in the handling of the bike. I dragged the tip of the front muffler over the floor once when taking a right sweeping turn a little too enthusiastic, but thats it.

 

Hey man, thanks for the reply. So, I think I wrote the front suspension part out of context. So my bike is currently sitting pretty low, dragging ***. I can't even ride my girl on the back because of possible bottoming out. lol therer was my mistake for lowering the bike to 10.5".
My front suspension is already dropped 1" in the front. Is it necessary to raise the front back up, if i'm going to install longer rear shocks?

 

I wouldn't suggest raising the rear while keeping the front lower. It's going to reduce the trail and depending on where you end up could make the bike twitchy up front particularly in turns. It would feel like it would want to dive into the corner. It's something we do to sport bikes to make them a bit quicker in transitions. Too much though can lead to tucking the front end and a low side. Not knowing where you are now and where the adjustment will take you I wouldn't adjust one without adjusting the other. We have a computrack machine we can measure bikes with so it tells how much of an adjustment to make

 

how do yall feel about the 14" shocks on the rear? I see a ton of people doing it and I too but into the idea. I was worried about twitchiness but have been told over and over from legends that it makes it more responsive yes but not bad at all and it's actually much better.

 

The stock FXDX rear shocks are approx. 13.3"/339mm long, so if the laden SAG is set the same 12" shocks will be 1.3" x 1.45(axle to shaft ratio) = 1.885" (difference in ride height). I'll bet that the springs on the Progressive 12" shocks are firmer than the soft springs on the stock FXDX shocks...something to consider. Now to know if the fork is 1" lower.

I couldn't get around a corner on my FXDX with stock suspension due to the soft front and rear springs....not enough clearance/lean angle for even a moderate pace.

 

This is one of those things that is very difficult to say for sure over the internet. Raising the rear while leaving the front alone will generally make the bike more responsive. There are people on here that are much more knowledgeable then I am about these things such as Howard from Motorcycle metal. My background is in sportbikes and he has a lot more experience with setting up Harleys. In my case I went with a set of Ohlins shocks that are 1 inch taller then stock. I ended up adjusting them so they are about 1/2 inch taller then stock. It woke the bike up enough to where I'm happy with how it enters, tracks, and exits turns while having enough stability where I'm comfortable taking my wife out with me.

 

I get that. When I called legend they told me the 13" rears ride at the same height or slightly lower than stock 12.5s. The 13.5s are a hair over stock ride height and the 14s give you an in over stock ride height so I chose the 14s. The bike feels like a pig right now and really isn't very fun if you have to throw it around so I'm excited. I guess we will find out when they get here in a few hours lol

 

Longer rear and shorter front may make a bike steer "heavy."

 

You sure about that?