First off, I'm not bothering with a search for this because the number of hits I'll get will be ridiculous. So, if this post hurts your feelings because it has been covered before, I sincerely apologize. [8D]

After a broken T-50 bit and a lower bolt that took some persuasion to line up, I got my Progessive 412 HD 12" shocks put on just a few minutes ago. It supposedly lowered my bike .6" over stock. I'm still sort of disappointed that the fender still seems to visibly be too high over the rear tire but I'll have to live with it and probably should due to my height and weight. When I sit on the bike, the rear fender comes down nicely. I can tell it's a little lower because the bike is slightly more straight up on the jiffy stand than it was but not straightened up enough to be concerned about it going over.

Anyway, none of that has to do with this. I set the preload on them to the first and then the second settings and hopped up and down in the saddle quite hard to see if I could feel it bottom out. Neither position seemed to do any harm so I left them on the softest setting for now. Perhaps when they break in some, I'll need to go to P2. I weigh 240 and rarely carry much more than myself on the bike. When the wife (115 lbs) wants to ride, I'll probably bump it up to P2 just to be on the safe side.

For those of you that have these shocks or have the same models and have lowered from stock the same amount - am I right on with my settings for now? Or should I hedge and go to P2 to start with and see how it actually rides? It's probably be Thursday or so before I'll take her out for a test spin.

Just a quick first impression review of the shocks by the way"

Likes:
Visibly, I like the looks. The coils are finely chromed and the stockers were not. The shocks look much shorter on the bike even though they are not that much shorter- I also like that. They feel stiffer as they should being heavy duty. For a lighter person, this may not be a good thing but for us "big guys" it should be a nicer ride and give better handling since they don't give as quickly and easily.

Dislikes:
These are just knit-picks. They came with nice chrome "Progessive Suspension" decals on the upper covers. The problem is, when you change the preload, the shock twists and the stickers look stupid because one side is out of alignment one direction and the other side is completely the opposite. As long as you stay at P1, they line up perfectly on both sides. So that brings me to my other knit-pick - I removed the stickers. They peeled right off in one piece but left a lot of goo behind. The goo took forever, even with goo-gone, to get completely off. I had to reapply the goo-gone several times to each side to get it all off. I even left it slathered with the stuff for 20 minutes and still had to go back and apply some more after wiping that off. They really should put the stickers in the box where, if you even want them on there, you can put them on after you determine your usual setting. But, if that's all I have to complain about after I've tried them out, I should be happy, right?

Oh, and before anyone replies with a "this thread is useless without photos" smiley, I went to get the camera and my wife has taken it with her somewhere. If anyone really wants pics, I'll get some up at some point.

 

I'm a much lighter guy than you and have had the regular 412s for three years and am still on the softest setting. So when you ride solo it will probably be some time before you need to go up a notch. These shocks are great riding, and made even better by the Progressive fork springs. What a difference from stock!

 

[sm=ttiwwp.gif]


sorry had to do it!

 

Damn Greg, I could've saved you a lot of time and effort on them labels. I peel them off and then used a product called "OOPS" Multi-Purpose Remover. 90 secs. total, for both sides. Have had a 4.5oz can here for a looong time. Think I got it at ACE Hardware.

Glad you got the shocks on. You may need to go to second setting but take a ride on 1st and you'll find out. I've always used the 1st setting, but I'm 80lbs lighter than you.

 

hey street bob,

am i going to have to worry about stickers on my shocks?

 

You are 80 lbs lighter but you aren't using HD shocks either. These things are stiff man.

The stuff I have - goo-gone is just another product just like oops. It's kind of chilly today. I probably should have warmed them up before I took them off and it would have been better. No big deal anyway - like I said - knit-picking. I still think they should just put the stickers in the box and you can use them if you want or at least put them on straight once you have them set like you want.

I thought I was in for trouble. I used a T-50 torx bit and started to loosen the lower shock bolt. I barely put pressure on it and the bit broke right in the middle of the shaft. I guess that means the loc-tite was working because this is the second time I've removed those bolts. So, I had to make a quick run to ACE (our only HW store here) and get a new $8 bit and picked up some more loc-tite in case I ran out. The new bit worked like a charm though. It probably helped that I loosened the upper bolts first to let it give some before I went cranking on the lowers again. Also, I got the left side shock on and the bolts hand tight. When I went to the right side, I took all of the pressure off of the swingarm by lifting the bike up and still the lower bolt was about 1/8" too low to fit. I had to push up on the shock with my knee as I turned the bolt in. It was scary because the bike and the lift were scraping across the floor even though the lift was locked down. Got her done though. Can't wait to try them out.

I'm surprised the fender doesn't really look any lower. I can tell the bike is lower though on the jiffy stand and when I sit on it.

 

LOL, not if you don't want them off. Unless he removed them, the last I heard they were still on the shocks. I actually would have liked to have left them on. And I wouldn't have even minded that they were mis-aligned when the shocks were adjusted as long as they were aligned the same way. But on the left side, the sticker got turned forward and on the right side, it turned backward and looked like $hit.

 

Yes & NO.

If you leave the settings on the the first setting, you can install them with the stickers on the indside. I never removed them.

On the other hand, I put a little heat on one end of the sticker (on the new ones) and lifted a corner and pulled them off. I then took some OOPS Multi-purpose remover on a ragand cleaned off the residue on both sides in 90 secs. total.

 

I was just bust'n on ya... I got my razor blades all ready to scrape those things darn things away!

[sm=nothatway.gif]

 

They just don't make them Torq bits like they used to, eh Greg.
I'd try the 1st setting and bring the adjuster wrench with you.
I doubt you can imitatehitting bumpsjust by jumping up and down.
Even with your physique.......