I offer this posting in the hopes that it will give others some new information, and like many good stories this one begins on a dark and stormy night…
I was riding home from work in a hard rain at about 25 mph when I hit a pothole. Wham! I sheered the upper mounting bolt on the right rear shock in half. To make a long story short I replaced both upper mounting bolts and went on my way….wondering what in the hell had happened to my shocks. They were Progressive 440’s that I had installed only 10,000 miles ago. They had seemed to work well- an improvement over the OEM shocks that came with my 2006 Street Bob.
The story takes an interesting twist. Howard Messner, always interested in educating us in the vagaries of Harley Davidson suspension issues, called me and said he was sending me a set of shocks to test. No charge. He wouldn’t accept anything except the cost of postage. He thought it would be interesting to get an unbiased opinion about the merits of Progressive 440’s, and he is of the opinion that they don’t offer the same bang for the buck that other shocks do. So, I removed the Progressives from the bike put the mystery brand on. And this is where the story gets interesting.
In the shop, I discovered that the seals were blown on the other Progressive shock. Not the one with the mounting bolt that sheered in half. The other one. I hit that pothole, blew the seals on the left shock, hit the other side of the pothole and sheered the right mounting bolt in half. Lucky I wasn’t traveling 70 mph riding two up! It all happened in a fraction of a second.
And very lucky that Howard sent me the mystery shocks. They turned out to be black shocks with a sweeper valve for adjusting compression and rebound. Beautifully machined. Excellent workmanship. Howard sent me 2 sets of springs, and they were valved and shimmed for my weight and bike(which Howard knows well) . I put them on the bike and began looking for the right adjustments. Adjusted Sag, then preload, then experimented over 2 weeks with the sweeper valve adjustments to dial in compression and rebound damping for my weight and style of riding. I tested both high speed and low speed(of the shock movement, not speedometer speed- you can have a high speed shock movement at 25 mph depending on the size and shape of the bump you’re traversing(as I found out that dark and stormy night!). If it’s a rail road tie in the middle of the road, you’re going to have a high speed bump even if you’re going 10 mph!).
Here’s what I found:
The mystery shocks provided a vastly improved ride over the Progressive 440’s(which were an improvement over the OEM’s) for the same price. I tailored the shocks to my riding style- a little slower(harder) on compression and quicker on rebound than neutral setting. I got a softer ride over both high speed and low speed bumps at this setting. I drive the same route to work every day, and decided to do an acid test of the mystery shocks by hitting the same pothole at the same speed that blew the Progressives! That’s right, call me crazy, but I decided it was the best way to see what the difference in the shocks was. With heart in mouth I drove over the pothole. The difference in ride was incredible. Hard? Yes. But nothing like it felt on the Progressives when I knew instantly that the shocks had bottomed out and I was riding on frame. The mystery shocks took the energy stored in the springs by the hit(s) and released it much more efficiently on compression and rebound. When I hit the second lip of the pothole the shock had recovered from the first hit sufficiently to do what it’s supposed to do- absorb and release the energy stored in the springs.
What’s the end of the Story? The mystery shocks Howard loaned me are superior to the Progressive 440’s. They have preload, compression and rebound damping adjustment capacity whereas the Progressives only have spring preload adjustment. I wouldn’t have known the difference, if I hadn’t done this blind test. Thanks, Howard.

 

Thanks for the post. Nice write-up. Now I'll sit back and get the popcorn ready to watch the bonfire.

 

The shocks sound great do you have any pictures of them? Since you don't know what type of shocks they are and Fast Harley said he doesn't sell them, where am I supposed to get these $400 mystery shocks?

 

 

what good are mystery shocks... no good if they are a mystery!
what size shocks are they? 11" ,12", 13"?
do they come with complete instructions on how to set them up properly?
are they backed with an excellent warranty and customer support?
you tested for two weeks. any proof of their long term durability over the progressives?
I am not nocking the shocks or disbelieving as those extra adjustments can make quite a difference, but, I think these other thoughts must be covered as well.
any proof that your shocks (the 440's) were not set up correctly for you and that is why you blew them out?

 

that's a good writeup and I'm glad it didn't get buried in the other thread.
rounder has already raised a few of my initial concerns - really need to get a feeling for what the life expectancy is? also - what size?
also the obvious - I guess we have to wait for Howard to tell us the details? and if he doesn't feel like it - then I guess we'll never know?

 

that is great! HOward is the man... no ? on that. he knows his HD's and performance like no one else i have ever spoke to!

 

I want a set!

Can you post some pics of the mystery shocks, or the name of them if you can shake it out of this howard fellow?

 

Rounder, the shocks are 12"- stock for the '06 Streetbob. Howard helped me with instructions about set up. I didn't buy them, so I don't have any information about warranty or customer support- I don't think the purpose of this experiment was to boost interest in one particular brand or shock but to get folks to look at the issues, the difference in qualities, etc. As far as set up for the Progressive 440's, all I can say is that they were installed by a dealer, they served me well for 10,000 miles, and I had no idea that other shocks of comparable cost would be so identifiably superior in ride quality. That for me was what this project was all about, really.
Thanks for your questions- good ones. Ride safe, and if you're ever in Chicago let me know. I work on the west side and will buy you lunch. Jay

 

Back in the 90's and into the early 00's, I ran Progressive 412's on my Yamaha, including springs up front. I rode that bike hard. I never once felt like I did not have control. Was always very happy with that setup. It's quite possible that Progressive has made some cost-saving changes in the manufacturing process and now quality is suffering because I have noticed a lot of forum members mention problems related to Progressive shocks.

Would be nice to know if the shocks you were given are available for purchase. Have you by chance found out the particulars (brand,etc)? New shocks are on the list...