Actually this issue on setting the preload (static and rider sag) is a first for us and I guess we felt those on this forum would know how to do that. As our IAS system does everything else automatically that is the only adjustment that needs to be made and is the same as any other shock. However we hear you and others and will put some basic instructions with the shocks in the near future. I am working on making XLXR's write up where he explains the initial set up so it is just rear shock related.
What is great about these forums is when I saw the problem some of you were having I send a PM to MUD asking for his help and he jumped in with his usual great explanation with pictures on what to do. A link to his write up would be helpful also.
Most high end shocks will have threads instead of indents on the collar that you twist and it drops into pre-determined slots. Threads allow for a lot finer tuning and we deliberately designed ours to make that as easy as possible without the need to use a wrench with a locking ring. Once you find your sweet spot most will leave it alone and never adjust it again. Even two up, a number of riders have found that no change is really necessary and or they split the difference between the two settings and leave it alone. (especially the baggers)
Enjoy your new ride. There is nothing like Ricor Racing Shocks, 3rd generation IAS system, custom built to your specifications, out there.

 

For those having trouble turning the adj. collar, I found that putting one hand on the collar and the other on the spring, then turning both, works great. The spring just floats between the top and bottom collar. Once you overcome that initial resting friction it goes much easier.

 

I think I am going to have to try a set of these, I definetly think that a properly adjusted shock is worlds better than a poorly adjusted one, just takes some time and patience.

 

OK... I adjusted the shocks to the correct preload and took the bike out over some of my favorite roads and some of my most hated. I don't want to get too gushy, but once these shocks are adjusted right they're amazing. On the straight and level, the bike feels more stable; less bouncy. Leaning into turns on my favorite roads, the bike doesn't hunker down when the power goes in and I can actually take it around the turn much faster.

On roads I hate to travel because they're washboardy (if that's a word) and the ride is anywhere from uncomfortable to painful the bike takes the hits and doesn't pass them along to my back. That surprised me a little because the ride feels as if it's stiffer, which I would expect to mean every little bump would be magnified compared to the softer-riding stock shocks. But even though the ride feels stiff and there's plenty of feedback from the road, the suspension eats the formerly painful hits. And on my absolute most-hated highway on-ramp where it's all washboardy (must be a word now, I've used it twice) from heavy trucks that I typically have to take it in second gear or else it feels like the back end is going to slip out from under me, I can take it confidently in third -- the rear tire stays down on the road.

It's probably important to note that until I got the preload adjusted right, I really coudn't judge the shock. With the preload light, bumps in the road hurt. It seems like adding more preload would make it hurt more, but in fact the opposite was true. They feel softer now that they're set right. They suck up the bumps yet keep the wheel firmly on the ground.

So, I love my shocks. I'm glad to hear that there'll be some better documentation for customers later on. (All the stuff probably seems self-evident to suspension weenies, but if you're just a shade-tree mechanic like me, you need things spelt out.)

 

I had some time to adjust my preload this evening. my crude measurement was off I was actually about 30% where I thought I was closer to 20%. I also worked on the forks. I have been putting it off. I had put the intiminators in a few months back and cut the spacers down about 3/4 of an inch at the same time. My sag in the front ended up being too much. I bought some thin wall steel pipe and made some new spacers and installed them.

I went on a little ride and did not bottom out and the forks felt better as well. I will give it a good test this weekend and see how it goes. I am starting to feel these just may work like I thought they would.

 

When you say "weenie" I'm sure you are referring to Hal.

Apreciate the feedback and we are working on some additional documentation.

 

Update;
Yesterday and today I took the bike on some roads I know i have problems with bumps and bottoming with the stock shocks and the air shocks I had previously installed. I picked a couple cattle guards I always have problems with for yesterday's ride. The first one there was still a bit of a hit so i pulled over and gave it one more turn on the adjusters. The second one felt much better. From that point I rode about 3 hours straight and towards the end of the ride it seemed to be getting worse and i could really start to feel a few of the bumps hit pretty hard.

Please keep reading and don't say set the sag at 25% and ride because I did use the method posted earlier and had it set as close to 25% and still was getting the sensation of the shock bottoming. Today i gave the adjusters one more turn and tried a different rough road. It started out nice but as i progressed down the road i notice once again the farther i went the more noticeable the bumps would be.

After paying attention to some things I have noticed the following.

First I only have about 7/8"-1" sag on the front. I have a wire tie fastened to one of the sliders so i can see how much the front is traveling. I am only getting about 2-3/4"-3" total travel on the fork from when I have the bike jacked up to where when i am riding it I get a bottoming sensation. Shouldn't there be more like 4-5" inches of travel on the street bob forks? I am certain i did not overfill the forks when I put the intiminators in. I remember actually removing 1 ounce from each side because when I measured the oil level with the forks compressed it was about 3-1/2" from the top. I noticed today in another post today another user had a difficult time getting the intiminators in and that he had to have them replaced because they were slightly larger than they should have been. I think the only two things that could be preventing my forks from traveling further is too much oil or the intiminators.

Second, This evening i jacked the bike up again and completely removed the top of the shock from the shock mount on each side. It appeared that both sides needed an additional thick washer to space them out for it to be aligned correctly. I noticed after this the adjusters seem to adjust easier than when I did not have the extra spacers. I have not had a chance to ride after i put the spacers on so hopefully this will help resolve some of my issues with the rear of the bike.

One other thing I should mention here is I can only see out of one eye. Because of this I do not have depth perception and I cannot see alot of the bumps in the road and am usually completely surprised when I do hit one. Do others here steer away from bumps to avoid them of just go right over them.

I will be emailing or calling ricor tomorrow to see if they can help me with me my issues but I would still appreciate any comments on anything to improve my ride that still seems to be too rough. I wish i could find that sweet spot others have found with the ricor shocks.

 

kenfm2000: I went through the same thing when I bought a set of 11.5" 440 Progressives w/HD springs for my '06 Street Bob. Like the Ricors, they have IAS and threaded preload for tool-less adjustment. I've had them 2 years now but was only moderately satisfied with them until recently. I had assumed the problems were related to lowering the shocks by 1/2" over stock (12").

Cut to the chase: I never had the preload adjusted right until this year. It was hard to tell because they were very comfortable most of the time but would sometimes want to bounce me up off the seat on larger bumps. Problem is, most of the roads were I live are in pretty good shape - ditto the highways. Lucky for me, the roads in the next town are in a helluva lot worse shape. So I headed there, rode back and forth downtown, and kept increasing the preload 1/2 turn at a time until I didn't bottom out. Or to be more accurate, I added just enough preload so that the bike would almost (but not quite) want to bottom out on the very worst sections of road (potholes, bumps, etc).

Now I can ride without cringing even over the worst road surfaces. What's surprising after cranking up the preload so much is the ride is still very comfortable. With the stockers you'd feel every crack in the road when the preload was set to #4 or 5. I'm not sure if that's due to IAS, progressive spring rates, or maybe something else. The only downside comes when you want to switch between solo and 2-up riding. Adjustments are nowhere near as fast as using the shock tool for the 5 preload settings on stock shocks. It's worth it tho, I'm sticking with my 440s

 

Update.

We have been working behind the scenes to make Ken's forks more compliant and we are switching out his 12" shocks for 13" shocks.

I'll post report when we are done.

Brian

 

I'm glad you guys are working with him. I'm also glad your going with a longer shock. I for one totally understand the desire for a shorter shock, but after having 12, 12.6 and 13 inch'ers, I can say without hesitation....longer is better. Everything is a trade off. I have yet to hear a singe review about ANY make of shock where the poster was upset with the ride quality of a longer shock, and can of course point to hundreds that were disappointed with shorter ones. Kudos to Ricor for coming on the forum repeatedly and backing up your product.