I am replacing the stock aluminum lower forks on my 2006 Wide Glide with chrome ones.
I want to also rebuild the internals and use the Progressive lowering kit. I would like to lower my bike 1" or maybe the full 2" in the front. What I can't find online are any pictures of what a before and after looks like. I would also like to know if there are any downsides to lowering the front. I heard that it limits the fork travel but because of the design the front forks won't bottom out even if its lowered the full 2". I do mainly 2 up riding on it.

I have no plans on lowering the rear of the bike. Sounds like a stupid question but... by lowering the front end 1" using the Progressive lowering kit is there any noticeable difference in the look of the bike? I have seen many pictures of full 2" drops in the front and I can't see any difference in stance at all on a Wide Glide.

 

one inch in the front lowered. with 11 inch shocks in the rear.

 

I ended up ordering the Progressive 10-1566 lowering kit. I am leaving my stock shocks on the back and lowering the front forks 1". Should look basically the same as the stock set up I have now but the front forks won't dive as much at hard braking when riding 2 up. I also notice on the stock front fork springs that the rebound isn't fast enough sometimes. Its almost a little too plush especially on hard corning on roads that aren't perfectly smooth.

 

Thanks for the pic. Nice bike you got there.

 

Thank you

 

If your only going to lower one end it would make more sense to lower the rear. 2" just on the front sounds crazy to me

 

To my eyes looking at my bike at a side profile, it appears the front end is higher than the rear. Even though the bottom frame rails are even from the ground from front to the back it still looks higher in the front. I think its the 21" wheel on the front and the wide glide forks that give the illusion of being higher in the front. Also, I generally 2-up ride and the bike sags pretty good in the rear with 330lbs + on it.

I have seen pics of 1" drops and no drops and its pretty hard to tell the difference.

 

have you tried adjusting the preload on your rear shocks?

 

No intention of lowering the rear.. okay cool, so are you on stock shocks still? If you are, is there any reason you're not considering raising the rear instead? It would make more sense to me, especially if you're 2-up most of the time and an 8 year old suspension could have sagged quite a bit by now. Also, don't look at the frame rails, I find the exhaust angle is a better indicator of level (assuming you don't have a curved big radius or something fitted).

For both yours & passenger comfort I'd have thought you need more from your suspension, not less.

 

No, I never adjusted it. Its set on 3 which is perfect when I am solo. Its a little spongy when my wife is on the back. I should probably turn them up a click.