Hey all,

Just got back from a successful few days up at Americade in Lake George, NY with the trusty EVO. Ran great, but while riding around on the NY state roads and taking a few hard hits in potholes and poor road conditions, really had me thinking about upgrading/overhauling my stock suspension. I got the bike back in 2012, stripped it and cleaned it up, but never dove into the suspension components. Curious to get some feedback on how to handle either a replacement or overhaul the existing front forks and rear shocks. Front forks have the air assist anti-dive, and the rears have the stock air ride shocks as well. I have not yet changed out the front fork oil, and talking to some guys at the rally, they mentioned bad fork oil could play a major role in the performance.

Thanks in advance for the help. First bike and first HD, still learning a bike about these older machines.

 

 

How much money you got? :-)

If you plan to ride more aggressive then you can spend loads of money on suspension. I have basic Progressive 412s on rear. Left front alone, and changed out fork fluids. I do 80mph on S-turns all day long, and with right tires, it holds its line as best as an 89 Evo will. If you are into performance, then that won't cut it. You can do away with air in front, and go Progressive springs there.

 

How much money you got? :-)

If you plan to ride more aggressive then you can spend loads of money on suspension. I have basic Progressive 412s on rear. Left front alone, and changed out fork fluids. I do 80mph on S-turns all day long, and with right tires, it holds its line as best as an 89 Evo will. If you are into performance, then that won't cut it. You can do away with air in front, and go Progressive springs there.

 

Thank you both for the input! Definitely going to check into the Progressive shocks, I have heard nothing but good things about their products. I am definitely not an aggressive rider, but would like to get a bit more confidence banging through the turns sitting atop a suspension that doesn't feel like it will get torn out from under me after hitting a pothole.

For the front forks, can the fluid and spring replacement be done through the bottom end of the forks? Or do I need to take the batwing off and all the controls to access the top? Thanks again!

 

I had the same issues with mine. I've had the bike for quite some time now. After a few years I was not happy with the stock air-assist forks and the rear air-shocks. I ditched the air in the front and replaced the stock springs with Progressive springs and Ricor Intiminators. At the same time I put Progressive 940 shocks in the rear (Progressive was running a special on the shock/fork combo so the springs were basically free). I believe the current 944's are an updated version of the 940. This was a big improvement over stock in the handling department, but the ride was noticeably less plush.

This was fine for a few years, but I wanted a better ride and finally bit the bullet and got Ohlin shocks for the rear. At the same time I redid the forks with Race Tech single rate springs and the Race Tech emulators. Now we're talkin'! All of the handling benefits were retained, but the ride... All I can say is I should have done this in the first place. ;-) Not cheap, but worth every penny.

One other important mod was the addition of a True Track stabilizer kit. Between that and the suspension upgrades, the bike rides like it's on rails.

 

B4 anyone starts.
Get two torpedo type levels with mag base. Put one vertically on front and rear disk.
Level the bike so the front is level. Now check the back.
If they read the same its mechanical miracle!
More than likely you will find the swing arm bushings shot.
Check them and do your alignment first B4 preceding or you are building on a
shoddy foundation.

 

Point well taken. Solid bronze swingarm bushings to replace the cleve blocks are part of the True Track kit I installed on mine.

 

I've owned my 1990 FLHS from new and have steadily improved the suspension in various ways. I replaced all the rubber mounts a few years ago, changed the Cleve blocks for bronze bushings and added a True-Track kit. Between them they keep the bike on the straight and narrow and significantly improve ride and steering. For suspension I have Ohlins shocks and fork cartridges courtesy of Howard at Motorcycle Metal.

How much do you need to spend? One thing you haven't mentioned is whether Mrs Cody rides along as well. The extra passenger will be too much for many of the cheaper shocks, also a passenger gets a different riding experience back there, so will need a higher level of comfort than you do up front. In that case you should consider buying good quality shocks, not budget ones.