For people looking to upgrade their Suspensions,
I want to give a shout out for Howard Messner at Motorcycle Metal.
Howard does it right!! Suspension built for you and the way you ride. Spend The Money one time!!
As an Example, I ride a 2016 Ultra limited low. Rear shocks are Howard's 2-2 shock. with adjustable pre-load.
Front forks are Howard's 30 MM upgrades, not cheap! Worth every penny.
spent some time doing final tuning on the forks and preload on the rears.
A friend with a 2018 gold wing and i switched bike for a ride! Stay tuned!!

WE JUST GOT BACK! From Woodstock Georgia where he had Traxxion Dynamics replace his shock so His Goldwing handled as good as my Harley

Thanks Howard!

 

How much weight do you add to the bike? Yourself, OL and gear?

 

Max,
My suspension is set up for MY needs, I ride solo quite a bit yet i can adjust the preload on the rear when i add my tour pack gear ans wife. An additional 225LBS.

Howard installs the correct springs for your situation.
go to his website read his information, decide what you really want to do and then call him. have your info, weight , riding style, two up or solo,
Howard will point you in the right direction. Howard may seem abrupt but he will give you straight up advice and will do his best to give you the best, least expensive option for your needs.
Good Luck!!
https://motorcyclemetal.com/

 

Got my rears from Howard a couple years ago, night and day over the Progressives I had on there. Ballpark on the fronts? Been really wanting to replace those.

 

While he seems to. the shocks I got were way to stiff on springs and compression damping. In your case your weight / setup was more inline with the shock setup. I weight 180 lbs and was using the shock on a 17 RK witout much weight in the saddlebags.. A tour pack, and your weight would make them more comfortable.. While you say the shocks are custom built, I found this to not be true. Ohlins builds these shocks for MM and the one I got came off a pallet full of them. This has been verified by Joey at Ohlins.

 

Max,
Howard will tell you that if an Olin's factory unit will fit your needs, he will give them the specs needed for your application and that is what you get. He dies the configuring on springs Etc.
Have you tried to do the proper sag and preload adjustments for your solo riding conditions.
I change my spring preload by 8 turns from fully loaded to solo setup. Huge difference!
PS if you are having a problem with shocks from Howard, call him he will help you out!!
good luck

 

ElPrez,
I went with the 30 mm units, with shipping, $1900.00, He machines the fork legs and sets them up.
Well worth it,
I did make some minor adjustments after install. never looked back.
Love the way it handles and rides.
Jarret

 

????

I bought the shocks direct from Howard after providing the specs. Factory Olins are different than MM Ohlins. Ohlins build them special order.

Add:

Sag set with one of these.

https://motool.co/collections/sport-...nsion-tuner-v4

but an earlier V3,

Talked to Howard and was refereed by him to Joey at Ohlins. That's where Joey indicated that Howard's shocks are built by Ohins to MM specs.

 

Just for info, I've had my Ohlins #3-3 from Howard since long before Ohlins started building their shocks for Harleys! I also have his 'tuned' fork cartridges, although they were introduced much later.

 

I am surprised that they or Howard didn't offer to exchange them if they are that bad,
I set mine with calipers and a zip tie to start and went from there, couldn't be happier!!