Background:

Shocks are brand new, installed them on a 2015 Dyna Street Bob. I don't have any HD aftermarket shock experience prior to Progressive 970 so I didn't know what to expect. (I have downhill/mountain biking background so I used high end shocks like RockShock and Fox on my bikes). I weight 80Kgs (176pounds)

First Ride


Day 1:

Shocks were on its minimum spring rate when I received them (softest spring rate). Didn't really messed around with the compression ***** at this point and just went out to test the shocks.

After riding around 10 minutes or so I didn't see any improvement over stock shocks, it was rough, stiff and no improvement over potholes (especially the small ones).

So decided to set up suspension SAG. Recommended SAG is 1inch, I am 80kgs. When I sit on the bike with the softest spring rate and compression, I only get 0.3 to 0.4 inch SAG. So I am no where close to the recommended SAG for a softer ride. Technically I can never get to their recommended sag with my weight. Contacted Progressive and I was advised to lower down the compression (Shocks have standard spring rate, so its not a heavy duty spring rate)

Day 2:

Set the compression to +1 (There are 18 clicks towards +, I kept them at the minimum compression, so its the softest setup possible with this shock). Still no improvement, 2 days and 70kms into the shocks I still cannot figure out why/how this shock is a big improvement over stock. Not sensitive over small hits, very stiff, can feel every pothole on the road just like I would with the stock shocks. The only difference I could feel is that the bike was higher so I don't hit the bottom of the bike anymore on speedbumps and when I hit the potholes hard the bike does not bottom out anymore.

I thought I cannot get to the recommended SAG for a softer ride with my weight so decided to ride 2 up on the softest setting to test the shocks. So now we are 2 up 80kgs + 60kgs = 140kgs (308.647pounds).

Things got better at this point, I started to see some improvement over stock shocks but nothing like the "day and night" difference people are talking about on the reviews, just the bike is not bottoming out anymore and I don't hit the bottom of the bike on speed bumps. When I told the GF the new shock are on, she commented that she didn't feel any difference at all.

I showed the bike to my HD dealers mechanic, told him I am not seeing much improvement. He took it for a ride on the softest setup and told me the shocks are stiff and that we need to loosen them up. Unfortunately its on the softest setting possibe (compression + spring rate) so its not possible to loosen them up further.

After the GF's and the mechanics comments I am convinced that I am onto something here and that its not just me thats missing the point.

Observations: (What I think after 2 days of riding solo and 2 up.)

- These shocks are not for light people like myself, I can only hit the recommended SAG 2 up.

- One up shocks are very stiff and unresponsive, I can feel every irregularity on the road and it doesn't eat up small pot holes like I expected a high end shock to do. 2 up it gets better, there is noticeable improvement but still not a comfortable, smooth, responsive ride. It just eats up bigger hits better and doesn't bottom out but I didn't get that sensitivity I expected over small pumps. You still feel everything on the road unlike cars and mountain bikes with high end suspension I have experience with. Moreover the stock shocks were a lot softer so I believe it was more sensitive to small pumps.

- I have read so many reviews about how these shocks are night and day diffrent and how it transformed their ride, I am confused because it took me 2 days of riding to see some improvement over stock shocks and I am still trying to convince myself that these shocks are performing better. Either my shocks are malfunctioning or people are seeing placebo affects after dropping 1K on these shocks. Or they never experienced proper shocks before.

- I had big expectations after paying 1K from a high end suspension, there is not much ROI. If I knew, I would go for a cheaper suspension. Definitely not a 1K improvement to my ride quality. I spent all that expecting a conformable ride, all i got is a none bottoming out, big hit absorber shock. Which is good but not sure if its 1K good.

- I am very curious now and I will start testing other Dynas with aftermarket suspensions to see if they are any better. My initial thought was these suspensions are broken/malfunctioning but the factory says they dyno test every suspension before sending them to dealers and that they are confident the shocks are fine.

Conclusion:

Overall I am not impressed at all, put aside "day and night difference" I don't see much difference over stock shocks at all. I don't see that pothole eating, sensitive, responsive feel that one expects from a high end shock, still reflects every single pothole I hit back to the seat, small or big, every irregularity I hit on the road I feel it on the seat. just improvement over big hits where the bike seems to stay in control much better.

Advise:

If you are buying this shock, find a friend who owns one and test ride his bike. Be your own judge. Its a big investment so better test it before you do the purchase. I personally wouldn't buy it If I knew better and I advise you to test other brands to see if the investment you are making is worth it. In my case all those positive review I have read were misleading. I wouldn't trust suspension reviews from random people because I have a feeling some of those have no idea what they are talking about. One magazine review went as much as saying these shocks were performing right at the level of much more expensive custom built race shocks that were used on tracks.

 

I though about those and since I only got ordinairy comments about them I went with Ohlins 2-2 and installed them with the support of Howard... that's been one of my best decision !

 

That sucks, I'd return them and demand a refund.

 

That has always been my experience with shocks of this quality. Good shocks ARE worth it but they are expensive. In your case I would ask about a softer spring before you totally give up.

 

Sorry to hear about that with the Progressives. I am also a light (155#) rider. Went with the Legend 13” Revo-A rear shocks. They are manufactured standard with a softer spring so it is possible to hit the recommended sag for a lighter rider. My ride position has not changed AND I have gained an extra 1” of travel. This is the primary reason that I chose the Legends. The effect on the ride quality was immediate and massively improved. Can’t say enough about how much more fun the ride is now......

 

Make sure the shocks are aligned perfectly, I know, they should be but are they?
Measure the distance between the upper eyes and the lower eyes, if they are the same you are good to go. If it happens that say the lower eyes are closer together the shocks will bind and not travel smoothly.
A simple measurement and a couple of washers may make a big difference.
In any case, I hear what your's saying. I put Progressive 444's on the back of my RK and they weren't all that great.

 

Thanks man I will look into this for sure. I installed it with the original washers from the package so no alignment issues but I will check the eye to eye measurements today.

 

I also took a chance with Progressive only I bought the 944's. I share many of the same things the original OP did. I kept them and I will continue to use them but I feel the ride is no better than my stock shocks with 1 inch lowering kit.

 

Shocks will break in over 500 - 1000 miles, but if you can return them maybe you should and go with Ohlins or something similar.

We put 444s on my wife's 48 and they made a difference, but we also bought 1 inch taller shocks which might have been the reason.

 

Here is an update on the shocks. I so friggin pissed off at these shocks that I stretched the shocks way over the recommended minimum spring rate.

On the manual it says from the factory shocks are set to minimum spring rate and that we should not open it up further but it was clear the shocks were very stiff.

I still had a lot of space on top to stretch the springs so figured why not give it a shot.

As soon as I did that the shocks transformed into another animal. I am extremely happy with the shocks right now and they definitely perform.

I actually feel very bad for creating this whole tread trashing Progressive but the system doesn't let me delete it now.

The manual is misleading though and if you are a light rider I advise you to go ahead, open her up and ignore the manula recomended minimum spring rate. Shocks are waaaay better than the stocks now and for sure transformed the way the bike rides and handles.

They are plush, responsive and for sure day and night difference over the stock shock...