May I ask how you find those shocks, especially over small sharp bumps, any bottoming, I am familiar with Ohlins on my Fireblade (many moons ago) but obviously a fully loaded tourer weighs considerably more, do they deal with the extra weight? Thanks, Ady

 

These were set-up for us by Howard at Motorcycle Metal with the correct spring rate for our two-up weight on our Wide Glide.

After trying some BiTubo shocks on the Road King with less than stellar results (Ohlins are my benchmark), I moved the Ohlins from our Wide Glide over to the Road King (after confirming that the spring rate was still appropriate: we got lucky) and then had Howard fine-tuned them at his booth during Bike Week in Daytona. They were almost a little over-sprung, but as you can see by the pre-loading, still within the correct stiffness range.

So, the extra weight isn't an issue; they have proper amount of preload and sag to allow the full range of +/- travel. The dampening is adjustable and we have it set to be a bit more plush that what I use with the Ohlin's on my BMW R1100S which has made my wife very happy.

Unlike a lot of other shocks I've used, and especially the Harley shocks, the Ohlin's don't really seem to bottom-out with a sharp jolt, even over the worst bumps that catch me by surprise. Again, my wife takes the brunt of those big hits and she has been thrilled with the bike ever since we switched to the Ohlins.

The BiTubo's went on the Wide Glide which I ride now solo which is the only reason I can get away with using them. They've been a good shock for the Wide Glide but I should really switch out the spring for one that's stiffer.

 

Sorry been MIA and off the site for a bit.

YES, I have OHLINS 2-2A's with matching YELLOW springs!

Thanks for the kind words too!


YB

 

2013 & 2014 SERK's come with the Harley Premium Ride Shocks (check the 2015 P&A catalog) the ride is pretty good IMHO not sure you'll get that much better of a ride from any other gas charged shock to justify the expense

 

... which is a pretty low place to set the bar.

Seriously, Harley's Premium Ride, Hand-Adjustable Touring Shocks (standard or low) -- right side handling compression while left handles rebound -- were designed to make pre-load adjustments easier to make and a little bit better than the standard Harley OEM shocks. And, all that adding or removing pre-load does is adjust the ride height when the "normal" load is increased or decreased; that's it.

If the Premium shock's spring rates are too high or too low for how you spend most of your time in the saddle, adding or removing pre-load won't fix that. With a combined weight of 275lbs, we're just on the light side for Harley's OEM shocks, hence the need for us to look for shocks that gave us a choice of spring rate.

Beyond that, if you aren't happy with the Premium OEM Harley shock's dampening characteristics there's nothing you can do about it; there is no rebound adjustment. And, getting the "suspension right" solves all kinds of problems; for folks who ride two-up... an important one is passenger comfort. If the passenger's saddle's not comfortable or they get a sore back chances are, it's not the saddle: it's the rear suspension.

In closing, I'll keep holding on to my OEM shocks in the event we ever part with the bike since our Ohlins may or may not have a high-enough spring rate for potential buyers. And, FWIW, it's not a Harley thing: the OEM shocks on my Honda and BMW sport bikes that came before adding Harley's to the stable also had mediocre stock shocks that got replaced with Wilburs, Penske or Ohlins. Suspension continues to be the best place to spend your money first when upgrading a bike... any bike.

Just my .02.

 

These............

 

that's great looking tattoo mate

 

I agree with DHubbs. I have the 2014 CVO King and I think the stock premium ride shocks work really well. Some people disagree, usually saying they are too hard. If you really don't like them, you might want to try Race Tech. They custom build them to your weight, how you want them to feel, how you ride, etc.

 

My good lady and myself have a combined weight of around 273lbs, and I've got to say I have found the shocks on my 14 CVO RK to be fine. The ride isn't as good as the shotgun shocks I had on my Heritage, but they seem ok once I'd worked out the best settings