I've had my 2014 Heritage since February of this year and was planning on writing a glowing report on how much I love it. That will have to come later.

Right now I'm po'ed about how hard it is to adjust the preload on the rear shocks. First of all, FU to the guy at the factory who puts the locktite on the locking nuts. Took me quite a while but I finally got them loose. I still cannot turn the preload adjustment (using Harley's "official" adjusting wrench which is pretty much useless anyway). When I try and turn the adjuster the whole shock body still turns, and very hard at that. Does the rear wheel have to be off the ground to remove the weight load of the bike on the shocks? The book says to adjust the shocks on the jiffy stand, which I have been trying. I have a motorcycle jack but it gets in the way, but I can use it if I have to. Pissed right now so I have to take a break for today. Anyone have any tips?

Thanks in advance!

 

Search the forum.
A thread on this subject was just posted within the last 2 weeks.
In that thread is the adjustment procedures.

As for the entire shock body turning; that's normal.

 

If you have a crash bar (engine guard), adjustment is pretty easy if you lay the bike on the left side, on a blanket in the grass. Doing it on the side stand can be quite a pain. Hardly enough clearance to swing a wrench.

 

Get the rear tire off ground and bike up high enough to allow you room to work. Use a wrench on the flat of the shaft to hold it while you break loose the jam nut, back the jam nut all the way out. Use the HD wrench with the ears placed into holes in the shock body, turn the shock body as far clockwise as it will go. Adjust out counter clockwise the appropriate number of turns for your weight based on the table in your manual. The whole shock body will turn. Lock the jam nut...repeat for other shock. You are ready to roll.
The table in your manual is a generic starting point IMO. You may have to tweak a bit from there. I always end up running a bit more preload than is specified for my weight.

 

Loctite removal tip:

Use a soldering iron and place on the nut or bolt that you want to remove and hold it there for a few minutes. This will turn the solid loctite into a liquid.

 

Thanks guys. I didn't expect to see the whole shock body move. Not exactly sure of the mechanics involved here but I'll try it again tomorrow. Just for the record, I did try searching on the forum before posting; I guess I just don't have as much luck with forum searches as some people do, or maybe just lack the patience!

 

Get the tool from Progressive Suspension. It goes on the end of a 3/8" ratchet like a crow's foot and gives you better angles and leverage to get the job done with the bike on the side stand.

 

I have always used a heat gun or blow dryer to loosen up the loctite when necessary. A lot faster than a soldering iron.

 

That works but if you are not careful (read: too much heat) then the paint starts bubbling. Besides, I have a Weller soldering station that gets up to 700°F in 60 seconds.

 

Sorry I didn't include a link to the thread.
I was replying with my iPad which is a pain in the *** to search from and wasn't feeling any pain

Below is a link to the recent thread and attached are the instructions.
Looking at the thread, it's actually about Progressive shocks not OEM, but it has helpful info.

Also there are some YouTube videos out there as well.

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/softa...eload-huh.html