OK... now I can see what you are talking about... Sorry, I wasn't seeing that clearly....

It would stand to reason that any adjustment of that length of threaded bolt, between #1 & #2 would alter the ride height, without affecting the pre-load....

Only adjustments between nut #3, locking nut #4, and the canister, will affect pre-load...

But that doesn't look right to me....

OK, I just went out and looked at my '01 FX softail Springer, and my '03 FL softail Heritage... They are both OEM...

I think I see what's going on here...

On both my softails, there are barely any threads left, after bolts #1 & #2, with grommet washers in place, attach the shocks to that mounting plate... You appear to have significantly more threads on that portion of the mounting hardware than I do on two softails...

If you have both of the washer/grommets in place, between the mounting plate and both bolts #1 & #2, then I suspect you have the Arlen Ness lowering kit (or similar kit) you referenced in an earlier post... and it looks to be adjusted at its highest setting...

This is your pic of the extra threads:



Here are pics of both my softails of the same bolt/nut... I know both mine are OEM set ups...







Additionally, on the canister side of that mounting bolt, both my softails only have one nut, the locking nut.... there are flats on the round stock portion, to hold that for both tightening & loosening the locking nut, and while adjusting the canister...



I've never used one, probably why I didn't see it right off... but I am fairly confident you have a lowering kit on yours....

Lower away....!!!!

Just don't go so low as to hit the inside of your fender, or any wires under there.... that would another thread altogether....

 

@Hattitude:
Excuse me but Craigny and you are screwing up the termes here.
Allthough preload and height are connected, this is NOT the same as lowering/rising the rear of the bike.

The preload is based on the riders weight and riding style and has to be adjusted according to these factors.
The mechanic is completely right when he says taht the shocks isn´t height adjustable.

Height adjustable shocks as for example Proggressive 422 are able to adjust ride height WITHOUT altering preload.

 

ok thanks for the information. So you're saying with this kit installed there's no way for me to raise the rear at all? This is a one setting lowering kit with no adjustment? It seems to me that the extra threads out the front means that there is some room for adjustment either way.....is that correct or this is a one setting type deal?

Again to be clear, I do not want to go lower i want to raise it back to stock height, it appears to only be lowered an inch or less.

 

As I see it, your bike already´s lifted as much as possible. To lower the bike you want to adjust the rods to be longer. To raise it you´d want to pulle the swingarm closer to the point where your shocks are attached to the frame. This seems to be impossible on your bike.

 

Yes looking at it now and understanding all the geometry I see what you're saying and that seems to be the case. I had my brain backwards for a minute but now I believe I understand it right. It looks like they installed the lowering kit and have it set at the minimum lowering adjustment, meaning I can go lower if I want but not higher. That makes sense as the bike is lowered but not slammed down. It seems like maybe 1/2 to 1 inch lowered.

For now I may just get some good miles on this season and see how she feels. I haven't had a chance to put a lot of miles on this bike since I got it in January. So far the bike seems to be riding and handling good. I don't do much if any 2 up riding so maybe ill wait it out.

If I do end up changing something, I may just get a set of stock take off OEM shocks and install them to bring it back to stock height. That appears to be an easy option. The progressive shocks seem good but are a bit more than I'm looking to spend right now.

 

I agree with you completely... I got caught up in the compression v extension geometry and how the preload is adjusted..

I also focused on the statement that they were "not adjustable".... If you use the words "height adjustable" ... you are absolutely right... an entirely different question and answer.... my bad...

Thanks for adding that clarity into the discussion....

I also now just realized that the OP was looking to raise the height not lower the height... bad comprehension day...
My wife often tells me I'm missing the point... but I just don't understand what she is talking about...

 

All good everyone and thanks for the input, yes I was not very clear in my explanation looking for height adjustment, but now I think I got what I need to do, plus I got some good education on Softail suspension!

 

Sorry to hijack this thread but I'm hoping someone might know the answer.
My 09 has the HD lowering kit installed on it and I'd like to restore it to stock height.
Can I just remove the stub shafts that are the lowering kit, and remount the shocks to the frame, or do I need to install the stock Stub Shafts? If I need to reinstall the stock Stub Shafts does anyone have that PN?

 

Depending on what kit you have installed you may or may not be able to bring it back. With mine i'd have to disassemble the shocks, so I did score a set of NOS HD takeoffs that I'm still waiting to put in.....dragging my feet on it at the moment, the bike has been handling pretty good. I believe the kit from HD if that's the one you have is fully adjustable but i'm not 100 percent sure.

 

Yes, it has the HD lowering kit. Everything I've seen seems to lead me to having to remove the stub shafts by disassembling the shocks. I was hoping someone might have the stock stubs shaft part number. Where did you get the NOS takeoffs? Is there a resource other than FB and CL to find takeoffs?