Bitubo shocks are great, a little pricey but good springs and adjustable dampening.

https://traxxion.com/product/bitubo-shocks-wme-for-harley-davidson-motorcycles/

Call ask for Dan, he will get you a better price.

 

Handirifle, about those air shocks on the sporty....
Any trouble installing them?
How about maintenance, do these shock hold up over long term? Or are we just putting off getting coil shocks at somepoint down the road?

 

The only difference on the install is additional washers are required because the air shocks are fatter. I had mine on a yr before I sold the sportster. Never an issue with mine. these have coils in them. At 180lbs I ran with zero air when solo

 

I went with 13.5 inch progressive 444 and I weigh around the 210. The standard rate springs work well for me and I ride solo mostly with spare luggage when luggage is there. Love the ride

 

OP may have a budget...has $1200 into the entire bike?

IMO best option, as mention above, used bagger Air Shocks $80
(FWIW Buy the proper inflator, these shocks may only need 2 to 12 psi adjustments)

I think the cheapest Progressive brand name new shocks are around $250.

Used shocks can take searching for a while, E-bay knock offs may result is poor compression/ rebound/ spring rate et al, which said c/r/sr may be the reason the OP is looking to upgrade.

Good luck.

 

I am real happy with my 13" RK shocks. I have a XL883L so I needed a lowering block to get the rear end back down.
I was running at 0psi but have found that 2psi is much better. Tried 8psi and it was way to stiff. Im 6' 2" 230lbs.

 

My 2014 Ultra has the OEM air shocks. My bike weighs almost 900 gassed up, and I weigh 180, yet I run only 10psi solo in my shocks (13") and have ridden 2 up at that same pressure, although, 12-13 would probably been better, for 2 up. It was a very soft ride, but a little too soft. Never bottomed out though.

My point being, with me, solo, on a 900 lb bike and only using 10 psi, it would ride very harsh on a sportster, anywhere near that pressure. I had RK 13" air shocks on my sportster, and ran them at zero. Handled very well and nice ride too. I found 6-7 was good for 2 up on the sportster.

Remember, these are sprung for a solo rider about 180lb, on an 800+ lb bike.