I've been thinking of replacing the stock suspension of my Roadster with shocks and forksprings from Progressive. The shocks I'm considering are the 412's. Does anyone have any firsthand experience with these shocks and forksprings and will there be a noticable improvement with them over the stock units?

 

Welcome to HDF.
I think 98.9% of those on here with different shocks are running 412s, myself included. I've had 11", 11.5" heavy duty and 11.5" std. spring and also have std. hgt. progressive fork springs. The fork springs are a great improvement but the shocks in short lengths are a marginal improvement over stock in my opinion having run the 25k miles with Progressive 412s. Since you've got a roadster you are likely going to run longer shocks like 12-13" at least considering your stcok shocks are 13.25" so you will see a benefit in switching to 412s. They really are the best bang for the buck but if I were running longer shocks and willing to spend a bit more I'd be going with Ohlins or Works brand shocks.

 

I have progressive fork springs and 412 shocks. BIG improvement! Especially the front.

 

Go to the progressive site and check there. They have a chart to help you find the suspension that you need, and if that don't work, you can always call them.

 

My advise...skip the 412's for something better.
I put them on my 04 Roadster and was disappointed with both the ride and build quality. the welds were pitiful
Yes, they were a bit better than stock but not by much.
Save your pennies and get some Works or Ohlins

 

412's on my bike are a huge improvement over stock. like nightster and day.......(sorry i had to).

 

A 412 is a hydraulic shock and is non re-buildable. In 10 ~ 12 K miles they are worn out. Throw away your hard earned cash in 10/12 K. The ride sucks something bad in comparison with something good like an Ohlins or Penske. I do re-Valve and re-Spring them before you receive them if you are out of the weight for what they were intended for. Ohlins are about 2X more expensive than 412 but in 30K mi, just send them back to me and they are rebuildabe back to brand new. All shocks degrade over time and all shocks wear. Problem is most riders do not realize that. PS I have a brand new set of 12" chrome/black spring Bravo YSS (hydraulic) but these shocks do not compare with Ohlins emulsified. IMO any hydraulic is crap.

 

My progressive shocks aren't the least bit worn out after 12,000 miles.

 

All shocks wear gradually. You do not notice it as it takes time. Yours are no different. Do yourself a favor and have them dyno'd or not.

 

Check out the thread going on in this forum about suspension upgrades which apply to your Sporty also.
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/dyna-...ification.html

In addition if you Google Ricor you will be directed to another forum with a lot of feedback on Sporty Suspension's with install instructions and ride reports on those that compelted the install and provided their feedback.