Hello,

I just switched out my stock suspension on my 2011 iron to progressive 412 and fork springs.

Old suspension the front forks would compress a lot just sitting on it and almost bottom out when cornering hard the rear suspension was also "squishy"

After changing the suspension I went for a short ride:

The front forks almost dont move at all now and the overall ride feels rougher.... is this common ?
is there a break in period?

Just looking for thoughts or experiences from other progressive owners

 

Did you set the oil level to stock specs after installing the springs?

The Progressive springs, especially with the tighter wound end down will displace more oil, and make the level higher than it was with the stock springs. This would make the ride stiffer.

 

did you get the HD 412s or the standard?

 

A couple of thoughts. If you removed the fork legs and reassembled them in the trees, slacken the bottom tree clamp bolts, then work the forks vigorously several times (apply the front brake and heave up and down on the bars!). That should align them in the bottom tree. Tighten the clamp bolts and see if there is any improvement.

If not, check oil levels, as Canuck suggested. Not all fork oils are created equal, so also check which brand and grade you used, compared with what Progressive recommend.

 

Sounds like too much fork oil. I had this problem when I switched out to progressive springs. At that time, Progressive didn't know the correct amount of fork oil for a 883L model. And asked me to let them know when I found out.

My first attempt, the forks didn't compress at all. I pulled off the forks, totally drained them, and put 10 ounces in each. That was perfect.

 

+1 - on this. If you just replaced the springs without draining and refilling the oil to the proper level you'll have too much oil in the forks. Also, a 5-7 weight fork oil is recommended, which is standard (Showa) weight fork oil, not the heavier SE fork oil.

 

If you want to make that job easy and accurate get this guy from Progressive, it measures the oil lever at the center of the oil pool so that angle of the forks does not matter.

 

That is a handy tool.
But for weekend wrenchers, you can also get the same measurement by carefully inserting almost any kind of rod or stick down the center of the tube.

 

Aw cHarley, I just like to have lottsa stuff. Stuff is good.

 

Agreed... That one just never made it high enough on my priority list yet.