Gents

A friend of mine just bought a 04' XL 1200 C ... he is a bigger guy (about 240) and it has the stock shocks on it .. no problem .. but his wife wants/ insists to ride with him and she is a good 210 or better... now had he asked for my advice before hand I would have told him to get a bigger bike.. anyway .. he asked me to help him put new shocks on ... I dont even know where to begin with shocks for that kind of weight load... please way in with your thoughts on the best shocks to put on that bike...

thanks for the help

Sport

 

Progressive has some heavy duty shock springs that you can add to any of the Progressive shocks. 444's with heavy springs may be the way to go. He'll want the longest shocks he can get and still sit flat footed when stopped. Is he tall enough to raise the bike about 4"? If so, I'd get some 13.5" Progressives with longer progressive fork springs. A new kickstand will be needed if raising the bike that much. If 13.5" is a bad idea, I'd go with 12" shocks but no lower. He should be able to keep the stock kickstand and fork springs. Just a thought, I'm not an expert on shocks. BTW, I'm 5'-8" with 30" inseam and I fit fine with my stock 13.25" shocks which come stock on a standard height XL. Customs are a few inches lower. Progressive shocks are expensive but worth it if you need the extra weight capacity. Also, Ricor is another company you may want to look into, but I'm not sure if they offer heavy duty springs for 2-up riding.

-Beer

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHROME-LOWER...4f54c6&vxp=mtr

 

Pretty cost effective solution if you need new suspension on the cheap. Do they come from a reputable aftermarket company? I don't think they're made by HD or they would say so, I would think. BTW, nice seat. Almost bought one but I went with a Hollywood Solo instead.

-Beer

 

Use HD takeoff airshocks. They are easy to adjust from 1-up to 2-up.

Google is your friend. There are a couple of threads detailing how to do the swap and another that has all the part numbers by length eye-to-eye. My 05 Roadster had 13.25 stock and I switched them to 13" HD airshocks I found on CL for $100 (with the 2-1 airlines).

I'm not a mechanic, but I performed this magic in a hotel parking lot in Long Beach using a couple of wrenches from Harbor Freight. The hardest part was the .25

 

They are Ultima brand shocks...I've had them on three different bikes so far without any problems and the ride is great. I did not go with the H-D shocks because nearly all are used and did not want to mess with the draining/refilling procedure affiliated with the majority of those purchases. The only downside I can think of is that Ultima does not offer these in black if that be your preference.

 

I just put Electra Glide shocks on my 48 because I ride 2 up with my wife often. I'm 200 and she is 125, so we're a bit lighter, but I put 10lbs in each shock and it rides SOOO much better.

Best part, I found the shocks used on craigslist for $60 bucks. Put a schrader valve on each for another 5 bucks and mounted them up. Only thing to be careful of is the space between the shock and the inside of the mounting point. Mine would have bent the metal frame if I didnt put a few washers in there to give clearance.