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FYI,in your case" looking for rear shock info & rec " thats a subject thats been to beat to death and there rae tons of threads and posts on it.

All you need to do is a forum search titled something like for example ' shocks for touring bike " or " shock rec for touring bike " or even " ohlins for touring bikes " and you will get hrs threads/posts to go thru which i have done recently.

IMHO,Bottom line is if you can afford it (i can't @ this time) i'd rec going with Ohlins spec'd & built specifically for you and your bike setup by the Ohlin master " Howard " @ Motorcycle Metal.

Ohlin shocks setup by Howard have in fact proven to be a high quality top of the line shocks for touring HD's " WHEN PROPERLY DIALED IN/ADJUSTED " which can make or break the perf of the shocks from being so so middle of the road performance to being fantastic so keep that in mind.

Unfortunately many people waste a lot of time,money & effort going thru 1,2 & sometimes 3 sets of diff mfg's shocks before finally ending the pain spending the $$$$ for the Ohlins.

I was one of those people that learned the hard way trying prog 944's that were IMHO a little better then stock after many trial & error tweaking/adjustment riding sessions.

But they were not $550-600 better & sold them shortly after getting them,lost approx $250-300 on the deal that could have gone towards Ohlins that i cant afford at this time.

I am going to play with diff wt oil rear shocks along with diff air pressure to see if i can improve it some along with also going with SE hvy oil in front forks in an attempt to improve overall ride & handling a bit.

But my semi long term goal is to save enough $$$$ to get Ohlins from Howard later this yr and early next yr.

BTW,if you decide to call Howard on ohlins make sure you 1st go to his website/motorcycle metal to rvu all the info on shock design/operation and then the descriptions of all the diff ohlin shock options he offers so you have a better understanding of what you need vs options of ohlins he offers which will help you when speaking with Howard.

Good luck & let us know what you decide to do.

Scott

 

+1 on all the above. Just bought mine from Howard. The #2s are actually priced right in the same ball park as the 944s. There are more expensive models of ohlins...and those are priced in the same ball park as the other higher end performance shocks. Some say ohlins are spendy... but they are not spendy compared to other aftermarket shocks unless you are just talking about 412s or 444.

There is a post somewhere that has low end, middle, and high end performance shock models. I don't think the ohlins from Howard cost more than the other shocks that are in the same "class".

 

Might want to consider a $20 oil change.

 

LMAO..... It will come with internet video's and the whole nine yards.

 

As far as the 12" length in the 2-2, look at the stroke length between the 2-2 and 2-2(A) for the same price. You will not notice the 1/8" difference in shock length, but the stroke is much better on the 'A'.

The way Howard will build to your specs and riding style, it'll be hard to believe you'll bottom out.

 

As many already know, I love my Legend Suspension. American Made, lifetime warranty and above all, great suspension from a manufacture that knows Harleys. Reviews from people in the industry tell the story.

 

Oh Boy! here we go again, drinking the Howard Cool-aid! If you have a Ultra and you are bottoming out riding solo you must have either incorrect air pressure or you have a leak and there is no air in the system.
Take it from me, I've been down this road and have tried at least 3 leading brand shocks. My final determination is that none of these aftermarket shocks are hundreds of dollars better than stock 13" air shocks. Are they a little better, YES, but they are not dramatically better to say they are worth what paid for.
Those that have 12" shocks would see a larger difference because they do bottom out.
I'm currently running Legend Revo-A's and there are times I'm ready to put my stock air shocks back on.
There are many individuals that think what they have is the best because they want to believe they made a good investment. I'm sorry to sound so negative but I consider myself a realist and am just telling as I see it from my experience. I tend to be very analytical and picky.

 

2nd that.

 

I have ridden various Harleys for the last 25 years and have never found one that road good. I have adjusted from 0 to max in a few pound increments with no luck. If the ride ever came close to good it was like you were on a Pogo stick. I have drank the Cool-aid and am pleasantly surprised by the good hallucination.

 

I agree with Streetrunner--you will never find the dollar value (of the spendy Ohlins or whatever others) worth the minuscule comfort advance you seek. There obviously is something wrong with the stock HD shocks you use because they will never bottom out with a normal load (unless, I suppose, you never see a speed bump coming and are traveling at 30 mph with a passenger). I chose to spend a little time changing the oil to a bit heavier weight in my stock 13" shocks--and that worked well. And I DO NOT use any air--because adding or reducing air is just a pain in the **** and it is never right. Additionally, air shocks are only HD's method of reducing cost without actually producing a superior ride. There are many things HD should be ashamed to use on $30,000 motorcycles and their stock shocks are at the head of the list.