Short answer:

Wow... I think my shock search is over. My initial impressions are that these provide the ride I have been looking for ......

Background:

I've been riding exclusively Harley bikes since 1977. I went from upstate NY to SoCal on a '78 FXS. I drove that FXS all over the West coast, and then had a couple Heritage softails. I never gave upgrading the suspension a thought. Of course I was younger, tougher, and ignorant about suspension.

I bought my first bagger in 2012 ('12 Limited). I rode that cross country, and was amazed at the comfort compared to my other bikes.

As I get older, and added a wife who frequently rides on the back of my bike, I started to realize there is room for improvement and started reading/research.

I changed the oil in my '12 air shocks... better than OEM, but not a huge improvement.

I looked into "premium" shocks, and bought a set of SuperShox (emulsion style) during their initial roll-out, with discount. They were much better than the air shocks (with both weights of oil). They were very easy to set, and adjust pre-load. I liked them, but there was no Wow factor...

I ended up selling the '12 and getting a used '16 Classic. It was now time to revisit the shock absorber dilemma.

The Decision:

I followed shock threads on a couple different forums. I was aware of Howard's Ohlin shocks, and several other "premium" shock makers/vendors.

I wanted something with at least a 3" stroke, I wanted to try a gas separated shock this time, I wanted to be able to adjust both pre-load and damping, and I didn't want them to sit me higher than the OEM air shocks. (I'm 5'8" with a 31" inseam)

Howard's #3-#3 fit that bill. I could adjust their size to 12 3/4", and they fit all my other criteria. I also had faith in Howard's customer service, based on his posts and the many kudos he got from customers.

The Shocks:

I got the #3-#3s, in black. Howard was efficient and helpful. I finally ordered about 1600 hrs, his time, on a Thursday. To my surprise, I received my invoice/receipt later that night.. to include the shipping number. I checked online, and Howard not only initiated a shipping label, but UPS received them that night... kinda figured they wouldn't go out until the next day sometime... it was pleasant surprise.

They are a pretty shock.... seem to be well built, and were pretty easy to install (following Howard's directions). I had to add two shims (washers) to the lower left shock bolt. My right side shocks had perfect alignment. I installed them, and checked the sag. Pretty easy to do. I got the sag to be 1/3 of the stroke (1") with me on the bike. I played with the damper **** a little, but left it were I found it when I got the shocks.

The road test:

I've only ridden solo so far. I have not made any adjustments to the damping. I went for a 120 mile ride. It included side roads, winding/hilly roads, and about 80 miles of I-15 freeway (mostly 4 lane @ 70mph speed limit)

I really liked the way these shocks felt from the start... The suspension felt very planted, but not too firm or harsh. Initial thoughts are that these are certainly much better than the emulsion SuperShox I had on my '12 Limited.

There is a section of a frontage road, that runs parallel to I-15 for several miles. I use it as a short cut when I-15 backs up. There is a certain section, about 3 or 4 miles where the pavement is pretty uneven, cracked, and in poor condition... There is one 1/4 mile section, that would make a washboard seem smooth. I dislike going over this section on my softail solo, and really hate it two-up with the wife. I went in search of this section of road. As I was playing with the curves on this frontage road, it was very obvious, that how my bike was handling this poor road was incredible. An obvious and exponential improvement over the air shocks, and a large improvement how I remembered it on my '12, with the SuperShox. I knew I was on a stretch of bad road, but all the "bumps" were softer, never harsh, and yet I was going through the curves faster than I had been able to go on my other bikes. I wasn't even trying to push the speed. It just happened because these shocks made the bike feel so planted. As I was reaching the end of this frontage road, I realized I had gone over the washboard section and didn't even realize it. Pretty good test right there...

The rest of the ride was very similar. Bumps, dips, freeway seams, bridge seams, and even a few tar snakes... nothing ever felt harsh, and pretty sure I never bottomed out. I found myself looking for road imperfections instead of avoiding them. It was a test-ride after all.

I will be doing some rides soon with the wife on the back. I might even play with the damping a couple clicks here or there, just to experiment. I really doubt I could change anything that would improve the solo ride... but I do like to experiment...

I have a 1300 mile round-trip ride, coming up in a couple weeks. It will include a lot of I-5, then riding around Yosemite, and back via the 395. I look forward to seeing how these shocks perform...

But for now, I gotta give them two thumbs up....

 

Now you gotta do the 25MM fully adjustable kit for the front. We can install it at my house, since you are so close, lol.

 

Price please, pm me if needed.

 

Please call me about the final tuning to make the ride much better. I do not know if I spoke with you on the final phase of the tuning. Thanks.

 

I got a set of #3 - #3 from Howard and they made a huge impact of my quality of ride. I need to take them off this winter and send them down to Howard so he can do periodic maintenance on them.

 

 

What type of maintenance does Howard do? These might be my next set of shocks

 

 

That is a most excellent testimonial by OP. If I were not ecstatic with my Pro Action shocks I would certainly be calling Howard.