After talking with Howard for a little while by email and over the phone and finding out I could get a set of his most popular custom made shocks (delivered) that are good for life at the relatively low sum of $516 (for HDF members) I went ahead and ordered a set.

I'm confident his front fork solution will be something I will crave as well but for now the rear shocks will have to suffice for me but I will be keeping an eye on what is developed.

I poured over a hundred or more posts on this forum and read almost all the way through Howard's website and others to get the education I needed to make this decision.

I'm not knocking the Progressive 440 which would be the closest thing to a mass produced competitor which Motorcycle Metal is not. Still at almost the same cost why would anyone who knew all the facts buy the 440's over the Ohlin's custom made shocks?

I also look forward to the day when he is making Softail shocks.

 

I will respond to rthomp 159 questions:

• I have instructed rthomp 159 twice (posts: 32, 48) to re-read his posts and provide accurate information. Rthomp 159, you choose not to.
• Rthomp 159, you repeatable quoted me (FastHarley) as making statements that I clearly did not.
• I gave rthomp 159 time to correct his mistakes and I had not commented on rthomp 159’s fabrication of statements and facts out of courtesy and to provide the needed time to correct his actions.

I invest my time and funding to sponsor this site only to exchange ideas about motorcycling and mechanics and not to star on Jerry Springer. I do hope this is the end of it.

 

Howard, I've re-read your posts and your website, and the answers ain't there. I'll repeat again that this was a thread about another brand of fork cartridge, one that you've done no testing on, that you jumped into (like a Springer guest) and started trashing. You were asked a cost for the Ohlins, a $2,000 number was tossed around (not by you, but not refuted either). You were asked what made the Ohlins better, other than saying something about "mass produced made in China", you didn't answer that. Both are pretty simple questions that someone in your position should be happy to answer.

You might want to take a clue from other site sponsors who post in these forums. They take the time to explain what they do, they treat other members with respect, and they don't trash talk their competition.

Thankfully Boomer Bob answered one of those simple questions.

At $516 for the rear Ohlins, price is a non-issue when compared to the Progressive 440s (though you still haven't explained what makes the Ohlins a better shock). Ohlins' reputation carries quite a bit of weight though, and at that price they're a bargain.

langhammx- That's a really cute reply, but other than sounding like a fanboy it doesn't really answer anything and sort of proves the point I was making. The stock shocks are "junk", but you haven't bothered experimenting with them at all. You can keep throwing money at your bike(s) and trusting that a salesman is telling you the truth, I'll take my time and find out how things work and what things work.

It's pretty clear you don't get it either, the difference is, you're not asking any questions, you're just accepting what someone who profits from you tells you.

 

rthomp159,

Sounds like you would be happy to argue black is white! The available choice of parts for our Harleys is so great, regardless of what it is, it is not practical for any one of us to road test all options. Doesn't matter if we are private individuals or traders.

Where suspension parts are concerned there are members of HDF who have tried several of the options available and been disappointed in all of them. It would be very easy for a newcomer to all this to spend $2000 on such stuff and also be disappointed - or spend it once on something truly superior.

In my case I have already blown out on one pair of shocks that are slightly better, but not good enough, so have decided to take a short cut. The $516 mentioned buys a pair of Howard's #2 shocks, but I have gone one step further and bought a pair of his #3 Ohlins. If I regard $2000 as a suspension upgrade budget I have more than half left for the front. Or I might just go over budget....

 

I'm happy to argue when there's what appears to be a BS argument going on.

Unless I've missed something, no one has actually used the Progressive fork cartridges. Howard has explicitly said that he hasn't tested them. Howard has also said that he's not finished with the Ohlins front fork setup, so no one has any experience with them either.

It's a crock then for people to jump in and say that the Ohlins perform better than the Progressive, and it's really a crock for Howard to trash talk a product he has no experience with. For all anyone knows, the Progressive setup may be the deal of a lifetime and perform far better than anyone suspects.

Ohlins' reputation precedes itself, and at no point has anyone questioned their quality. The only question was what makes the Ohlins better than Progressive, Racetech, Ricor, or any other suspension solution. It's not a trick question. At this point, at least as far as the front suspension is concerned, it's all wild-assed speculation based on what's inside the forks, as no one has done any sort of head-to-head testing.

If something works, it works. I don't care what it costs, what brand it is, or who I buy it from. And I want more than the seller's say-so that a product is worth the money.

Edited to add- I want to make it clear that I'm not trashing anyone's product. It sounds like everyone involved in this thread has the same goal; to have a bike that rides and handles better than stock. No one has tried the Progressive system, so no one can say with any authority how well it works (or doesn't work). No one has tried the Ohlins system either, so we're stuck bench racing both products until someone ponies up the money to try them.

 

+1 to you sir


I too find it astonishing that a site sponsor would so blatantly trash competitors and direct offensive remarks toward potential customers. Those regrettable remarks appear to have been edited (to the credit of the writer) but exist they did.
Instead, wouldn't it be so much more prudent (for said sponsor) to simply state that his business can offer a superior product for only a few dollars more than the competition and leave it at that? He could add a short explanation of how his product is superior and maybe ballpark cost. It certainly would gain a far more positive response from any potential customers.

In getting back to the OP: I eagerly await any info on the new monotube front suspension.

 

...and I eagerly await what Howard is producing.

 

+1 to that!

 

Umm ... yeah ... that's why I have Progressive Suspension 440 shocks on the rear and their fork spring kit up front.

If you would like, I could take them off, spray paint them gold, and sell them to you for 3 times as much.

No one is arguing that the stock stuff is junk, the point of rthomp159's post I was agreeing with is that cost/benefit eventually becomes a factor.

 

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