Lets start of by taking a look at the all to familiar HD air ride set up.
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Nice looking set up, to bad its not that functional. Short travel, bottoms out a lot. The need to run high pressure makes it more like a hard tail. That is if the shocks actually hold air. So lets take them off and put something on there that should have been there from the factory.
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As you can see changing shocks on this ride is a breeze.
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And now the 440's. HD. 12.5" raised my bike 3/8". They come set at minimum soft left them there for first ride. First ride they were a bit more stiff than I was expecting. Traveled down the same roads as with the air ride which had launched me a many times out of the seat. That did not happen with the 440.s, they absorbed the road pretty well.
OK now the for the most important test back home to pick up my passenger. For those of you not familiar with the SG passenger seat its small and not that comfy. It was a brutal ride for the little women with the air ride. Both of our expectations were pretty high when we left. You know what I mean when I say you read a lot of material but you just dont know until you hit the road with it. I threw everything I could at those 440.s and they just sucked it it up like it wasn't there. That was one of those times when you could actually say wow what an improvement. The SG stayed glued to the road , and not one time did I hear slow down.
It is however my opinion that unless you are ridding 2 up you may want to consider the standard 440. But then again I dont recall reading anything about the break in of these shock's, whether they become weaker after break in. As it is right now I wont be able to take advantage of the adjustments as they are plenty stiff. Thanks to all who contributed to my better ride.

 

Thanks for the info, I've been thinking about the 9 series myself, just trying to do some other things first. I have the progressive monotubes 2" under up front, love them a lot.

 

I went with the 12" 440s in the rear and the monotube shocks in the front. WoW !! more controlled without bounce or slop. Very pleased.

 

Just started reading about the monotubes. Thinking I need to do something about the front, just dont like the way my bike wallows through the corners.
What I found so far hasn't been all that favorable. Seems there are unexplained issues that some have experienced.
Wish I had a good place to find the actual tear down and rebuild.

 

thanks for the info.

Soon I will be changing the rear shocks and I think I will be getting the 440 HD's. I go 250 myself before the OL gets on.

Just picked up the stock length Monotubes but haven't had time yet to install them.

 

I did the 440's last year, and liked them so much, I pulled the trigger on the monotubes for the front over the winter. I'm very happy with the way my bike rides. Better now at 104K than when it was new!

 

SIU,

The only adjustment you can make to the Progressive 440 is spring preload. There is no adjustment for compression and rebound. The preload adjustment is used for setting up the correct sag on the bike for your riding weight.

The 440 has an inertial valve (inside the shock) that automatically adjusts for compression and rebound.

I had the 440s on my Street Glide for almost a year, and I would rate them as "middle of the road." They were a definite improvement over the stock air shocks, but I personally wanted more refinement (and adjustments available) out of my rear suspension, so I recently went with a pair of Ohlins.

Good luck with the Progressives...I hope they work out for you.