I have a Road Glide Custom , like your street glide mine came with 12" shocks , I went with the #3-#3 , you can adjust the length down to 12 3/4" , the 3/4" will not hurt you on handling but having a shock with a longer stroke really helps on ride quality , the #2-#2A are 12" and have a 84mm stroke and are a nice ride as well , what I like about the #3's is I can adjust dampening and that really helps you fine tune them for your best ride

 

In the process of purchasing a set of Ohlins 2-2A for my 2011 Road King. My experience so far is, spend sometime educating yourself via Howards website and various post from this forum. Then go to Howard with your questions, he has been more than helpful and kind. Howard knows his stuff and is going to be straight with you! I guess in short study what he has made available to you rather than blindly asking questions all that does is waste his time and yours.

 

Not to pick at an old sore here harleyfam05 you make a good point. I want to provide another option. Educate yourselg of not only shocks but suspension geometry on this site and other available inet sources, including howards frustrating to navigate but informative site. Then toughen up and make the call to him, OR any other ohlins seller, but prior to ordering tell then that you want to coordinate the build through ohlins directly. You need to have several things in line:
year and model of your bike
existing modifications to suspension
where you primarily ride (interstate vs. mountian touring vs. track vs....)
your riding style
Your weight w/o and with gear
Your passenger weight w/o and with gear
Your luggage weight
% of time you ride solo vs double up and gear (ie. 80% solo 5% double 5 % double with luggage)
Armed with that knowledgable vendors like howard or ohlins themselves will get you what you need.
Keep in mind threr is only so much any builder of shocks can do, they are made of the same parts + or - valving shims, external coil rate and possibly the oil wt. (I did not confirm this).
So, anyone prepared with thae above info can get an appropriate shock in a box for you on your bike. It is the setup after the shocks are installed that makes the shocks shine.
In my case I purchased the hd 039 only adjustment is external coil preload to adjust preload (which adjusts preload and thus ride height when with passenger and gear).
Try to understand that the tuning of the shock is an individuals choice and it is best to understand exactly what is going on with an adjustable shock before spinning wheels or turning *****.

 

This came up first searching for MotorcycleMetal.
I didn't want to eat up Mr Messner's time on the phone so emailed, then he told me to call.
He taught me how to decide on what I want. We talked in depth and he communicated on a level that I needed, and I ended up with a glimpse into how he thinks and proceeds, his whole suspension philosophy. He gave me all this info like a passionate scientist does. We were talking about his favorite subject and he treated me like a peer. For 45 minutes Friday night after he closed. It was a conversation not a sales pitch.

I don't understand how a customer experience could ever get any better, unless I took his recommendation and we had the conversation in a strip bar.

 

I think after you do something for a long time you want to deal with people that are interested and invested. I had a guy working for me get really PO'd (really went off) and asked me why I was on him all the time and never the other guy he didn't think was a better worker than him. I told him he was right -the other guy was an idiot and not worth the time and when he was really good he wouldn't be hearing anything out of me, but at least he was worth the trouble to get to that point.

If I were Howard I'd talk to anyone willing to learn or somebody that did some sort of homework to have a clue what they think they want. But, if a guy is calling, looking for me to make his decision for him and then call up afterwards complaining about the results? - waste of both of our time.

I spent time on Howard's site and I still don't know what I don't know... yet. Smarter than I was previously, have some cash in hand but I'm not calling him yet. The best handling bike I owned previously was a NS400R, which is a world apart from this Switchback I have now. After a couple more thousand miles I should get a more complete picture and then hopefully ask some halfway intelligent questions on what I think I am getting out of the setup and where I'm interested in going. My real problem is I don't know how good it can get for the investment, but then I am thinking that's where Howard can clear up some things so I can make a good informed decision.

Here's the thing - when I do something, most likely its going to be through him judging by what I'm reading, so he has a future pending sale already and he didn't even have to say a word to me.

 

Sounds like this guy is a close cousin to Bob woods. A self proclaimed master of his arts. I'm a pretty technical guy, I understand the working parts of a motorcycle better than most. But being a dick isn't allowed if I'm spending my money on your products. I've dealt with Bob woods in a one on one scenario and it convinced me to never contribute to his company again. Sounds like this guy is in the same position. Unless you are the only person offering a niche part for something, you need to cater to the uninformed as well as the tech guys. I assure you, most people don't understand the inner workings of a shock absorber, and treating them like second class idiots isn't going to win you a sale. Premium prices demand not only premium products, but also premium customer service.

 

If you haven't had the experience why are you commenting?

Howard was great when I talked to him. Answered my questions and didn't pull my pud. I suppose if you need to be coddled, maybe Howard isn't for you as he has no tolerance for people that don't know what they want and can't describe where they want to be. Howard is a businessman, he has shocks to build and really, on the phone all day with people who can't describe anything or just calls to waste time is not a productive way to run your business.

If you wish to learn something, can put your overinflated ego in check and can forget momentarily that you know everything, then by all means call Howard. If you can't do the above, probably best if you call the snot nosed 19 year old "Tech Manager" at XXX company. He'll tell you everything you want to hear.

 

I have never dealt with any of the previously mentioned dealers, except fuel moto. My only comment is, I am tired of venders of ALL ranges whether fast food or high end items acting like they are doing me a favor by taking my money. Whose items are good or bad is an opinion not a fact, of course a vender says their products are best. I don't expect anyone to kiss my ***, BUT I won't be treated poorly or talked down to. Come to my profession and the first thing I say is "I won't be your cheapest bid" and then I answer questions and explain why. Lastly I thank them for their time. Bottom line for me-I don't care how nice your product is-you treat me shabbily and my cash walks.

 

I'm commenting on the op's experience and because this is a forum. I don't need to be caudled and I don't want to have to deal with a teenager that doesn't know ****. But just because someone is a self proclaimed 'expert' doesn't give them the right to treat the general public like idiots. Instead of telling that one guy about progressive products 'I don't sell junk' it might be better to say 'I sell what I believe to be a better engineered product which is higher quality and demands a higher price' I am an expert on repairing gm vehicles, but I also have to explain repairs to people that don't understand why voltage on the class 2 data line must fluctuate from 0 to 5 volts indicating that the class 2 modules are communicating. I don't expect them to know that, and if I treat them like idiots, I will probably lose their business.

 

What a weird thread, went from a review of shocks to a bunch of weenies bashing each other, Jeeez.
I was in Florida a couple of years ago and had time to go by Howard's shop/home, he couldn't have been nicer. We got to see his complete setup and he does know his stuff. I bought the shocks and his follow up was superior to anything I have ever experienced. The shocks are great and after a couple of tweaks the setup is perfect.
I seem to be the only guy in ten pages of bullshit that has actually met Howard, he is an engineer type and good at it, that's what you want. I wasn't going to marry the guy, I just wanted the best shocks and setup I could find. That he provided.