I have the same set up as you, I thought the blocks made my bike ride stiffer to.
Last week I took off the blocks and drove around and didn't feel much improvement if any, so the blocks are back on until I can find a real 12" shock that's better for a smoother ride then the stock 13'

 

I had Ricors on the bike for a year. Good shocks, and really no complaints with the ride. My problem was that I was dragging stuff too often. I took a look at the Ohlins #3-4s which are a 14" shock. After a long conversation with Howard, I decided to give them a try.

Long story short, the bike sits high enough that my lean angles have increased dramatically. The first thing I scrape in the corners is the highway pegs. And the ride....The solo ride is very good. The 2-up ride is unbelievably good. It's amazing that a bike with only 3" of suspension travel can ride so well.

Yes, the Ohlins shocks are a lot of money. Yes, they take some time and effort to properly set them up. To me, they were totally worth it. Going over uneven bridge joints while group riding, I can watch the other riders getting tossed around going over them. My bike just glides over.

 

I have the ohlins #3-1's and can't believe the smoothness of the ride and that I actually have something that when I change the settings it really makes a difference. Howard was as informative as he needed to be and did what he said he would no problem.....

 

What is the lenght of the stock air shock on a 08 FLHTCU? I measure 12.5" eye to eye while sitting on the sidestand with 28 psi. Are these a 12.5" or a 13" shock? I would like to put a Ohlin on that is no taller, and possibly 1/2" shorter with me and passenger on the bike.

 

Thats all you can ask. Don't you love stuff with 15 different settings and they're all the same?

For guys with the Ohlins what was the general consensus to address the front shocks? I know they don't make a system for the front so any issues mixing brands?

 

I was going to put Traxxion AK20's in my bike , they are about $1200 , I went to cvoharley web as there are a lot of Traxxion users there , everyone sweared by them but they all went from stock to the Traxxion , there were a few guys who went from stock to Progressive monotubes to Traxxion , they all said the monotubes were the best bang for the buck at $264 and the Traxxion were better but not $900 better , I may upgrade later but for now I'm happy with the monotubes

 

I am going to presume from the answers and lack also, that no one has tried ,or will admit to trying, the Drag Specialties shocks made by Progressive

 

As always, any shock posts here turn into an Ohlins/MM advertisement. Some here just can't help themselves (myself included).
Those Progressive units sold under the D-S banner may be great. Maybe D-S can shed some light as to which Progressive models they equate to.
Just remember: you don't have to spend big cash to improve the ride of your Glide (no pun intended). The stock units are barely adequate, as you have found, making nearly anything an improvement.

 

Trues words were never spoken. If I can't get some information about the DS versions from this forum, I will try to get ahold of them next week, DS and Progressives suspension, to find how they mach up or what they are equivilant to. If I get any useful information, I'll make a separate post about it. In the mean time looking to hear from you DS users

 

I'm installing RaceTech when my chrome lowers get here next week. I will post on there performance when I know.

They will be on my FLHT, not my softy below in sig pic.