You can contact Works shocks they build shocks by the riders style and weight. They have been around for along time they are on ebay also.

 

For our touring Harleys Howard offers three price points: 'affordable', 'still affordable' and 'really?'! You may well spend a little more than off-the-shelf shocks, but the improvement in ride quality is worth it. You do own a 2011 Limited after all, so really shouldn't settle for less than a decent ride!

 

If you decide to go with the 440HD it looks like Direct Harley Parts has all of the 440 in black listed at 419.00 with free shipping

 

Update. I checked all my options and decided to go with the Progressive 440HD 13.5" shocks. I talked to the different vendors and Progressive. I found a good deal on them and also ordered them with the front fork springs. I am doing the fork springs later this week. I have had the back shocks on for a week now and about 500 miles of riding. All I can say is I am very impressed! I cannot compare to the Ohlins but for what I wanted these are working perfect. Now potholes, bridges, manhole covers, etc. Don't jar your back teeth. I feel much more stable and under control. The install was easy. I started with the preload at 1 out of 4. I have adjusted up to 3. Adjusting is easy. If I was going to ride solo for any length of time it would take just a few minutes to put them back to 1. I am happy with my purchase. Wanted to let others that were following this thread know that it makes a huge difference and in my opinion is well worth the money! Makes riding much more enjoyable. Now I am going to get the front forks finished later this week and will post up my findings. Eliminating the dive and bottoming out of the forks should make the bike feel complete again. I am looking forward to this trip I have coming up much more everyday now the bike rides so much better.

 

Ohlins the only way to go for the best ride & handling.

 

Which Progressive shocks did you have to compare your Ohlins too? What was the price difference in what you paid for your Ohlins compared to the Progressives you had? I am extremely happy with the Progressive 440HD rears and the Progressive fork springs with the Screamin Eagle oil. I am not saying there isn't better shocks. I am just saying that for being loaded to capacity or a bit over the bike doesn't bottom out anymore, it is way smoother, doesn't have front end "dive" under braking or cornering throwing the bikes balance off anymore. It overall handles and feels like a different bike. It is not a race bike just a touring bike that I ride hard sometimes. I have spent my whole life on motocross bikes, and other dirt bikes, adventure bikes, cruisers etc. I feel for the $489 shipped I paid for the front springs and the rear shocks it made a huge improvement. If someone can compare other brands for the same money with a considerable improvement I say go for it. These shocks have a lifetime warranty and are easy to adjust for riding solo or 2 up. Just wanted to share what I found and am in no way trying to justify my purchase like some people do. Just because I have found these Progressive shocks to be a great value and would recommend them to other riders that have had the problems I was having does not mean it may be right for everyone. Nice thing about these bikes is there is a huge amount of parts available to make them fit you and ride the way you want them too. I really love forums for all the info a person can gather before relying on "trial and error" which can be so time consuming and expensive. Hope this info may help.....Craig

 

The main issue you have is that the stock spring rates are set for a 160lb rider, I am pretty sure you cannot change the springs so you will need alternative shocks with a much higher spring rate.

 

Enjoy the ride Craigmeister, glad you found what you where looking for.

On another note I gotta say Wyoming sure is a wild place. Barren with an awesome view, the continental shelf is a strange thing all by its self. It is always windy at the top of Sherman Pass and the drive down that pass to Laramie scares the hell out of a lot of truck drivers. And Wyoming has the craziest winters, I've hit major blizzards in May and September when there is pretty much no snow any where else in the country, at least nothing of blizzard proportion. When traveling across country, if you make it through Wyoming the rest is a piece of cake.

Anyway, have a nice trip and be safe.

 

I know of 1 death from over loading. Overweight husband and wife. Rear tire blew and she died. Ruling was over loaded tires. See what the rating is on an e3. And def go progressive suspension. Front too. Upgrade it all to be safe.

 

That's grim.

I don't know how Harley or other manufacturers decide on the GVWL for their bikes, but they are not as high as the max load ratings for the two tyres. As an example on my 1990 FLHS GVWL is 1167 pounds, but the two MT tyres can each carry 827 pounds, a total of 1654, way over the GVWL.

Having said that I have been recommended by Avon to use an MU rear tyre, as the loading on it is marginal and we often ride close to the GVWL or slightly over. That also confirms what most of us can see, that the rear tyre takes the majority of the static weight.

My concern where Harleys are concerned, having owned them since the 70s, is that the advice for adding pressure to the tyres when riding heavily loaded or 2-up is woefully inadequate. We should use significantly higher pressures than in the manual IMHO.