Morning all,
My vertically challenged friend needs to lower his 2006 Road King Standard about 1". Looking for advice on the best method from those of you that have lowered your Road King. Is it best to go with shorter shocks or the lowering kit to reposition the shocks? We have been told that the shocks for the Road King Custom are 1" shorter than the Road King Standard shock. Thanks for the help.

 

Send the stock seat (if that's what he has) off to
www.meancitycycles.com[/align][/align] and have them modify. They can lower your butt [sm=insomnia.gif]by an inch or two.

 

Previous advise is all through these threads,
I have a 2004 Road King which I am running 21" front and 18" rear, Front lowered with White Bros lowering kit. HD also has them, the rear is currently lowered with the 1" shorter shocks and rides great.
Alot of subscribers are using progressive suspension shocks (forget the number 440 or somthing) and like them.
You can also keep the stock shocks and purchase many rear lowering kit applications available some adjustable.

Celtic King
So Calif

 

Lowering.....seats, shocks, kits...etc. Been there done that. Looks vs. function vs. ride quality. On my 05 road king I wanted to change the stock seat (for comfort)but my feet weren't flat on the ground with the sundowner I put on. Contemplated and talked to others about the So-Lo and Draggin Baggers kits, but wasn't crazy about theidea of changing the position of the shock. (HD engineered it that way fora good reason). So.....I bought a set of Progressive 412's ($289) in 12 inch length (stock shock is 13). The ride quality was crap ! Called Progressive to order a set of 440's($499), but their cust service rep actually talked me out of that because I only weigh 150lbs. Talked to the HD dealer who suggested I lower the front end which wouldsmooth out the ride. I wasn't really convinced and didn't want to spent another$200 for that kit. Finally after reading alot of HD Forum threads and talking to other riders over the past 6 mos....I put a set of HD Profile Low Touring Shocks on the back. They gave me the 1 inch drop I needed to get my feet flat on the ground, AND that soft comfortable factory ride was back. That lesson cost me $600 + not including the seat, BUT I saved on the cost of lowering the front end.
If your friend weighs more that 150 and wants to try the Progressive 412's, I've had them on ebay for $125. Only have 700 miles on them. That's my experience, just thought I'd pass it along....good luck.

 

I just bought a '07 RK and was told by the dealer that if I want to lower it that I should lower both the rear and front. I only need it lowered 1". Is it important to do both or is this a money making suggestion?

 

IMO.... it's adecision based on why you need to lower the bike ie; short legs or better handling. Somepeople talk about the geometry or balance of the bike being changed when only lowering the rear but only a 1" drop at the rear will not throw any of that out of wack.You can lower the back and not the front however,you cannot lower the front end without doing the back at the same time. From what I've learned , lowering the rear by 2.5" or more does begin to change these things and you would probably have to lower the front as well. If it is just for handling purposes doing just the rear by 1" would be fine. If you have really short legs (not that there's anything wrong with that) you may need to lower both ends. Lots of threads here on the forum about lowering under Suspension that are worth the read. Good Luck

 

My RKC is on order. I have a 31" inseam. I have boots that give me another inch and a half. Think I will need to lower or can I get by?

 

I put White Bros Lower Kit on my Bike

 

The dealer saying you have to lower the front and rear of the bike is a bunch of crap. If not, they better take back all their Street Glides. I lowered my bike using the SoLow 1-1/4" kit which repositions the lower rear shock mount rear and down for a 1-1/4" drop. The bike rides and handles great, not stiff as you get with a shorter shock. No problem with scraping the floor boards and it cost me about 80 bucks and 1/2 hour for the mod. Plus the guy who owns the company is great to deal with and your supporting one of the good guys ( Topeka Firefighter).

 

Lowered my 99 King 1 1/2" with shorter shocks, rear only. With my wife (115)on the back, I have to set the preload all the way up and the ride is stiff. With just me (200) solo, I can lighten the preload and it rides fine, but not as nice as stock shocks.