Shock question

Shocking costs !

If that's the case flyday 58 contact Race Tech - they ( and other shock co's Penske, Ohlins, Progressive etc. ) will build you a set of custom length shocks as the stock are 15.75+" which is a couple inches longer than standard H-D and even V Rod shocks. If there ever was a guy who is needing speed sensitive valve compression damping it's probably you. The stock rear shocks are OK for smooth roads but somewhat resistant to the need for sudden compression caused by potholes, rocks, elevation changes in pavement etc. that's where the superior shocks work better by " popping off " the compression damping to allow for sudden movement to absorb fast hits to the rear wheel. Bring $, cheapest set is around $650 to $1500 with piggyback reservoirs !! In the meantime twist your pre-load down to #1 or #2 for a softer sag setting, better ride on chop. Longer than 16.25 " or so the bottom of the swingarm will hit the lower tank ,shorter than probably 15.25 or (>3.75"to 4" travel on a 15.75" shock) the top of the swingarm will hit the tank. Swingarm mounted early V Rod pax footpeg brackets will hit the tank without clearance grinding them with the stock shocks bottomed. Race Tech has a great order form for this and leverage ratio's, rider weight etc. I'm looking fwd to buying a set soon as I can. Good luck & ride safe on that bad road ! :blahblah:

Interesting. My first (only) somersault on a bike was on my first store-bought bike, a Kawasaki 175 with dual shocks in 1975. Hit a rut in a dirt road at around 30 mph, front forks mostly ignored it, but the rears hobby-horsed the back wheel and me into a forward cartwheel. My high school buddy was gonna leave me there because I looked like a rag doll bouncing down the road, he just knew I'd broken every bone in my body! I got up, looked at the blood on my elbows and the hole torn in one knee of my jeans, and promptly started kicking that bike and spewing cuss words I didn't even know I knew! Man, I hated that thing!

This riding season looks like it's coming to an early close for me; once we get snow in the shadows it'll be there till April. I dumped my TW in one spot last winter where snow was sticking in the shade, and it has huge knobbies on it. I won't dare try it on the V-Rod or Honda. I'd had to take them apart to get them back home. So the suspension upgrade will have to wait till after the new year, especially with the money we're talking about. Funny, you say to use 5 wt, flybigjet says 20. What to do, what to do...

Springs, Oil and Valves.

Yea, the 5 wt oil is what I did to compensate for way overly stiff compression damping on the stock forks. When you install the Gold Valves they open up when needed on a sudden hit and pass a lot of oil quickly - so 20 Wt is a good viscosity with stiffer springs that keep the front end up and keep you from blowing thru the stroke after it absorbs the pothole, etc and bottoming out. With Off road racing bikes this suspension becomes a science, especially when you are jumping triples (or logs.)Get it wrong and you are A$$ over tea kettle, face plant. Get it right and you can wheelie, hit a 12" diameter log and the rear end will not bounce up. On a street power cruiser like an R Model that's got the longer suspension travel it's all about dialing in the quality of it. Yea, it takes $ but it's worth it. The stock forks with 5 wt. oil and stock shocks with the correct preload and it's really not all that bad. Do the Race Tech mod and I'm sure it's great. Do the forks first if you sneak up on it because actually they are worse than the shocks. :blahblah:

I have a bit of custom tuning experience and even used to make some custom valving parts. IMO: Too much talk about preload because that isn't your issue. I know it isn't the cheap route, but if looking for a softer ride on rough roads you need to be looking at valving, spring rates, and fork oil height. Also need to be avoiding lowering the bike like the plague. The last thing you want in a smoother ride is less travel.

If you have the money custom Ohlins is wonderful, but the Works do a good job too. I have raced Works on other bike and they do OK for cheaper stuff. Switching to more advance valving in the front with something like gold valve emulators will be a significant step in the right direction.

IMO: I'd start with the Works rear and emulators in the fronts. Once you have done that come back and it will be easier to begin tailoring to where it meets your needs.

Preload. The primary function of preload is to set the suspension to the optimal ride height for suspension function and design geometry. It will have almost no impact on suspension performance when hitting bumps.