Pro-Action Shocks

[NHBAGGER]

I have been following all the shock replacement threads as Iam not a fan of the stock air shocks. Wanting to try something different, I checked into the Pro-Action shocksfor the Tri. Exchanged emails withGeorge who I believe is the owner and probably drove him crazy with myquestions and skepticism. He finallyconvinced me to give them a shot. I had ahard time with the installation until I figured out that they cannot be usedwith a lift kit. After that all wentsmoothly. Only put on about 75 miles twoup, but have to say so far I am impressed. They seem to do a real good job of keeping the tires in contact with theroad. In New England, there are still some deep ones you are going to feel, butthe shocks seem to recover quicker. In the corners they give you the feeling youare on rails. Still in the early stagesof testing them out, will try to update a bit in the future.

 

[rhino 2]

I have been following all the shock replacement threads as Iam not a fan of the stock air shocks. Wanting to try something different, I checked into the Pro-Action shocksfor the Tri. Exchanged emails withGeorge who I believe is the owner and probably drove him crazy with myquestions and skepticism. He finallyconvinced me to give them a shot. I had ahard time with the installation until I figured out that they cannot be usedwith a lift kit. After that all wentsmoothly. Only put on about 75 miles twoup, but have to say so far I am impressed. They seem to do a real good job of keeping the tires in contact with theroad. In New England, there are still some deep ones you are going to feel, butthe shocks seem to recover quicker. In the corners they give you the feeling youare on rails. Still in the early stagesof testing them out, will try to update a bit in the future.

Did you remove the lift -kit... Or did you find a work around....:Shrug:

 

[NHBAGGER]

Removed it. Had the rear end hanging and lifting on the frame lifted everything. I needed maybe a good 1/2" more to make it. If the rear end could have been jacked down, may have made it, but Pro-Action said they don't install them on lift kit Tri's.
Probably should have taken a before and after dimension at the rear to compare....but did not.

 

[Moneywoes]

Do you have a link to Pro actions website?

 

[clint44]

If I owned a Tri Glide or Freewheeler,I would install a lift kit and the appropriate Progressive Suspension rear shocks. Best of both worlds.
Strictly my opinion,though.

 

[NHBAGGER]

Clint, talked to PS and they said their 444's would be the best choice. had them in the past on my Bagger and did not find they gave me what I was after.
As for me losing the lift kit, I think the 13" Pro-Action may be a little longer than stock, but not sure. Seems like I read in another post that someone was buying PS 444's and the recommendation was to buy 12" if they had a lift kit?
We'll see how the 13's I have to for clearance as I get some miles on them.

 

[clint44]

Clint, talked to PS and they said their 444's would be the best choice. had them in the past on my Bagger and did not find they gave me what I was after.
As for me losing the lift kit, I think the 13" Pro-Action may be a little longer than stock, but not sure. Seems like I read in another post that someone was buying PS 444's and the recommendation was to buy 12" if they had a lift kit?
We'll see how the 13's I have to for clearance as I get some miles on them.

Stock length is 13" and that is what a lift kit works best with. Some people have bumped up to a 13.5" shock but that's not recommended with a lift kit. 12" would be way too short for a Tri Glide.

Why will the Pro-Action shocks not work with a lift kit?

 

[NHBAGGER]

I just could not get enough separation between the frame and the rear end. I got to the point where the more I jacked, the rear end went with it. I was missing the bracket hole by over 1/2". Maybe if I had a way to jack the rear end down more one side at a time?
Wish I had measured before and after just to see how much difference there was at the back.....but I am sure you know about hind sight. LOL

 

[HDB0B]

Other options: Change shock oil from 5 wt to 7 wt. http://www.hdforums.com/forum/touring-models/758628-rear-air-shock-oil-change.html

Change to Monroe (785s) or Gabriel auto air shocks - Requires bushing mods to fit harley bolts and 1/4" to 1/8" air line adapter.

Both these options have been done on Ultras with great success .... should work fine on a trike. I am planning on doing a rear shock oil change to 7 wt. this coming Winter.

Bob

 

[TripHammer]

Change oil in air shocks??

I'm not that much of a wrench but I found your mention of changing the weight of the oil in the Triglides air shocks very interesting. How would one go about doing that? Thanks!!

 

[HDB0B]

I'm not that much of a wrench but I found your mention of changing the weight of the oil in the Triglides air shocks very interesting. How would one go about doing that? Thanks!!

http://www.hdforums.com/forum/touring-models/758628-rear-air-shock-oil-change.html

Bob

 

[geezerglide11441]

I have been following all the shock replacement threads as Iam not a fan of the stock air shocks. Wanting to try something different, I checked into the Pro-Action shocksfor the Tri. Exchanged emails withGeorge who I believe is the owner and probably drove him crazy with myquestions and skepticism. He finallyconvinced me to give them a shot. I had ahard time with the installation until I figured out that they cannot be usedwith a lift kit. After that all wentsmoothly. Only put on about 75 miles twoup, but have to say so far I am impressed. They seem to do a real good job of keeping the tires in contact with theroad. In New England, there are still some deep ones you are going to feel, butthe shocks seem to recover quicker. In the corners they give you the feeling youare on rails. Still in the early stagesof testing them out, will try to update a bit in the future.

NHBAGGER, don't quite understand you comment/issue with the statement "[COLOR]#000000]I had ahard time with the installation until I figured out that they cannot be usedwith a lift kit"[/COLOR]

I just had a set installed (at my local HD Dealer) and they had NO PROBLEM installing the Pro-Action Shocks on my Trike with the DK Lift Kit. I read your post and couldn't figure out if my PS 444's were 13" and the Pro-Action are 13" why in the world would they not just bolt on in place of the 444's!!

The only thing I can even think of is maybe you installed them by lifting one side at a time!!

After reading your thread, I did take my original OEM shock brackets with me in case what you indicated was actually true, but the Tech said there was NO issue with installing them on the lift brackets.

This is just an FYI for anyone that is considering changing to the Pro-Action Shocks. I can honestly say that in my opinion, the 444's were 100% better than the OEM Air shocks and the Pro-Action Shocks are 100% better than the 444's.



I believe the biggest experience change would be anyone going from the OEM Air directly to the Pro-Action shocks.

Roger

 

[NHBAGGER]

May just have been my particular setup as all are probably a little different? I had the whole rear end hanging and I was lacking a good 1/2" to fit them up. Maybe if I could have tried jacking the rear end down more away from the body I could have made it? In talking to the owner George, he seemed to imply they were not designed to be used with a lift? So far, not worried about it as I seem to still have decent clearance.
Really a nice riding and flat cornering suspension aren't they? Probably the best shocks I have ever owned for any bike.

 

[geezerglide11441]

May just have been my particular setup as all are probably a little different? I had the whole rear end hanging and I was lacking a good 1/2" to fit them up. Maybe if I could have tried jacking the rear end down more away from the body I could have made it? In talking to the owner George, he seemed to imply they were not designed to be used with a lift? So far, not worried about it as I seem to still have decent clearance.
Really a nice riding and flat cornering suspension aren't they? Probably the best shocks I have ever owned for any bike.

NHBAGGER, do you have the standard lift kit, or the "Comfort Lift Kit"? Mine is the standard lift kit and I have not idea if the comfort lift kit would make a difference or not. I went back to the garage area to see how the Tech had the Trike elevated and he had the Trike up (scissor jack in the middle of the frame) suspended via a scissor jack with the suspension fully suspended. Certainly appeared to be something I could have done at home had I wanted to lay on my back to do the work, and at 74yrs old I am not really anxious to do that. They only charged me $55 for the installation and quite frankly I would have paid more to not have to lay on my back on the concrete floor!!

I hope you like them as much as I do mine.

Oh, by the way, my Trike is a 2013 if that could have made any difference.



Take care, and enjoy the ride!!

Roger

 

[NHBAGGER]

Mine's a 14 and yes a comfort lift. Yeah, I get the lay on the floor thing. I'm 70 and every job takes me twice as long as everyone else! I keep trying though.

 

[rap47]

Just ordered a set for my 2011 Tri Glide. After five years on the original air shocks, thought it was time to try something else. Don't know how long it will take for them to arrive, but I will give you my impression of them as soon I install them. I ordered the 13" long shocks and I will be installing them on my existing lift kit from tglidestuff.

 

[NHBAGGER]

Mine arrived really quickly.
My impressions of these shocks remains the same. They corner like on rails and they absorb road bumps better than any I have ever had. Probably on of the better mods I have done.

 

[MDF48]

Pictures Please

Can some of you guys that have installed the Pro Action Shocks possibly show some pictures of them installed? Thanks.

 

[geezerglide11441]

Can some of you guys that have installed the Pro Action Shocks possibly show some pictures of them installed? Thanks.

Not sure what the value would be to just see the shocks installed, as they just bolt on in place of the OEM shocks!! Since I would have to lift the Trike with my lift and remove the wheel even to be able to photograph the installation, you would need to provide a compelling reason for me to go thru the work/process just to see a shock mounted on a Trike!!

Just sayin!!

Roger

 

[MDF48]

Hmmmm 1441.

Geezer, if you will notice I said "some of you guys". NO, I do not expect you to go to the trouble of jacking up your trike and taking pictures of the shocks. Also, yes, I have a pretty good idea of what they look like and DO NOT have to see pictures. However, maybe somebody other than you took some pictures when they were installing them. the words "some of you guys" means more than just geezerglide1, and I do not have any compelling reason. ThumbUp