Freewheeler suspension

[Mcmister]

HI

I assume this forum has probably beat this issue to death a few times..but...I'll ask

Since purchasing new my 2016 FW was a terrible ride... it was like a buckboard.

My HD dealing convinced me into purchasing Ledgend revo shocks front and rear.

It was a big ticket outlay, but I couldn't ride with any real pleasure due to the hard ride.

Long story short... the new shocks made maybe a 5% at most improvement.

I now have 15,000 miles on the bike, but after my 500 mile ride this past weekend, I'm about ready to push it off a cliff.

Even on toll roads and expressways, the ride is ridiculous.

I'm not looking to replicate a Cadillac, but this is ... not acceptable.

So, I'm being recommended the 14" pro-action shocks and lift kit. Another big outlay, but if it works... It's cheaper than buying a gold wing.

Anybody have the same experience or suggestions?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Moegy]

You didn’t mention how much air pressure in your rear tires. I put 14” Pro Action Shocks and lift kit on my ‘17 and that helped a lot. And I run 22 pounds of air pressure in the rear tires. It’s still a single axle so you will get some roughness. I have right at 11k on mine and love it. Smooth, strong. Other thing that helped me was a great Ultimate brand seat. Long response, sorry. Finally I found I was putting a death grip on the bars when hitting a rough spot on the pavement. Learned to just barely hold on and ride through it. Big difference for me anyway.

 

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Here's link ... you gotta see the video of the company's owner's trip with the body off and see these shocks work ... ... near the bottom of the page.

http://www.dkcustomproducts.com/combo-package-14-harley-trike-series-shocks-comfort-lifttm.htm

I am not affiliated with DK in any way ... Love their products. And ... DK Custom Products is a sponsor here.

 

[PosseRider]

Pro Action 100 % improvement. 22-23 in the rear tires also

 

[stacebg]

Here's link ... you gotta see the video of the company's owner's trip with the body off and see these shocks work ... ... near the bottom of the page.

http://www.dkcustomproducts.com/combo-package-14-harley-trike-series-shocks-comfort-lifttm.htm

I am not affiliated with DK in any way ... Love their products. And ... DK Custom Products is a sponsor here.

be really good if they put a stock shock to compare theirs to

 

[Mcmister]

interesting info although not HD

http://www.lehmantrikes.com/assets/docs/uploads/Manuals/techbook-master.pdf

 

[Gray Biker]

be really good if they put a stock shock to compare theirs to

Dont really need that, we all know how bad the stock shocks are... When I got mine 2012 used last September. The Idiots had 35 in the tires and 0 in the shocks. I knew something wasn't right... I set everything how it should be. Still wasn't happy. I put DK's lift on, she thought that made it good enough.... Good enough isnt in my language... So I went with the Pro Action shocks too.. They set the shocks up for you, you tell them your weight, your passengers weight. About how much extra weight your going to carry. The type of riding you do, and how often your solo or two up... They set mine up great... It doesnt take the hard bumps as good as my Ultra Classic did. But you have about 6 times the tire on the back hitting them...

Its a big expense to put out but with a $30,000 bike you cant ride , its cheap... Dont worry, its worth the expense. We love ours now, leaving for Sturgis on Saturday with it . When we got home with it after I bought it, she never wanted on it again...

In fact I saw Kevin one of the owners of DK was talking about putting the Proaction shocks on his new Tri Glide. Their that much better than what HD is putting on the 19"s

 

[Free Bird]

Search this forum for Progressive 444 Shocks as well. There has been a fair bit of discussion on them. That is what I put on my 2017. DK's are great as well, but this will give you a point of comparison

 

[stacebg]

Dont really need that, we all know how bad the stock shocks are... When I got mine 2012 used last September. The Idiots had 35 in the tires and 0 in the shocks. I knew something wasn't right... I set everything how it should be. Still wasn't happy. I put DK's lift on, she thought that made it good enough.... Good enough isnt in my language... So I went with the Pro Action shocks too.. They set the shocks up for you, you tell them your weight, your passengers weight. About how much extra weight your going to carry. The type of riding you do, and how often your solo or two up... They set mine up great... It doesnt take the hard bumps as good as my Ultra Classic did. But you have about 6 times the tire on the back hitting them...

Its a big expense to put out but with a $30,000 bike you cant ride , its cheap... Dont worry, its worth the expense. We love ours now, leaving for Sturgis on Saturday with it . When we got home with it after I bought it, she never wanted on it again...

In fact I saw Kevin one of the owners of DK was talking about putting the Proaction shocks on his new Tri Glide. Their that much better than what HD is putting on the 19"s

why not??

if you want to promote a product to be better than another, if you only show one how would anyone know know that yours is better than another????

id be willing to bet there arent many folks who have seen a video, if there is one, of the stock suspension, oh and the video would need to be the exact same road...

if i told you my paint job was better then my neighbors and showed you mind would u buy mine without a comparison??? why would you???

 

[RKplus10]

Kenneth, you stated that your dealer convinced you. Do they have any experience with Legend shocks? Seems any adjustable coil over should give you a better ride than what you describe. Maybe some fine tuning is all that is needed. Were they just installed "out of the box"? I've now ridden about 1000 miles with my new Bitubos, and couldn't be happier with them. Of course they were set up to my weights and riding style by the shock gurus at DK. Hopefully some tweaking will get you on track. Good luck!

 

[Mcmister]

Kenneth, you stated that your dealer convinced you. Do they have any experience with Legend shocks? Seems any adjustable coil over should give you a better ride than what you describe. Maybe some fine tuning is all that is needed. Were they just installed "out of the box"? I've now ridden about 1000 miles with my new Bitubos, and couldn't be happier with them. Of course they were set up to my weights and riding style by the shock gurus at DK. Hopefully some tweaking will get you on track. Good luck!

Thank you for your reply Roy, I appreciate you taking the time.

My HD dealer's service is sub-standard. I rate them a 5 at best. They have effed up so many times, I can't count.

All of the HD dealers in Chicago... about 5-6-7 are all owned by the same guy.

I think they're more interested in selling apparel and new bikes... service sucks.

I have had to find non-HD guys to handle anything over an oil change.

Regardless, I have 15,000 on my FW. There is a list of things I don't really care for about it... but like most (I imagine) it is what it is.

Maybe I got a lemon...

The dealer sold me on Ledgends front and rear... and they installed.

After riding a few hundred miles I took it back and said, please adjust to the best possible ride... I'm not trying to turn corners at 90 so in general handling is not the issue.

So, they "adjusted"... no difference.

I have spoken to many "experts" in the field... shox, DK, P/A..etc. at the end of the day, I'm told "hey, it's a straight axle set-up... not an independent system" "there really is no way to get around it"

I'm am not looking for Cadillac Escalade ride... I get it...it's a M/C

What really ticks me off is my brother rides a Honda... I can never keep up with him unless its on the Expressway.... I have to take bumps so much slower... and of course he bust my stones when I lag behind.

Oh well... I called the guys that do independent suspension system retrofits... ouch.... might as well buy the Escalade.

 

[RKplus10]

Maybe you're expecting too much, maybe not. I wish we were in the same area so we could swap out machines and take a ride.

 

[RFG7680]

why not??

if you want to promote a product to be better than another, if you only show one how would anyone know know that yours is better than another????

id be willing to bet there arent many folks who have seen a video, if there is one, of the stock suspension, oh and the video would need to be the exact same road...

if i told you my paint job was better then my neighbors and showed you mind would u buy mine without a comparison??? why would you???

That's right. Dont line up for the koolaid. I have no issues with the suspension on the 19. The one on the wifes 15 sucks. But some 444s will do the trick for her riding style.