Pro Action 14" Shocks and 14" Comfort Lift Combo Questions

[Fearless]

Apparently the Beast is not done with the windmill tilting around the shocks, and I'm glad.

I woke abruptly at 3 am this morning with two words on my mind .... Tire Pressure

So a little background:

1) Like most folks entering the Tri Glide world, I thought the trike had a terrible ride and steered like a 1950's truck without power steering.

2) When I first did searches about the ride, I realized that lowering tire pressure would help, been running 21# ever since. The consensus was 20-22#, so I split the difference. Although I didn't know it, this resulted in the uneasy feeling in a 75 mph turn while going downhill. Felt like the trike just wanted to squat to the outside of a turn. Never really felt unsafe, or really slowed down much, but, the trike always had my full attention in those situations, still does.

3) The other issue was the steering. Again, a cheap fix was a lift kit, not perfect in fixing the heavy steering, but, good bang for the buck since it also removed the "load" in the Tri's "Pants" and help with the pipe dragging.

4) Recently I ordered Goodyear Comfort Treads for the rear, and the Cobra Trike tire for the front. With the softer sidewall, I wondered if I'd need to raise the tire pressure, and wanted to pose that question to the forum if a search didn't result in the answer.

So, with that on my mind, the Beast put 2 and 2 together and came up with 6 ... LOL ... or another windmill tilt or rabbit hole about trying raised tire pressure in the rear before the new "feets" were installed ... which woke me at 3 am. Went back to sleep, never removing the CPAP mask.

So 7am, I was out doing a parking brake adjustment )already planned), then off to Big O to have them adjust the tire pressure to 26#, as prescribed by the owners manual. Since I'm a fan of nitrogen, I figured go to the max, I can remove it in 1-2# increments if need be. I tipped the tech and headed for the highway to test my theory.

Highway stability was awesome. My least favorite turn in my neck of the woods was very comfortable at 75 mph ... who knew 6# could make that difference. But, did I destroy the good ride I had worked so hard to achieve?

Back to my designated test track to see how the ride was. Initial conditions, 36# front, 26# rears, 1 additional turn of preload (which turns out to be what it would of been had I not guessed about what I really carried), 3 clicks right shock, 2 clicks left shock. The weirdest thing happened, I expected the ride to be rough, but, it was very plush, almost too much. So, pulled over, got out my long screw driver and added a click to the left side. Redid the test track, and the ride was awesome. Went back to the highway, the stability thing stayed very good.

Nirvana achieved ... well ... at least until the new tires arrive and get installed. Then I may have to adjust the tire pressures some.

Alan I went to 70 series tires and really planted the front tire and I'm running 21lbs. VIVA 3 Goodyear made in USA 🇺🇸 just sayin... Fred

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Alan I went to 70 series tires and really planted the front tire and I'm running 21lbs. VIVA 3 Goodyear made in USA 🇺🇸 just sayin... Fred

I tried to get those very tires after reading your original post about them, and was told they were a made for Walmart tire, not a biggie ... my buddy, the tire guy also told me he would recommend staying with the 65 series because of the class rating. I didn't understand all he told me, but, had something to do with the ability to shed heat. He offered me those tires at the same price $115 per including tax and recycle fee. I went with his recommendation and it is a Good Year Assurance comfort tread. I really don't like going to Walmart ...

[Fearless]

I tried to get those very tires after reading your original post about them, and was told they were a made for Walmart tire, not a biggie ... my buddy, the tire guy also told me he would recommend staying with the 65 series because of the class rating. I didn't understand all he told me, but, had something to do with the ability to shed heat. He offered me those tires at the same price $115 per including tax and recycle fee. I went with his recommendation and it is a Good Year Assurance comfort tread. I really don't like going to Walmart ...

Well we shall see Hardcore tire and wheel said the class rating should not be a real issue. And yes i purchased these while ii was working at Walley World. All I know now is the old trike really handles 21 lbs. of air it rides like a Cadillac one turn on the coil overs yesterday and one and done. Ride safe Fred

P.S. Really consider that with these great shocks you really don't need the soft side walls to possibly try and get a better ride. I believe whatever brand you try a good tire is a good tire. The tire change for me was for a change in gearing after looking at a tire comparison chart for just a little bigger around to drop rpms. just a little and it worked. The handling came as a total surprise to me, just a little more weight on the front tire and no felt heaviness in the bars either. The old Trike has never handled better and I love it more now than ever. Travel safe Fred

[Fearless]

Can you still get Red Line Tiger Paws I think they would look great on a trike. Fred

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Well we shall see Hardcore tire and wheel said the class rating should not be a real issue. And yes i purchased these while ii was working at Walley World. All I know now is the old trike really handles 21 lbs. of air it rides like a Cadillac one turn on the coil overs yesterday and one and done. Ride safe Fred

P.S. Really consider that with these great shocks you really don't need the soft side walls to possibly try and get a better ride. I believe whatever brand you try a good tire is a good tire. The tire change for me was for a change in gearing after looking at a tire comparison chart for just a little bigger around to drop rpms. just a little and it worked. The handling came as a total surprise to me, just a little more weight on the front tire and no felt heaviness in the bars either. The old Trike has never handled better and I love it more now than ever. Travel safe Fred

You're probably right about the class rating, I just tend to listen to the "pros", Ya know, the ones that haven't steered me wrong in the past, especially when I don't really understand what they are saying ... ... mostly, I just really hate going to any big box store. It's not about the "Corporate America" thing, more about the feeling of being confined and watched ... yea ... I know, fun getting to know Alan ...

You may be right about the softer sidewalls, and the "Beast" has been wondering if I've ruined the stability that I created by jacking up the tire pressure with the softer sidewalls ... of course that epiphany didn't come until after I ordered, purchased and delivered the Comfort Treads to the Indy ... so ... as a wise man recently said, "We'll Shall See"

Can you still get Red Line Tiger Paws I think they would look great on a trike. Fred

Especially a black one ... ... I wonder if someone makes a red striped front trike tire ... Hmmmm, yet another rabbit hole ... LOL.

P.S. Look what I found ... might be worth a try ... LOL ... if I ordered a set of 4, which is how they are sold, I could try them on the old tires to see how they look. They come in temporary and permanent. They also do single tire sets, so ... might get pricey ... but ... would look kewl.

https://www.tirestickers.com/shop/vi...ed-line-walls/

[Fearless]

You're probably right about the class rating, I just tend to listen to the "pros", Ya know, the ones that haven't steered me wrong in the past, especially when I don't really understand what they are saying ... ... mostly, I just really hate going to any big box store. It's not about the "Corporate America" thing, more about the feeling of being confined and watched ... yea ... I know, fun getting to know Alan ...

You may be right about the softer sidewalls, and the "Beast" has been wondering if I've ruined the stability that I created by jacking up the tire pressure with the softer sidewalls ... of course that epiphany didn't come until after I ordered, purchased and delivered the Comfort Treads to the Indy ... so ... as a wise man recently said, "We'll Shall See"

Especially a black one ... ... I wonder if someone makes a red striped front trike tire ... Hmmmm, yet another rabbit hole ... LOL.

P.S. Look what I found ... might be worth a try ... LOL ... if I ordered a set of 4, which is how they are sold, I could try them on the old tires to see how they look. They come in temporary and permanent. They also do single tire sets, so ... might get pricey ... but ... would look kewl.

https://www.tirestickers.com/shop/vi...ed-line-walls/

I would go the tiger 🐅 paw BF GOODRICH if I had red pinstripes on Shiney lol 😆

[Colleydog]

Finally got my dk pro action shocks and new comfort lift on Thursday after a corona back order, thanks to dk for getting them out so quick. Thursday evening I jacked the back of the trike up, just like on the dk installation video, and removed the old air shocks and comfort lift, no real problems getting to anything, top shock bolt was a little tight, but very doable. Went to bed after that and got up the next morning and put the new shocks and comfort lift on before I went to work. Not as much of a mechanic as some of you all are but I thought the installation went very well, thought about taking the body off, but I’m glad I didn’t, I think that would have been harder than putting the shocks on. Have not had a chance to road test yet because of being on call this weekend, hope to try it out later today or tomorrow, I’ll let you know what I think after that, hopefully will be great.

[DK Custom Products]

Finally got my dk pro action shocks and new comfort lift on Thursday after a corona back order, thanks to dk for getting them out so quick. Thursday evening I jacked the back of the trike up, just like on the dk installation video, and removed the old air shocks and comfort lift, no real problems getting to anything, top shock bolt was a little tight, but very doable. Went to bed after that and got up the next morning and put the new shocks and comfort lift on before I went to work. Not as much of a mechanic as some of you all are but I thought the installation went very well, thought about taking the body off, but I’m glad I didn’t, I think that would have been harder than putting the shocks on. Have not had a chance to road test yet because of being on call this weekend, hope to try it out later today or tomorrow, I’ll let you know what I think after that, hopefully will be great.

Good to read you received them and the install went smoothly.

I'm pretty sure you will be well pleased with the improved ride quality.

Kevin

[DK Custom Products]

Apparently the Beast is not done with the windmill tilting around the shocks, and I'm glad.

I woke abruptly at 3 am this morning with two words on my mind .... Tire Pressure

So a little background:

1) Like most folks entering the Tri Glide world, I thought the trike had a terrible ride and steered like a 1950's truck without power steering.

2) When I first did searches about the ride, I realized that lowering tire pressure would help, been running 21# ever since. The consensus was 20-22#, so I split the difference. Although I didn't know it, this resulted in the uneasy feeling in a 75 mph turn while going downhill. Felt like the trike just wanted to squat to the outside of a turn. Never really felt unsafe, or really slowed down much, but, the trike always had my full attention in those situations, still does.

3) The other issue was the steering. Again, a cheap fix was a lift kit, not perfect in fixing the heavy steering, but, good bang for the buck since it also removed the "load" in the Tri's "Pants" and help with the pipe dragging.

4) Recently I ordered Goodyear Comfort Treads for the rear, and the Cobra Trike tire for the front. With the softer sidewall, I wondered if I'd need to raise the tire pressure, and wanted to pose that question to the forum if a search didn't result in the answer.

So, with that on my mind, the Beast put 2 and 2 together and came up with 6 ... LOL ... or another windmill tilt or rabbit hole about trying raised tire pressure in the rear before the new "feets" were installed ... which woke me at 3 am. Went back to sleep, never removing the CPAP mask.

So 7am, I was out doing a parking brake adjustment )already planned), then off to Big O to have them adjust the tire pressure to 26#, as prescribed by the owners manual. Since I'm a fan of nitrogen, I figured go to the max, I can remove it in 1-2# increments if need be. I tipped the tech and headed for the highway to test my theory.

Highway stability was awesome. My least favorite turn in my neck of the woods was very comfortable at 75 mph ... who knew 6# could make that difference. But, did I destroy the good ride I had worked so hard to achieve?

Back to my designated test track to see how the ride was. Initial conditions, 36# front, 26# rears, 1 additional turn of preload (which turns out to be what it would of been had I not guessed about what I really carried), 3 clicks right shock, 2 clicks left shock. The weirdest thing happened, I expected the ride to be rough, but, it was very plush, almost too much. So, pulled over, got out my long screw driver and added a click to the left side. Redid the test track, and the ride was awesome. Went back to the highway, the stability thing stayed very good.

Nirvana achieved ... well ... at least until the new tires arrive and get installed. Then I may have to adjust the tire pressures some.

Very interesting.

I will share one experience I had.

I had been gone on a few week trip on the Softail. As usual, I got back with an itch to ride the Tri Glide. Went for a nice long ride and I was surprised at the unexpected bouncing I was getting when hitting bumps. I thought to myself I would need to take advantage of the Lifetime Warranty on the shocks, because one of them must have started having a problem. The ride quality was not what I was used to.

I am embarrassed to say, I had not checked the tire pressure before riding (and after it sitting for a few weeks). I got back from my ride and checked the tires. The front was fine, but one of the rears was at 17 psi and the other at 18 psi. I put them both at 22 psi and went back out.

My ride quality was back to great.

Lesson learned: too little psi in the rears and the bumps will make for too much sidewall flex, creating a pogo effect over bumps.

On another note, related to Fred's change to taller tires...I feel like the M8 Tri Glides are geared too low (at least for me).

At some point, when I have the time (or when Alan sends me a magic ROUNDTUIT), I am either going to go to larger diameter tires or change the front pulley.

Kevin

[Fearless]

Very interesting.

I will share one experience I had.

I had been gone on a few week trip on the Softail. As usual, I got back with an itch to ride the Tri Glide. Went for a nice long ride and I was surprised at the unexpected bouncing I was getting when hitting bumps. I thought to myself I would need to take advantage of the Lifetime Warranty on the shocks, because one of them must have started having a problem. The ride quality was not what I was used to.

I am embarrassed to say, I had not checked the tire pressure before riding (and after it sitting for a few weeks). I got back from my ride and checked the tires. The front was fine, but one of the rears was at 17 psi and the other at 18 psi. I put them both at 22 psi and went back out.

My ride quality was back to great.

Lesson learned: too little psi in the rears and the bumps will make for too much sidewall flex, creating a pogo effect over bumps.

On another note, related to Fred's change to taller tires...I feel like the M8 Tri Glides are geared too low (at least for me).

At some point, when I have the time (or when Alan sends me a magic ROUNDTUIT), I am either going to go to larger diameter tires or change the front pulley.

Kevin

Kevin that's what I thought about the twin cam 30-70 tooth pulleys just a little low. Tire size experiment is so much easier. Changing pulleys is time consuming and expensive especially for retired folks like me LOL. I must be lucky the taller tires adds the benefit of improved handling at least I think so a pulley change will not. Ride safe Fred

[ultrafxr]

Kevin that's what I thought about the twin cam 30-70 tooth pulleys just a little low. Tire size experiment is so much easier. Changing pulleys is time consuming and expensive especially for retired folks like me LOL. I must be lucky the taller tires adds the benefit of improved handling at least I think so a pulley change will not. Ride safe Fred

I agree that with the M8 and especially the 114" version there is plenty of low end torque for a 'standard' front pulley. But as Fearless said that becomes a time consuming and expensive proposition even if you diy and definitely if you have to pay to have it done. Going to a taller tire makes a lot of sense to me and I may do it in the future.

[Colleydog]

Just took about a 90 mile ride after putting the new dk pro action shocks on and all I can say is I wished I would have done it sooner!. Ride is much better and seems to have more responsive handling, seems to dive into corners much better and did not have any jarring bumps, the bumps are still there and you can feel them but it is MUCH smother now. I don’t feel like I need to do a “fuzzy” and try to mess with the adjustments (no offense fuzzy), I am perfectly happy with the way Kevin set the shocks up before he sent them to me. If you are thinking about changing your shocks, I highly recommend the dk pro action shocks.

[Colleydog]

Also, forgot to mention that I also put my floorboard extensions on, I’m loving all of the new mods, floorboard extensions, cooling deflector wings , tank lift with deluxe option and especially the dk pro action shocks, wished I would have got them sooner.

[Fearless]

Also, forgot to mention that I also put my floorboard extensions on, I’m loving all of the new mods, floorboard extensions, cooling deflector wings , tank lift with deluxe option and especially the dk pro action shocks, wished I would have got them sooner.

It takes a little while to figure out what is needed and what you thought you need however it seems to work it's self out to where you need to be to be really comfortable and have the handling needed to be relaxed out and about. Congratulations you have built a great ride. Fred

[ROAD DOG]

I've only ever had the wheels off like 8 times ... so I should be good.

Fuzzy next time you have the tires off can you measure the length of the rear springs with no weight on them ? Thanks

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Fuzzy next time you have the tires off can you measure the length of the rear springs with no weight on them ? Thanks

I will try to remember ... but ... I'm getting forgetful ... and with the new puppy and having the shocks where I want them, probably not jacking the trike up and pulling the wheels for any reason soon. I'll climb down and see if I could measure just by jacking it up ... if so might be able to do a measure while the little girl sleeps ... although she tends to use me like a pillow.

[PosseRider]

It takes a little while to figure out what is needed and what you thought you need however it seems to work it's self out to where you need to be to be really comfortable and have the handling needed to be relaxed out and about. Congratulations you have built a great ride. Fred

Take trike in Mon afternoon for frt & rear PA suspension. When I bought the first shocks 4 yrs ago for the 16, I didn't have to change a thing. George had them set great. He set them like his own . Said our weights were same as him & his wife. Leaving it Mon closing time & they will start Tues morn. Can't wait , Try as I can ,can not get HD new great susp to work worth a crap. Lousy try HD. AGAIN.... For what U charge put a GOOD system on ,not the junk you have.

[Mykneesbehurtin]

If i read a earlier post in this thread,Kevin from DK Custom is having Pro Action working on trike specific shocks.If this is the case i will wait for these to come out before i make a purchase.

[Colleydog]

He has it now Steve, it helps the ride tremendously, wished I would have done it sooner.

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[FuzzyWuzHe]

If i read a earlier post in this thread,Kevin from DK Custom is having Pro Action working on trike specific shocks.If this is the case i will wait for these to come out before i make a purchase.

As Colleydog stated, the 14" are the shocks that Kevin worked with ProAction to help develop and made the special comfort lift for. Great addition to improve the ride.