R3Tex
Living Legend
Smooth mate...very smooth
Smooth mate...very smooth
Steel
Resident Coonass
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2012
- Messages
- 7,849
- Location
- Cut Off, Louisiana USA
- Ride
- 2012 Roadster & 2006 Classic
I second that. I've ridden it, and I also rode another Ultra with the same setup on a 1700 mile trip in 3 days. What the big Hog lacks in power they make up for in comfort. Very smooth suspension.
TOMCAT
Rage against the machine
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2011
- Messages
- 9,259
- Location
- ALBANY - Western Australia
- Ride
- 2009 RIII Standard - 2008 Speed Triple -1995 900 T'Bird
So significant improvement on Roadster shocks then ? I mean they are worth the effort to fit ?
Steel
Resident Coonass
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2012
- Messages
- 7,849
- Location
- Cut Off, Louisiana USA
- Ride
- 2012 Roadster & 2006 Classic
I can't say how it would be on an R3 other than smooth on the long straights. I have no idea how it would feel powering through twisties. The big HD did handle well on the Dragon and a couple of other mountain roads, but I wasn't pushing her near to what I'd do on my Roadster.
TOMCAT
Rage against the machine
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2011
- Messages
- 9,259
- Location
- ALBANY - Western Australia
- Ride
- 2009 RIII Standard - 2008 Speed Triple -1995 900 T'Bird
Use the Rocket more from travel than fanging through mountain ranges these days. Comfort sounds pretty good to me mate.
Steel
Resident Coonass
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2012
- Messages
- 7,849
- Location
- Cut Off, Louisiana USA
- Ride
- 2012 Roadster & 2006 Classic
Then that might just be what the old bones need. I hope it works well for you.
I have put a set of air shocks on my Classic. As noted the bushing must be modified, but they do fit. Mine were purchased in the box with instructions which stated a maximum pressure to run them at (60lbs IFRC.) The R3 was almost on her knees at that pressure so to reach ride height I had to put in almost 100lbs. I did ride it and it was okay, but the air springs are too small to carry the weight at lower pressures. Therefore they were harder than when used on a Harley and under dampened as well. Add to that the risk of blowing out the seals at way over recommended pressure and they weren't worth the effort in my opinion.
Our rides are full figured gals that need the right support; HD shocks aren't up to the task.
Progressive springs in the forks are good but they should be stiffer and the OEM dampening much, much firmer.
Our rides are full figured gals that need the right support; HD shocks aren't up to the task.
Progressive springs in the forks are good but they should be stiffer and the OEM dampening much, much firmer.
TOMCAT
Rage against the machine
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2011
- Messages
- 9,259
- Location
- ALBANY - Western Australia
- Ride
- 2009 RIII Standard - 2008 Speed Triple -1995 900 T'Bird
Speedy , thanks for your experience. We are talking about the same Showa shocks that come on the HD Tourers yeh ? So you say 60 PSI is recommended stock and to get 'standard Rocket ride height' you needed to put 100 PSI into them .. that right. So the extra air made the ride uncomfortable .. yeh?
The shocks I tried are HD part number 54635-09 Touring Low Profile Rear Suspension Kit. Maximum pressure: 50PSI (345kPa). The effective air spring size is too small so the higher pressure was needed to hold the weight of the R3 and me. With this much pressure the progressive rate is very high (they get much stiffer with very little travel) so the ride quality wasn't good. The installation instructions recommend 15PSI (about 104kPa) for a 225 (about 103 kilo) rider and 50 PSI for 300lbs or more on the HD. So yes, to use these on the Rocket you are way,way over recommended pressures. I, too, thought they might be a good solution for changing between solo and two up with luggage riding but they are not good for either.
I now use two different shock and spring setups for my R3 and switch between them.
TOMCAT
Rage against the machine
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2011
- Messages
- 9,259
- Location
- ALBANY - Western Australia
- Ride
- 2009 RIII Standard - 2008 Speed Triple -1995 900 T'Bird
Ok thanks for that .. back to the drawing board as they say.
