RatBoy, you must be my NC twin 'coz I'm the same height and weight (Who you callin' "short"?) and I, too, virtually never haul a passenger. Did you go the 1" shorter so that you could put your feet down flat-footed while seated? Would you have gone with the 412s knowing what you now know regarding the 440s stiffness? Hey, you can always hank on a 50 lb bag of rock salt or sand to the luggage rack for a slightly more compliant ride! LOL
Cuz!
If I had to do it over again, I would have gone the 412/418 route instead of the 440's. Unfortunately, I haven't been given a kitchen-pass to make the change.
I attempted to trade someone flat out and they wouldn't trade for some reason that I don't recall.
You think mebbe because of the $200-300 price diff, cuz! lol
Frankly I'm shocked (pun intended) that you'd want to trade Progressives Cadillac for a Buick or Pontiac. If it's because they're too stiff, the co. tech rep tells me that they will take 500-1,000 miles to break in and soften up. the 440 is a truly superior unit compared to the others, but you do pay for it.
I just found out that I am a lucky man. The 12" std. 440s I just took of my totalled VTX are the exactly right size for my new R3... Yippee! There's 500 clams that will stay in my possession. That is 'til I find something else to pizz it away on (shouldn't be very challenging, either).
Run the shorter Ikcon shocks on my 2005 R3 and never had a problem bottoming out. Have factory tire on back. I go about 210 but never had anybody over 200 on the back.
Maybe you need to go Darkside on the rear. I found that the CTs on my VTX acted as secondary shock absorbers, softening the ride some on normally jarring roadways. If you have those 440s dialed down all the way and are still unhappy with the ride, then I guess you have to try a different series shock or one from another (Ikorn) mfr.. I feel your pain, P.