Roadster Shocks on '08 RCIII

[Durocdog]

A buddy is replacing his original Roadster shocks with 1" lower shocks and giving me his new OEM Roadster shocks for my 2008 RIII Classic. What should I expect the change to be? I'm hoping for a softer, or less harsh, ride. Will this be achieved by swapping out my originals with the Roadster shocks?

 

[albertaduke]

you want better suspension all around talk to wilber in germany they make front and back based on your weight and size one or two up I RODE ONE IN GERMANY VERSUS MY 06 CLASSIC WITH oem SHOCKS day and night difference I ordered a set and will use my OEM shocks as paper weight

 

[albertaduke]

battery not as good as prresumed

I have installed recently a fancy smancy 680 red battery the kind that cost an arm and a leg supposedly bulletproof and POWERFUL yet leaving stupidly the headlight for one hour and it would not turn the starter over had to be boosted I mean what is the point battery was fully charged before I foolishly left the key on and i paid 180 dollars for it am I wrong into thinking a one hour headlight run should not deplete a new 680

 

[Durocdog]

uhh, What?

I have installed recently a fancy smancy 680 red battery the kind that cost an arm and a leg supposedly bulletproof and POWERFUL yet leaving stupidly the headlight for one hour and it would not turn the starter over had to be boosted I mean what is the point battery was fully charged before I foolishly left the key on and i paid 180 dollars for it am I wrong into thinking a one hour headlight run should not deplete a new 680

Alberta, this is great info, but doesn't really address my question. There are a number of things I could do to improve the ride, but my question is specifically about what is free and available to me - will the OEM Roadster shocks make a difference when compared to the OEM '08 Classic shocks now on my bike?

So, I guess another way to ask the question is what is the difference in the load ratings or dampening effects of the Roadster OEM Shocks compared to the '08 Classic OEM shocks?

 

[TxRIIIRider]

If he's giving them to you.. swap them out and try it.. It only takes 10 minutes to swap out the shocks.. If you don't like them, swap them back..

Otherwise, if you're dealer has a demo Roadster, see if you can take it for a spin. That's the only way you'll really know.

 

[Durocdog]

Swapped OEM '08 RCIII Shocks for OEM Roadster Shocks

Okay, so I took a few minutes and swapped my OEM 2008 Rocket Classic shocks for OEM shocks taken off a 2010 Roadster. These were free to me so I wanted to see if it changed the ride at all.

I had hoped to have a less harsh ride. I went on a 80 mile ride today and believe there is a difference in the shocks. My bike felt less harsh on all road surfaces and I intentionally hit a few bumps that I was very familiar with. The difference may all be in my head, but I believe it to be an improvement. Also, the appearance of the Roadster shock is a nice change to the bike - something I really hadn't thought about nor planned on.