Progressive Suspension Road King Make-Over

It's been a while since Paint Shaker (aka my trusty '06 FLHRCI) got the attention in the Asylum that it deserves, in other words had some costly bits and pieces lovingly attached in some hopefully meaningful attempt to make my beloved sled all the more tasty. Well fellow Chromies, fate has smiled on the old black beauty at last.

The Mighty Paint Shaker

With over 18,000 miles on the clock, it was time to give the Road King's suspension a serious rehab. It wasn't necessarily that the stock units were bad, , more like "degraded", you know, just not quite what they once were. Much like your old mattress, or job, you never know what an improvement a replacement is until you strap on a new one and take it for a spin. Shocks and forks are no different.

After talking with some of the lads at work I decided to give Progressive Suspension (http://www.progressivesuspension.com/) a try. I'd had had good luck with the brand in the past with some of my sport bikes, and figured it would be a low risk choice. What wasn't so low risk was my decision to go with the "lowered" shocks and forks. Contradictory as it sounds, I like to flog the big pig rather aggressively, and the thoughts of grinding its tender underbelly on the unforgiving Texas tarmac seemed, well, just a bit cruel. Not to mention that unweighting the rear suspension at an inopportune moment could ruin ones whole day.

Not to worry says Richard, a colleague, and a more than capable FLH pilot with just the same Progressive bits affixed to his rig that I was contemplating acquiring. We had ridden together (along with a gaggle of TR folks) on a three day trek to the hills of Arkansas and he seemed to have absolutely no issues hustling his Harley with velocity and gusto through fast sweepers and tight first gear 180's. "Don't worry", he said, "the suspension works so much better, you really won't notice the reduced ground clearance". Hmmm, I dunno.

Progressive's Monotube Fork Cartridge Kit

It's not like I needed the reduced seat height, even in my post AARP eligible demographic, I still manage to maintain a not-so-stumpy  6'2" frame. No, any reduction in chassis height would only satisfy the pursuit of cool, which Paint Shaker has in spades. Oh what the hell, let's do this......open the bomb bay doors!

We started off by chucking the stock rear units (OK, full disclosure, the crew from A Biker's Garage, http://www.abikersgarage.com/  in Roanoke Texas did all the heavy lifting in the technical department. Thanks Bob, Dave, and Trent) and installing a pair of Progressive 940 Ultra Touring Series shocks (MSRP $699.95). These bad boys drop the ride height one full inch, while retaining all the stock travel for a smooth ride. They're adjustable as well, coming from the factory in the "full soft" mode (who's gonna stick with that setting....I mean, really!?). We set them at the half way mark just to have a starting point.

The 940's are a snap to install

While still at the ass-end of the beast, a Touring Link Chassis Stabilizer (MSRP $199.99) was bolted up. The theory here is that this handy little device, which tucks up all snug-like, won't effect ground clearance, but will tame that nasty "flexi-flyer:" effect that most pre-2009 FLH Harley's tend to exhibit during spirited cornering. Imagine having a hinge somewhere right below your seat with an annoying ten year old tugging with all of his demonic might just as you apex a high speed sweeper........yeah, it sucks. Short of buying a new generation H-D long haul rig, the Progressive Touring Link is your best option.

Touring Link tames that unhinged feeling

Up front, we dropped in an ultra trick Monotube Fork Cartridge Kit (MSRP $399.95) which also lowers the front suspension the aforementioned inch. It's all about consistency don't ya know? In addition to slamming the front, the gas charged dampers and custom tuned fork springs are supposed to help prevent excessive fork compression under braking. We'll put that to the test later. In addition the sealed cartridge design is supposed to be an improvement over the Harley OE "open bath" unit. I'm not an engineer, so I'm gonna have to take Progressive's word on that. A few hours later, OK, most of the day actually, we were ready to hit the road and see just what the hell we accomplished (figure on spending between $250 to $450 on the install labor if you're not doing the work in your own garage).

The first thing I noticed was how much more "planted" the bike felt. It was stiffer, front and rear, but not harsh. To be honest, it kinda reminded me of the ride characteristics of some of my sport bikes. There was a feeling of enhanced control, lots of feedback coming back through the bars, very nice. After logging a few miles it was time for the first serious "test"; fork dive under braking. Here goes, a swift exit from the freeway, storm hell bent down to a four-way stop. Wait for it. wait for it. Now. A stout squeeze on the lever and the Performance Machine six piston calipers and full floating disks do their job, and so do the new Monotube forks. Amazing, dive was reduced significantly, maybe 30% to 40%. Not to mention the increased "feel" at the front wheel, OK, that was cool.

Touring Link installed on the Road King

But what about cornering performance? Well, given that the best twisty bits in north Texas happen to be in Arkansas that eval will just have to wait. Until then I had to make do with the local stuff, not exactly challenging, but enough to get a sense of how the shocks and forks work as a unit. Verdict? Way better fellow Chromies, way better. While I wasn't able to achieve velocities great enough to test the Touring Link, the bike tracked a true arc through even the tightest second gear corners. Bumps and pavement irregularities were handled with ease, the bike didn't deflect so much as it absorbed the undulations with confidence inspiring control. That's a very good thing considering the Texas has some of the worst roads I've ever seen (not to mention drivers so aggressive and utterly lacking in skill they could put a Bangkok cabbie to shame) with chuck holes so sharp and deep they could "taco" a rim faster than you can say "Red State". Anything that helps one avoid the aforementioned "issues" should be embraced with gusto.

As for the ground clearance issue. the jury is still out. On a couple of corners I ground a bit, nothing major, but we touched down nonetheless. To be fair, these roads are all fairly new to me, and chances are I may have sent sparks flying with the Road King in its former stock configuration. Only more miles and twists will tell. The bike obviously sits lower, you'll notice the first time you put the jiffy stand down after installing the suspension, it's the little things.

Paint Shaker's new stance...bueno

Overall I'm totally stoked, The bike handles better than it ever has, it's solid and dare I say "nimble". Front end dive under braking has all but been neutralized (if you haven't upgraded the stock binders for Performance Machine brakes, you'll only get half the effect) and the ride has firmed up significantly without becoming a hardtailed torture session. Is it worth the dough? That's hard to say, but if you put on serious miles, and want your rig to handle as well as it can, then the Progressive Suspension mods are money well spent.