I have been looking at the 812 series Vintage Progressive shocks but cringe at the price tag.  I have seen some similar covered 11" "lowering" Sportster shocks on Ebay, but they are heavy duty spring rates.  I am wondering how it will handle the Savage.

When I compare the location and angle of the Sportster shock to the Savage, the Sportster hits behind the seat whereas the Savage almost directly under the seat, so based on leverage, the Savage rider should place more weight on the shock than the Sportster rider.  Based on this observation, The Savage should do fine with a heavier spring rate.

Anybody have any thoughts?

I think 412's are what some are useing. A sportseter has 150+ pounds more than a Savage, so sportster shocks would be harder, unless U run them on the lowest preload compared to the highest on a Savage. The fact the shocks are rite under the Savage seat translates into even more spine shock, because the wheel movement goes through the shocks and rite into the body,instead of through a part of the frame that is farther back that does'nt align the shock with the spine. I belive most any shock you choose will be at least 1/2" longer than the stockers, which is good, and should'nt be very asteticaly noticeable, and the extra rear lift will translate into a greater lean angle, so if you are currently dragin the pegs a lot, you'll notice it takes more to drag em. These stock shocks are terrible, almost anything aftermarket should be an improvement. I seen some shocks with piggy back gas resovoirs that would fit, and were'nt too $$, but I think they would hit the saddle bag supports. BTW, stock sportster shocks are'nt much better, and the ones on the customs,huggers,low for sure are'nt.

Has anyone thought of using a couple of monoshocks, like this but on both sides.If you get two off a light bike it might just work.

Clive W  

c'mon folks, help me out!!

I had a set of sporty shocks on my Savage for a while, about 11.5-12" I think, and they worked pretty well.  They were certainly better than the stock Savage shock.  One factor is that I am a 200 lb'r, so the heavier springs on the shock worked well for me, but I really liked the extra travel  the shock had ... no bottoming out.  I was satisfied with the overall performance of the shock.  Later I swapped it out for a set of Progressive 412's I found on ebay, which was really a step up in ride comfort...very cushy.
Later I was fortunate to find a pair of Progressive 418's on ebay and so put those on in place of the 412's.
I must say that the 412's made a cushier ride than the 418's, which are more firm (came from a superglide) and make for a better performance ride for hard core cornering and such.  

I hope this is helpful for you.

I have a set of progressive suspension 412's on my Savage.  They are a HUGE improvement over the stock rear shocks.

The only problem I ran into was the mounting studs.  The Harley 412 shocks have a 1/2" bushing.  The savage uses a 13mm stud.  I had to machine a new set of bushings to fit.  But my God, is it ever worth the effort!

They were $269.00 at my local HD dealer.  It took about an hour to mount them, including cutting the new bushings.

skrapiron -FSO wrote on 02/29/08 at 13:49:43:

buy the metric shocks and they come with the proper bushing - the 42xx is a metric

Reelthing wrote on 02/29/08 at 21:42:57:


maybe I'm crazy, but I love the way my bike handles.  Now, I've never grabbed and (rear) brake while the wheel was off the ground (yet)...