Right I forgot.

Just got a pair of 412-4005's for $130+shipping.  rode in on the 1st position, thought I might as well stuck with the stocks.  Rode home on the 2nd position, hmmm, who put the cloud under my butt?  it floats, but not high enough yet,  bumps are still there.  Tomorrow #3.

Lancer said:
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.

When I softened the setting on the stock shocks, the rear end would run up & down quicker in turns, the handlebar wobble increased, when I went to the stiffest setting, the wobble, still quite scary & requiring slowing in sweepers, was lessened & came on at higher speeds.


KWAK Nut said

I hope I get this right

"If sag isn't right the bike will be a nightmare to ride"

How is correct sag determined? Is the goal to put the swingarm almost level with just the sag, so that it will be level when the G forces put pressure on the suspension? Is it ever okay to have the swing arm pivot lower than the axle in a corner?

I am still perplexed with the heaving up & down of the rear end as the handlebars saw back & forth. I cant figure which happens first or which one causes the other. Ive played with tire pressures & have gained MPH out of 3 turns, but that sweeper remains terrifying at the same speed.

I've not looked up figures for cruisers and customs, but for sprots bikes and dirt bikes, sag makes a massive difference to how the bike feels.

First, you adjust the rear pre-load so that there is, say, 1/2 or 3/4 inch 'sag' at the back end when the bike is empty.  You just measure the difference between the fender height when the bike is sat under its own weight, and when you lift it to take the shock to full extension - that's static sag.

Then, you sit on the bike, and find the sag with rider weight.  It should be something like 2 or 3 inches on most bikes.

By adjusting the suspension pre-load, the idea is to set the spring to have both sag measurements within limits.  Problems arise with very heavy or very light riders.  If you don’t wind it up enough for the heavy rider, it’s probably going to bottom out on bumps, so you have to wind up the spring to compensate for his weight.  But, because you set the ridden sag high enough for a heavy rider, you end up with the bike on full extension when static, which means there's potential for the bike to bounce to full shock extension on the road and have the wheel skip off the tarmac on bumps.  

When you get that, you need a stiffer spring for the rider’s weight.


I've cut down the rear springs on my Savage by about 3/4 inch which makes it sit very cute at the back end, and it rarely bottoms out, but I couldn't ride it 2-up.  It rdes nicely enough but ground clearance is affected but I only use the bike round town and don't mind taking it easy round bends (- I use my ZX12R for that!)

You're right - I was thinking of enduro bikes there, well under 2 inches for most road bikes.

Rode in on #3 this morn, very nice.  The neck snapping bump has been reduced to a mere bump.

And ease of adjustment is well worth the upgrade.  Using the supplied wrench, it's twist and go.  You don't have to dismount the shocks to get them to turn.