I have finally had enough of these stiff stock shocks (even set on the softest setting) and am ready for upgrade. I only weigh about 140lb so I'm looking for soft. I've been reading the related posts and have questions.  In this thread - http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1262900940/4#4 -  BurnPgh lists the Progressive 412-4232c as the soft shock and verslagen1 talks about the 440-4022.  Navigating the Progressive site I see under Harley a 412-4005B/C (which I assume from BurnPgh's post is the 412-4232c) and also a 440-4022B/C.  I see under Kawasaki VN750 Vulcan the 412-4232c.  Can anybody clarify?  What's the difference between the 412 and 440 series?  Also what's the B/C stand for.

Forgot to mention that the Progressive site listings I mentioned were for 2003 models as my bike is a 2003.

If you're a light weight, then I'd suggest the 412-4005's
they're recommended for the sportster so they're easy to find at a reasonable price.

all it takes to fit them up is an adapter, a tube that has a 1/2" OD and a .030 wall which makes the ID same as our shock mount.

They're about 1/2" more travel and sit 1/2" higher.
With my 240# butt I had them on the stiffest setting.
So you and your girl friend can ride with these and not bottom them out.

I've upgraded to the 440's and yeah they're better.  And with my experience with the 412's knew what spring rate to get so they're a lot better for me.

Serowbot those do look cushy but I want to stay as close as possible to stock height.  Looks like the 412's will be the ones I will go with - 440's are too much money.  Even the 412's are $300 new from Progressive.  May have to end up paying that too as I don't want to wait very long.  I'll let you know how it works out.     Thank you all very much for your help.

Go over to IntruderAlert.com, join the site, and see if anybody is looking to lower an 800 Intruder/S-50. I just did this last month to my wife's bike, dropped her Intruder almost 5 inches in the rear and raised my Savage enough for my FLH rear fender to no longer hang up on speed bumps. Going with a shock swap like this is cheap, easy and makes the Savage behave better. As in the front brake will actually stop the bike now instead of being useless weight. It will change the handling slightly as you will put more weight on the front end.

If you have to maintain a near stock ride height due to having a short inseam or impaired range of motion, then by all means go with a set of Progressives. My 1963 Honda has them, probably installed in the mid-70s, and they still work as new. My riding partner Drifter Doug has a set from 1979 on his 78 XS650 Special, same deal. A large upfront cost, spread over 2 or 3 decades (or more) of riding time is a pretty fair investment.