Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127833
CRUISER TECH By Scott Rousseau t's a wonder that the OEMs don't simply release their motorcycles with it already done. Everybody appears to be doing it. Seems like you can't find a truly hot-rodded cruiser without it. We're talking about lowering your cruiser with the aid of modified or aftermarket suspension components. The slammed look is definitely in, and it is certainly one of the top priorities if not the very first thing on the list of things to do when a cruiser owner sets about the task of personalizing his/her ride. Never mind that the lowered look carries with it certain performance penalties. Suddenly that parking-lot speed bump at the local Safeway looks more like a tabletop jump, or at least it feels that way when you case out over it. And where it once seemed like your cruiser sported a shallow lean angle when turning, excessive lowering can make that same lean angle seem all but dried up. Even so, while the Harley-Davidson Motor Company doesn't recommend that its products be lowered, all you have to do is take a look at its Genuine Motor Accessories catalog, and in it you will find several photos of accessorized Big Twins, some of them sporting the low look with the help of H-D's accessory lowered shocks and front fork springs. The key to effective lowering, then, is sensibility. lf you're building a groundup show bike, then a 3-inch slam is fine. Just don't plan on enjoying the hardtailstyle ride or the lack of ground clearance that is part of that program. However, as we learned with Dan Gunter's 199& Harley-Davidson Fat Boy, you can effectively drop your daily rider or weekend warrior to produce a satisfactory look while minimizing the loss of ride quality. To start with, we formulated a simple plan whereby we determined that, with the proper selection of components, we could easily and affordably acheive an approximate 1.5-inch drop with a minimum of invested time. In other words, we would rather be riding the bike than working on it. We started in the rear, where we selected Progressive Suspension's 413 Series lowered rear shocks. The 413s are available in standard or I-inch lowered ride height length. The double-wall-constructed units are equipped with a Freon gas cell for fade-free shock operation I (Right) Though they provide an inch-shorter ride height, the Progressive 413 Soltail shocks are a direct bolt-on replacement for stock Harley shocks. and utilize multi-stage, velocity sensitive internal valving with a hydraulic antibottoming feature. They come fully - assembled with an internal spring and are preload adjustable. The shocks are' available in either a chiome or gold finish. Our chrome models retail for $474. The shocks were a direct bolt-on replacement for the OEM units. The biggest problem we experienced had to do more with our lack of equipment. Basically, we didn't have the proper jack for lifting the 630-pound Harley into the air. Fat Boy indeed. Once we had the bike up in the air, we simply followed our authentic Harley-Davidson service manual to complete the swap. Electing to remove the shocks one at a time to keep the swingarm from flopping down, we used a pneumatic wrench to remove the two shock bolts per unit, and installed the new shocks. One word of caution, the Progressive 413s came with a set of shouldered washers, which must be used with the stock washers when bolting the works back together. The washers are designed in such a manner that they must go over the shoulder on the mounting bolts. We weren't paying attention to this on the first attempt and were soon left wondering why we had so much free play in the bolt. Once we figured that out, removing the second stocker and fitting the second 413 was easy. (Above) Though not as obvious to the naked eye, the we Lowboy front·fork lowering kit also produced the least noticeable change In ride quality. With the bike still in the air, we were able to drop the front by adding a White Brothers Lowboy front-fork lowering kit. The Lowboy setup features special rebound springs which allow a frontend ride-height reduction of 1-2 inches while retaining a smooth ride. Retail price for' the kit is $99.95. . Gunter wanted to be a bit more conservative with regard to the nose, so we left out the optional smaller springs, which would provide a 2-inch drop, and instead elected to just use the I-inchlower springs. To do so all we had to do was drain the oil from the forks and then lower them in the triple trees until our wrench had the proper access to the caps. Once we unscrewed the caps, the springs were right there for the taking, making the replacement painfully easy. We simply reversed the steps to complete the work. Gunter then added 11.5 ounces of Harley-Davidson Screamin' Eagle Heavy Duty fork oil to each leg and the bike was ready to come off the jack. The entire suspension upgrade took a total of three hours. With the bike on the ground, the lack of tire sidewall that protuded from the rear fender well gave away the bike's new, crushed profile. We dug it, but we decided to really give the Fat Boy that "in the weeds" look by replacing the bulky-looking stock seat with a Saddlemen Profiler unit for Softails. The Profiler's best feature has to be the patented SacidleGel, which forms to the rider's posterior and allows the saddle to retain all the comfort of a stock seat while retaining the low profile.. Installing the Profiler took two minutes and required only the use of a Phillips screwdriver. Once completed, we rolled the machine into the sun for some photos. . As you can see in th.e photos, the bike has been transformed from a run-of-themill stocker into mean-looking, lowslung boulevard brawler. Gunter reports that the ride quality in the rear is a bit more harsh but could probably be ironed out by adjusting the shocks, which is something that he hasn't been able to do because the Progressives don't come with an adjusting tool. Instead, Progressive recommends that the buyer purchase a Harley spanner. After popping almost five bills for a pair Qf shocks, we think that's a little silly. The forks work flawlessly, and the saddle is definitely a comfortable piece, though we wouldn't recommend it for tours of over 200 miles. But we consider this simple swap to be a success. All it took was a basic plan, the right parts and half an afternoon's work to get totally slammed, dude. eN Parts: Po.. ..............., $474 '.413 ...... "kiD S " k4i" _ F.or_ _ _ _ 01' COl _ m a tact, _ Progressive Suspension 11l29GAve. Hespel18, CA 92345 6191948-4307 White Brothers 24845 Corbit Pl. Yorba linda, CA 92887 714/692-6409 SaddIemenIT..-Jcade 6325 Ab1dra Blvd. Pa.--..QIr9lJ723=37SO 310/~ $99.95 $219.95 • • vour IoOlII