Well it’s that time again, this month we attempt to stop my poor old Softail from dragging her Tail. The old girl just isn’t up to the challenge any more, with two up riding she sags and sways all over the place, got to do something, quick!
So I started looking at shock options. Man, you can spend a fortune on shocks, everything from plain old heavy duty to fully air suspended with an on board compressor. Well I’m kind of a simple guy, so I didn’t want to make it too complicated. After I researched all the available products, I found a simple spring installation kit form LA Choppers.
The springs replace the OEM springs in either the OEM or Progressive shocks. You have three options for load carrying, first option is the Red Spring which is primarily for a solo rider, the spring is rated at 1200 psi. The second option is the Blue Spring, for the occasional two-up riding, with passenger and rider at 220-290 lbs. This spring is rated at 1300 psi. And the third option is the Gray Spring, for the lowered bike with passenger and rider at 300 pounds plus; these puppies are rated at 1400 psi.
I went with the Blue Spring for this project. I ordered them direct from LA Choppers. Delivery was prompt, about three days. You will also need the Spring Compression Tool for this job, both the springs and tool were about half the money for an already to go shock, under $250 for the complete kit.
Let’s get to work. First thing I did was put the old girl on the rack (work stand) I like the rack better, sounds more like torture, LOL. Whether you have a stand or not, you will need to have a way to jack up the rear of the bike in order to take some of the pressure off the rear wheel and shocks.
Initially I had to raise the rear far enough off the stand so that I could swing a wrench to loosen the all the shock mounting bolts. You have one nut to loosen facing forward (rod end) and shock mount bolt at the rear. It supports the eye hole of the shock to the swing arm.
After I loosened both bolt and rod nut, I lowered the bike so that the rear tire just touched the stand, and presto, the shock almost falls out when the hardware is completely removed.
Now for the fun stuff: After securing the shock in the compression tool, I secured the shock in a vise and started the compression sequence. There are three 1/2-inch nuts that need to be run down evenly, you need to compress the spring far enough so that it clears the retention snap ring.
Take a hook or small screwdriver and free the snap ring, then reverse the compression process until there is no tension on the spring. Remove the OEM spring and replace it with the new one, reassembly is everything in reverse.
LA Choppers has a sharp video on their web site and on YouTube. Follow the instructions that came with the springs, and all will go well. My test ride with momma on the back was a success, no more bottoming out and the bike handles better than new.
Just a note, with no passenger the ride is a bit stiffer than before, but it makes up for that in the gained handling I acquired. The guys at LA Choppers are great. They answered all my questions post haste, and were happy to do it. A special thanks to chucky for your help, thanks Man. Ride safe, ride smart, till next month.
–Gunner out
This product can be found at the following:
