Hi guys I know there is a lot of discussion about the Pro Action shocks already on here. I installed the 14” and lift kit about a 1000 miles ago and can tell a big difference from the stock ones. But still feeling the hard bumps. My question is do you have to remove the wheel to see the bumpers because I can’t see mine looking under trike with flashlight?
Bumpers on Pro Action shocks
- Thread starter Tinner
- Start date
Bumpers
Don’t know if you ride solo or 2 up ?
I ride solo but had them set up for 400lbs. I had to take 4rounds up for my weight only. Also take note that you will feel if you bottom out . Hitting sudden road divits or a pot hole will give you a false bumper reading. They can be seen from the rear under the body.
Mine is set to my comfort ride , not to the bumper location , as it will always be on the bottom from any road jolts.
Don’t know if you ride solo or 2 up ?
I ride solo but had them set up for 400lbs. I had to take 4rounds up for my weight only. Also take note that you will feel if you bottom out . Hitting sudden road divits or a pot hole will give you a false bumper reading. They can be seen from the rear under the body.
Mine is set to my comfort ride , not to the bumper location , as it will always be on the bottom from any road jolts.
Fearless
Gone But Not Forgotten
+1
Frank is dead on for adjustment I did a little adjusting as well. however I needed to I purchased mine used From another member here. Those bumpers need checked as soon as you test ride for adjustment. These are the best investment so far. :good: ride safe Fred
Frank is dead on for adjustment I did a little adjusting as well. however I needed to I purchased mine used From another member here. Those bumpers need checked as soon as you test ride for adjustment. These are the best investment so far. :good: ride safe Fred
- Thread starter
- #4
Thanks for the reply. I still would like to know how you check the bumper. Do you remove the wheel? I can’t see any bumper on mine looking underneath. My problem is my wife sliding forward on the harsh bumps and complaining it jars her back so I’m wondering if preload needs tweaked but can’t see bumper to tell.
Fearless
Gone But Not Forgotten
Yes your preload needs turned down I would try one turn at a time. the bumpers are hard to see I checked ours with a 90 degree pick through the wheel It's a long one. Adjusting on them is certainly time consuming but well worth the time. Once you get the dialed in you will love them. If you have any questions I have no idea where you purchased them from Kevin or Pro Action direct both are great with assistance get them set up for you don't suffer give them a call. They are such a great product to have get them adjusted ASAP. Fred
I had mine installed (after talking with several others who took the lift off) 14" without a lift. Very happy with results. I don't know how much the lift kit raised the trike, but you already raised it 1 " with the shocks. We rode some very bumpy roads yesterday & wife never slid forward. Just my opinion. have not looked for the bumper yet, I have the wheel disc's on mine,so would prob have to remove the wheels to even see it.
The lift worked well with the 13" PA I had,but felt no need for the 14"
- Thread starter
- #7
Thanks for the replies. I finally got to a place with the flashlight where I can barely see the bumper about even with the black bottom sleeve on the shock. I have to assume they are on bottom but probably have to take wheel off to be sure. Not looking forward to that may try a click on the bleed first and see how that goes. I bought the shocks off Kevin maybe he will chime in pretty soon with some ideas. Thanks again to everyone.
Fearless
Gone But Not Forgotten
Call him it's not an issue for him he is about supporting customers and helping them he's good people. Fred
Colleydog
150+ Posts
Mike, did you get the shocks from Kevin at dk?, if so did you provide him the weights and what kind of ride you wanted. I got mine from Kevin and have not felt the need to adjust them, roads are terrible around here and have never felt a jarring bump that moved my wife since I put them on, happened plenty of times with the stock air suspension, and I’m also using the comfort lift for the pro action shocks. I would suggest you call Kevin and go over the shock settings with him, he’s super helpful and DK has great customer service. Good luck, hope you get it figured out.
- Thread starter
- #10
Thanks I may give Kevin a call. I just want make sure I have a problem before I bother him Wife says she don’t think it’s bottoming out but she is getting jarred and sliding forward on hard bumps. As I said I can barely see the top of the bumper on bottom of shock but can’t tell if there Is any gap under the bumper. I’m thinking I may have to pull one of wheels to see what is going on. We are in Illinois and roads are pretty rough. I know the pa shocks and lift kit made a world of difference. Just hoping maybe I can get them a little better. Thanks again to everyone.
Trampas
1000+ Posts
Are you saying you installed the 14 inch pa shocks without the lift from DK, just mounted shocks to regular mounts, if yes I guess the lift with these 14 inch shocks just gives you 2 points of bolting up. I have the lift from Kevin but haven't installed it yet and was thinking of the 13 inch shocks but Kevin said I would get a better ride with the 14 inch and the 14 inch shocks won't work with the lift I have since that would be 2 inches in lift. I know you had the lift and 13 inch on your other trike and you sold it to Fearless, sounds like Fearless is liking the ride with the 13 inch and lift. I'm sort of caught weather to buy the shocks and lift or stay the way I am, I don't put a lot of miles per year so that is quite a bit of money to put out for no more than I ride, once I get out of this town with bad streets and get on highway or interstate then its not to bad, just wish Iowa would fix the highways and interstates better.
All for now Trampas
Exactly, no lift & rides GREAT. I had the PA front tubes & valves done also. I dont think HD has ever had a good susp since the old Duo Glide. lol I know for the last 30 yrs every new HD the first improve has been suspension. Worx Susp., Ohlin, Progressive, & a couple I have forgot. PA is by FAR the best ever. Yesterday coming home from a ride,we came down a road that was always 40-45 mph at best. Yesterday 55-60 & great. I do not have a lift on the 14" . Talked to a few others who took off the lift after having it on a while & were happy. I may be wrong but, it is already lifting an inch from stock. Another on here did both & complained his wife kept sliding forward . :Shrug::Shrug: We went on some very bumpy roads & my wife never slid forward. JMHO. best of luck
Fearless
Gone But Not Forgotten
I see you like the springs and valves from Beaverfalls PA. thought you would and at a price a retired person can afford LOL... I feel like Old Shiney is a Sports Trike it handles so well, I never dreamed it would be so nice. Ride safe Fred
Your tri glide is 2020 and you installed the 14" shocks with no lift ? Bolted on no problem ?
Colleydog
150+ Posts
Kevin has extensively tested the pro action shocks with comfort lift to give the best ride, have mine on and love it. Not sure what you would gain by taking the comfort lift off. I would suggest the combo kit and if you don’t like it take the lift off, but it was like the difference between night and day, I love mine.
- Thread starter
- #17
I have the 14” shocks and lift from DK. I don’t think I want to take the lift off the ride is so much improved over the stock. I think I need to play around with the clicker and see if I can Improve it a little more. Thanks so much for replies this is a great site for information
BillR
Gold Member
Have you tried adjusting the rear tire pressure? I didn't see any mention of tire pressure in the thread.
My 20 is just as good w/o the lift as the 16 was with a lift. I left them off due to much advice from a person I trust. Happy I did, works great.
- Thread starter
- #20
I was running 24 in the tires dropped to 22after reading most people are running 20 to 22. Going out Wednesday for a ride and will see how it goes. I think I will adjust the clicker to 4 also. Will let you know how it goes. Thanks
DK Custom Products
Sponsor
Hi Mike,
You can check the bumper by getting on the ground, behind the Trike and looking forward to the shocks with a flashlight. You will be able to see the bumper thru the spring coils. When the bumper is ALL the way down, you will barely be able to see the top of it. This is because the bottom collar is concave and there is more stroke than you can see when looking at the shock from the back.
Definitely call or email us, it is no bother. We will help get it adjusted so that there is no hard jarring on anything except on huge potholes.
Kevin
DK Custom Products
Sponsor
Oh my goodness! There is some serious misunderstanding regarding the Convertible Comfort Lift™ for the 14" shocks.
We have one lift kit for the 14" shocks, that can be seen at this LINK.
Convertible stands for it having two different height mounting options...primary and secondary
Comfort stands for it changing the angle of the shocks to help them absorb the smaller bumps better
Lift stands for....well that is what they have always been called, but is possibly the source of some misunderstanding.
When using the primary mounting points, it does lift the mounting point of the Trike about 1.25". (.25" from the Lift and 1" from the 1" longer shock) The primary mounting points should be used on 09-13 Trikes. They may also work on 14-16 Trikes...just depends on how far off Harley was on their tolerances.
On 2017 and up Trikes only the secondary mounting points should be used. This is because of the exhaust changes Harley made.
Why do we recommend the Convertible Comfort Lift for the 14" shocks on 2017 and up Trikes?
1. The change in the angle will give a better ride quality
2. Harley tolerances vary wildly. Sometimes you can install the 14" shocks on the stock brackets. But the majority of the time, when trying to install the 14" shocks with the factory brackets, the swingarm will come into contact with the exhaust on the right side, resulting in not being able to install the shocks properly, and/or causing the swingarm to clank against the exhaust when topping out the shocks on a larger bump.
This is why we have the secondary mounting points for the 2017 & up models (you cannot use the primary for the 2017 & up models). The secondary mounting point is 3/16 of an inch Lower than stock.
The Math:
Stock brackets with 14" shocks = 1" higher (at the shock)
Convertible Comfort Lift with 14" shocks = 13/16" higher (at the shock)
As always, please feel free to call or email (or post on the forum here) with any questions.
Kevin
We have one lift kit for the 14" shocks, that can be seen at this LINK.
Convertible stands for it having two different height mounting options...primary and secondary
Comfort stands for it changing the angle of the shocks to help them absorb the smaller bumps better
Lift stands for....well that is what they have always been called, but is possibly the source of some misunderstanding.
When using the primary mounting points, it does lift the mounting point of the Trike about 1.25". (.25" from the Lift and 1" from the 1" longer shock) The primary mounting points should be used on 09-13 Trikes. They may also work on 14-16 Trikes...just depends on how far off Harley was on their tolerances.
On 2017 and up Trikes only the secondary mounting points should be used. This is because of the exhaust changes Harley made.
When using the secondary mounting points it actually LOWERS the shocks by 3/16 of an inch.
The myth that using the Convertible Comfort Lift™ raises the back of the Trike higher than the factory brackets is just that, a myth.
They actually lower the back of the Trike 3/16" compared to the factory brackets.
The myth that using the Convertible Comfort Lift™ raises the back of the Trike higher than the factory brackets is just that, a myth.
They actually lower the back of the Trike 3/16" compared to the factory brackets.
Why do we recommend the Convertible Comfort Lift for the 14" shocks on 2017 and up Trikes?
1. The change in the angle will give a better ride quality
2. Harley tolerances vary wildly. Sometimes you can install the 14" shocks on the stock brackets. But the majority of the time, when trying to install the 14" shocks with the factory brackets, the swingarm will come into contact with the exhaust on the right side, resulting in not being able to install the shocks properly, and/or causing the swingarm to clank against the exhaust when topping out the shocks on a larger bump.
This is why we have the secondary mounting points for the 2017 & up models (you cannot use the primary for the 2017 & up models). The secondary mounting point is 3/16 of an inch Lower than stock.
The Math:
Stock brackets with 14" shocks = 1" higher (at the shock)
Convertible Comfort Lift with 14" shocks = 13/16" higher (at the shock)
As always, please feel free to call or email (or post on the forum here) with any questions.
Kevin
In all fairness, I would like to add my input. First and foremost, my post is not flaming anyone/product. I am offering up facts. I will start by saying I have never reached that 'cloud' ride on my PA shocks. Not even once. I had the comfort lift kit already on the trike, before I had the new PA shocks installed by the local HD dealer. (I have bad hips that are worsening and can't do a lot of the work like I used to.) The first season I was constantly adjusting them and made numerous calls/photos to the place where I purchased them. I detected some, let's say shortness, on their part after many of the calls. I admit I was misunderstanding some of what they suggested in the beginning. They probably considered me the one guy you can't make happy. I can understand their perspective. The season ended and I gave up on it until the next riding season. The ride was still uncomfortable/painful so I contacted PA directly. I worked with them many times over the phone as well. Still no improvement. I even volunteered to drive to their shop and have them assess my ride. Wanting to save me from traveling that far, PA suggested I return my shocks to them for analysis and they would send me a replacement pair. Turns out my original set had bad valves and they leaked out all of the nitrogen (?). They described the resulting ride would be as if I had no shocks on the trike at all. Whew, finally a solution and I wasn't crazy after all. The second set of PA shocks are better, but now into the second season on those, still no 'cloud'. I have laid on the concrete garage floor too many times to take the wheels on/off to remove/adjust the settings and I can't keep doing it. And I probably have become a thorn in their sides, so, bottom line is that I have to accept what I have and live with it. (In full disclosure, I do have a great deal of bad luck. Things always go wrong/break and I have never gotten used to it. But I have to move on sometimes.)
- Thread starter
- #25
I took trike out Wednesday set both clickers to 4 seemed better but wife still sliding some. Stopped and set right to 5 a little better. The bumps that are the problem are heaves in The road all the way across the lane that Even jar my shoulders on the handle bars. Illinois roads are horrible maybe I’m expecting to much from the shocks. I have 2 questions I may call D K about. 1 if I can see the top of the bumper at the top the black concave shock fitting on bottom do I have the quarter inch required clearance under the bumper? 2 is moving clicker up to 4 or 5 the right direction to absorb these bumps or should I be going down to 2 ? Thanks again to everyone especially Kevin for taking time out of his busy schedule to reply.
Do the 14" shocks fit a 2020 tri glide without the convertible comfort lift ? thank you
Trampas
1000+ Posts
Yes it does, Posserider has the 14" shocks on his without the comfort lift.
All for now Trampas
DK Custom Products
Sponsor
Below is the answer to your question. Unfortunately, it is not a yes or no...it is a sometimes. See the 3:06 mark in the video below to see why, the majority of the time, the 14" Convertible Comfort Lift™ (which really lowers the mounting point) is needed.
Harley tolerances vary wildly. Sometimes you can install the 14" shocks on the stock brackets. But the majority of the time, when trying to install the 14" shocks with the factory brackets, the swingarm will come into contact with the exhaust on the right side, resulting in not being able to install the shocks properly, and/or causing the swingarm to clank against the exhaust when topping out the shocks on a larger bump.
Kevin
DK Custom Products
Sponsor
Hi Kevin,
I am sending you a PM with my personal contact information.
We can work fairly easily to get the best possible ride, which should be Greatly improved over the stock ride. But I am not sure I would have the expectation of riding on a cloud.
On a good to moderate road surface, it should definitely be very smooth and a huge improvement over stock.
I think one of the things that happens is folks talk about how amazing the ride quality is after installing the Trike Series Shocks™, or even the 13" PA shocks...but every term they use, AND every term I've used in this post is subjective, and can mean many different things to different folks.
The other thing I run across is that road surfaces vary greatly around North America.
Just last week I was talking with a gentleman that could not understand why he could not adjust his shocks to get a smooth ride. I listened to all the things he done (he had followed the instructions well) and he still was not getting the ride quality he expected.
THEN he described the road he was using to test his shocks on at 40 mph. It was a stretch of road near his house that had "speed bump shaped mounds in it, ranging from 2" - 4" high".
Even though it is a public road...those are speed bumps. No Harley is going to feel smooth riding over a speed bump at 40 mph.
In the following video, at the 4:10 mark it shows the kind of improvement that can be expected. The bumps will move the trike less, and more importantly, it won't be a sharp jolted, it will be a more rounded movement.
I don't know your road surfaces, but I do know I can help you get the best possible ride quality out of your Tri Glide.
Give me a holler.
Kevin
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