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Lower or not 02 road king

pirateking

pirateking

Member
OK, just another dumb question ! I bought my 02 Road king already lowered front and back 1". The bike seems to ride pretty stiff even with 12 PSI in the rear shocks. I have always put it down the the reduced travel of the suspension. Recently other riders have said that the reduced travel should not make the bike ride hard, just bottom out sooner. I have nothing to compare the ride of a stock ride verses the lowered ride. Can I get some opinions ?
Thanks
Pirate King
 
A bike that is lowered will always have a compromised ride. The shocks or forks do not have the same amount of travel, my 96 EG was lowered, my 05 UC is stock height and rides so much better.
 
lowered bike will ride harder unless you have shorter shock and then ride will still be somewhat stiffer
 
I was afraid of that. I would like the softer ride , but I don,t want to go to the expense or hassel of changing everything back to stock. Plus being vertically challenged (5' 6") I can barely get both feet flat down now .
 
you can use the lowered shocks then that should be better.. have you tried less psi in the shocks you can run them down to about 3 #'s
 
If the suspension has been lowered already, and you still would like a "cushier ride", you may want to look into a "skinnier profile with better support cushioning/gel padding of an aftermarket seat, and possibly "bend" the bars a bit closer for easier reach.
 
i bought an 01 rk police that was lowered. last year (after dragging boards and tearing off jiffy stand springs) i took it back to stock. glide pro bushings in rear swingarm, too. ride is 1000% better. harley put that suspension travel there for a reason.
 
12 psi, solo or 2 up? We had 12 psi in rear shocks for 2 up riding as per manual suggestion for load (10-15 psi for rider with passenger weight up to 150 lbs); Missus complained about stiffness and asked about this when at dealer one time. Her fav sales guy suggested to go lower, even to 8 psi. That’s where it’s set now and much better ride, for our style. I like the plush ride as well. Of course, I slow down for RR crossings, curbs etc.

This is for an 07; there was some minor rear shock tuning, but suspect an 02 would be still be similar.
 
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