Road King Front Suspension Upgrade....

[Zadok]

Any info on ugrading the front suspension on a Road King?

Looking for some experience with possibly upgraded
and lowered as well as just upgraded. Just figure
it might be worth the time to upgrade while doing
some front end work.

Thanks.

[TexasBowhunter]

Before you go and spend all the potentially un-needed money on a front end up grade just try changing the fluid to a heavier viscosity like the S/E 15wt that H-D sales or the 20 wt bel-ray...Might be just the ticket...Then if you don't like the change then start looking at alternatives...
paul

[Zadok]

Originally Posted by TexasBowhunter

Before you go and spend all the potentially un-needed money on a front end up grade just try changing the fluid to a heavier viscosity like the S/E 15wt that H-D sales or the 20 wt bel-ray...Might be just the ticket...Then if you don't like the change then start looking at alternatives...
paul

Thanks. Have no experience with suspension on the front.
I will give the oil change a try.

[TrumanRKC]

I respectfully have to disagree with you assessment that spending money on a front suspension upgrade is a waste of money, obviously you haven't ridden a motorcycle with a modern fork design allowing preload, rebound and compression damping adjustments...if you had you would quickly realize how bad the stock forks are...the design is ancient and a higher viscosity fluid does nothing to change that, they still work like a pogo stick.

There's a number of things you can do to bring them into the modern world that will vastly improve their performance and the bikes overall handeling...maybe the MOCO should consider this upgrade...doesn't seem like an unreasonable request considering the 22 thousand sticker price.
http://www.traxxion.com/cruisers/cruiser_harley.shtml

[omgtkk]

I had my forks apart to replace the lower legs with black one's. I decided to replace the stock springs with Progressive Suspension springs and change over to Screamin' Eagle fork oil. I'm pretty happy with the result for less than $80 in parts. The front end seems much smoother on rough pavement and over big bumps. It also dives a little less under braking. I used the stock height springs as I wasn't interested in lowering the bike.

If you don't want to spend the cash on the springs, at least change over to a heavier weight fork oil.

[1711tab]

Originally Posted by Zadok

Any info on ugrading the front suspension on a Road King?

Looking for some experience with possibly upgraded
and lowered as well as just upgraded. Just figure
it might be worth the time to upgrade while doing
some front end work.

Thanks.

Harley-Davidson


Put some American GUTS into those wimpy Japanese forks on your Harley! (No, they aren't made in America...) You don't weigh 120 pounds, and that front suspension on your bike can't hold you up! If you are tired of the bouncing, wallowing, bottoming, chattering, wobbling of your stock forks, then TRAXXION DYNAMICS has the CURE!

"What's wrong with my stock forks?" you ask...Your stock Showa forks have a "damper rod" in them to control the movement of the wheel. This style of fork is used for cheap production parts. Trying to compare a damper rod fork to a cartridge fork is like trying to compare a carburetor to fuel injection. There simply is no comparison. The damper rod fork is the cheapest, poorest performing system of damping, and has been around on Harleys for so long nobody seems to be able to remember.

Looking to improve how your Harley handles? Click Here for more detailed specifications on the AK-20 Axxion Cartridge Kit.

Damper Rod Upgrade

The next problem is your stock fork springs. The stock springs are so weak and wimpy that they can't even hold the bike up; never mind that they are completely unable to hold you up when you get on it, or you take a passenger along. Just pick your bike up off the side stand sometime and watch it collapse before you even get on!

The result is a fork that bottoms over large bumps, wallows in high speed turns, dives dramatically when you pull the brake, cups and tears up your tires, and leaves you generally feeling uncomfortable and lacking confidence in the feel of your bike.

The "cartridge fork" came along about 20 years ago in sport bikes, and since has been highly refined. The kit you see in these photos is absolutely STATE OF THE ART. It was introduced in February of 2005. It is EXTERNALLY ADJUSTABLE to suit your personal preferences. It comes with springs matched to your weight and your intended use. And best of all it WORKS!



The AK-20 Axxion Cartridge Kit DRAMATICALLY transforms ill handling Harleys with Showa forks (basically any bike since about 1988). Immediately you will feel a smooth, controlled ride. The bike will not dive under aggressive or panic braking. You will have a confident feel even in high speed sweeping turns. Your tire wear will improve dramatically. Your pegs and floorboards will stop dragging the ground in turns. You will have great control and stability at low speeds, such as moving through a parking lot. Even your passenger will notice the difference! Overall, you won't recognize your own bike!!!

This kit is Made In The USA with pride in Woodstock, Georgia by skilled machinists and craftsmen. You cannot buy a better working set of forks anywhere, at any price. We guarantee it. The price for the AK-20 Kit is $1149.95 and Installation is $150. For more information on the AK-20 Axxion Cartridge Kit Click Here.

[Sky King]

Originally Posted by Zadok

Any info on ugrading the front suspension on a Road King?

Looking for some experience with possibly upgraded
and lowered as well as just upgraded. Just figure
it might be worth the time to upgrade while doing
some front end work.

Thanks.

Lots of info on the forum about this. I did the Race-Tech emulators, springs and fork oil up front on my Road King for $315.00or so.

Do a search on the topic before you make your final decision. I even posted some pics on the process.

Take Care and good luck

[JagmanR]

Race-Tech with dual gold valve emulators. You can lower it up to two inches or leave it stock height. Either way a far superior ride to the improved since 07 fronts ends on HD's.

[clayslayer]

I have a 1996 Road King that has "air ride" suspension. The bike is great, it's comfy, I really like it. The suspension on it however sucks beyond all measure. When it comes to suspension the standard Harley parts are bottom of the barrel items. For going down the road it's ok at best but any time the road gets either uneven or curvy the party's over.

Before you put me in the "troll" category I'll give a basis on why I say that the typical Harley Davidson suspension is about as sub par as it can get. I 2nd bike is a 2007 Honda CBR600RR. (yeah it's a crotch rocket, shoot me) I have Ohlins 25mm FGK fork cartridges and an Ohlins TTX36 rear shock both custom spring for my weight. The suspension performance between the two bikes is absolutely night and day. I have been trying to find a practical way to mount a proper complete inverted supersport (crotch rocket) front fork for some time on my Road King complete with floating discs and radial mount brakes. The supersport bikes truly have state of the art technology in them, why not transfer some of that goodness to the Harley world. Yamaha puts an older R1 fork on it's 1700 cruiser and Suzuki puts a "real" GSXR1000 fork on it's top of the line Boulevard.

A chromed or powder coated "japanese style" fork wouldn't really look out of place at all on a Harley and the front end performance would be improved drastically. I'd even use a proper 17" front wheel so that my tire selection would include something other than bias ply trailer tires. If you've ever seen them the Ohlins R&T gold forks look sweeeeeet too, though they are a bit on the pricey side. On a Road King you can't really see the wheels through the brake discs anyway. The rear suspension could really benefit from an upgrade as well.

In my opinion Ohlins, Traxxion, Showa, Soqi, Marzocchi, and a few other companies make absolutely top shelf products, why doesn't MOCO use them?!

I do have to agree with everything 1711tab said about the traxxion parts. They are good stuff. I personally went with Ohlins but in my opinion the traxxion stuff is just as good.