Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech 13" Shocks

I tried a set of 444-4218C 13" heavy duty shocks intended for a V-max. The 13" shock length really sharpened up the handling on my 07 SM. There are no clearance issues presented by the longer shocks. And the center stand is far less likely to touch down on hard/slow/cambered left turns with the 13" length.

The spring rate on these 444's would be perfect for a big guy or 2-up. The spring rate spec is 120/170. On my bike, however, for me, the above 444's are not as plush as the 440-4214C 12.5" shocks they replaced. While those 440's also have the same listed spring rate as the 444's, the 12.5" 440's ride far smoother with proper preload for my situation. Wthe 13" 444's, even with zero preload the spring rate is too high.

I'm not sure if the existing 444 springs can be replaced with something lighter, however I'm going check into that with PS on Monday. If not, someone may get a great deal on the 444's.

Good news, PS can replace the springs.

Ken, what I meant was that I had some 11.5's that are too low and sounds like Progressive could change them out to the stock height. Seems logical that it would be cheaper to just get the springs shipped to me and I change 'em . But then again , I may check with them. Would you have a link for the folks that you dealt with ?

Thank you

Here's a pic of what the 13" 444 looks on the bike:




Still waiting for the new springs to be fitted by PS & the shocks to be returned.

Got the shocks back with the 105/150 springs. What I now have are the "standard' V-max rated springs with the heavy-duty valving. With no preload the ride is firm but not harsh. Not nearly as plush as the 440's were, but no bouncing off the seat, either.

The above said, the handling is sharper, the units are narrower, and to my eyes look better.

The SM now handles like a sport bike. These shocks do expose an inherent weakness in damper-rod forks on square-edge big hits, so a Ricor front end is in my future.

With your near perfect carburetion, your scoot should run like a sport bike as well. The Ricors are a good plan, you can run over inadvertent gnarly things and maintain control, I can attest to that.

The 444's are running a bit smoother with more use. I like the 13" length; they are gonna stay on.