• Rear Shocks & Springs: I mail ordered the Progressive shocks (PS1202B) and springs (PS1367C) from Competition Accessories for $164.90, plus $10 shipping. When they arrived, I discovered that they are shipped in seperate boxes, which means you have to put the springs on the shocks. I, like most people, do not posess superhuman strength, nor do I have a spring compression tool. I found a local independant shop who assembled them for $10.00. Following this, I put them on the bike. You won't need item by item assembly instructions for this. It's pretty basic. Just make sure you get the right torque values. The upper and lower shock bolts are 25 ft/lb, and the rear panel screws are 9 ft/lb. Once I hit the road--What a difference! Bumps don't jar as badly, and there's less up and down movement in the rear. It's like the difference between a BMW Z3 and a old Ford Ranger (Yes, my wife lets me drive her Z once in a while).
  • Update on part numbers from J. Finch I think I have solved a mystery about these progressive shocks. When I called CompAcc, the rep. recommended the 412 series which is fully assembled. Priced at $199. The Dennis Kirk catalog describes the 12 series as identical to the 412, but with shocks and springs sold separately. The l2 series was formerly rhe 1200 series and the 412 was the 4000 series. CompAcc quoted me the same price for the 12 series that you paid. So it appears you made out OK as the 412's are $34 more than yours. I think I'll get the 412 and avoid looking for an assembler. Incidently, a dealer quoted me about $50 more than CA for the 12's with assembling about $30.
  • My Comment: The choice is your's. If you have a shop around who can put the shocks and springs together cheaply, then you can save some bucks. It's nice to know you can order them either apart or assembled.

     

• Front fork springs- After 6 months of riding, I can recommend the Progressive front fork springs too! I'm not an engineer, so I won't bore you with suspension buzz words like "rebound", "compression", "damping", "oscillation", and other similar words that the motorcycle testers throw around. Hell, I don't even know what most of them mean. I will just try to explain in layman's terms what it feels like: "A whole lot better". The bike is much better at handling all of the road's imperfections. You still know that you've hit a bump or a hole, but the bike just seems to deal with it more quickly, and you feel it less. There's less up and down motion on the front forks, especially while braking. There's still some "fork dive", but a lot less than before. Overall, the combined effect of the Rear Shocks/Springs and the front fork springs is well worth the money.
• For those of you who do a lot of "two up" riding, or carry a big load, Progressive also sells a "heavy-duty" version of the above shocks & springs.

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