Good Inexpensive Suspension for Sportster

Choosing suspension for a Harley-Davidson is not an easy task, even when you know exactly what you need. We've been working with leading manufacturers for many years and are constantly learning something new. The problem is that not all manufacturers provide a detailed description of their product design, so we have to compare visually and manually when these components arrive.

There is often no point in overpaying because the most expensive models are not always the best for individual needs.

As an example, we made a video of installing inexpensive monotube suspension on a Sportster Custom 2009. The owner complained that the suspension was not soft enough and didn't dampen, so riding on bumps caused backaches. At the same time, he wanted to keep the original look.

Shocks

The Sportster Custom 2009 comes with short 11.5-inch twin-tube shocks. The problem of bottoming out when hitting bumps can be solved by switching to monotube shocks, which have much greater energy capacity and better heat exchange (in the twin-tube design, the space between the tubes is like a heat insulator).

The best-value monotubes on the market are Bitubo WMB/WME (with rebound damping). They are well made, with larger damper, piston and spring diameters, aluminum mounts and stepless preload adjustment.

Unlike expensive models, the WMB/WME model damper resistance doesn't change during fast and slow compression/rebound and doesn't depend on the vibration frequency. During a slow civilian ride, this is not required.

Manufacturers often recommend installing shocks that are 0.5–1 inch longer. This almost doesn't affect the height of the motorcycle but provides more shock travel and therefore greater energy capacity.

There is also a catch here: not all models increase the shock travel when the length increases. The length can be increased by lengthening the rod or mounting supports. To increase the shock travel, you need to lengthen the damper. Legend honestly claims that its 12-inch and 13-inch shocks are equipped with different dampers, but the 14-inch model has the same damper as the 13-inch model: the length increase is achieved by lengthening the upper support. It means that when choosing a length, you have to compare photos online, because manufacturers rarely indicate the shock travel in the characteristics.

Fork

For civil riding on bad roads, cartridges must have a monotube design because it offers much better resistance to bottoming out. The cheapest cartridges with closed dampers under pressure are produced by Progressive Suspension.

In the video, we showed that they are made of steel parts and are much heavier than their analogs, but we didn't say that 1 kg of unsprung mass is equivalent to 4–6 kg of sprung mass, depending on the motorcycle geometry. So a couple of extra kilograms (we didn't measure the weight of the cartridges, we just eyeballed it) in the cartridge body and damper feels like adding 8–10 kg.

Just like Bitubo WME shocks, these cartridges have the same resistance for slow and fast compression/rebound.

We recommend installing a fork and shocks with the same functionality. The suspension imbalance is like installing different tires on the front and rear wheels.

In our store, you can get any help and purchase/install any parts from the leading world brands. We work with Legend, Bitubo, Ohlins, Progressive Suspension, RaceTech, Wilbers, Russ Wernimont Designs, Hyperpro, and Drag Specialties.