Are Rear Shocks Really Bolt-On? Harley Shocks & Harley Chassis Issues Discuss Are Rear Shocks Really Bolt-On? in the Harley Tech & Harley How-to forums; A bud was changing his shocks the other day and he simply pulled off the stockers and bolted-on the aftermarket ones. I asked if he had anything else to check ...

[JayDee]

A bud was changing his shocks the other day and he simply pulled off the stockers and bolted-on the aftermarket ones. I asked if he had anything else to check on this and he said no.

If they were mine, I think I'd want to make sure they were set right and there was not any issues with aligmnent up and down or side to side on the mounting bolts.

Anyone else feel this way or am I being too anal on this?

[Wrightturn]

If you are just replacing stock with stock they are just that simple.

[evoKENevo]

"Yep"...as long as the replace'mt shocks were the right "fit" for the bike and not coming in contact with anything they should'nt (rubbing,etc.) the only other thing I'd be concerned with is that the pre-loads (if any) are set equally on both sides..."just that simple" !!

Hey JayDee

I put new Works Performance shocks on my FXR this winter and there were a couple of alignment issues. On one side the side to side was a little out by about 1/8" from the top to the bottom. I thought about elongating the holes to give a little play so I could loosen the bolts and then retighten them after things lined up better but I decided not to do anything damaging like that. Just left it the way it was and pulled the top of the shock over a little bit. I think the problem was probably a swingarm alignment issue and maybe uneven wear in the swing arm cleve blocks. I figured the shocks could take a little stress since the ends are so far from each other even when fully compressed that a little side to side funkiness would mellow out fairly soon.

Also the distance from the top to bottom mount varied by about 1/8" from one side to the other. I had to mount the left side first then compress the spring enough to get the mounting bolts in place on the right side. I had the same issue removing the old shocks. I'm thinking that, once again, it must have been a swingarm alginment issue. By the way, I checked and rechecked the swingarm alignment twice using the HD manual method. I think that method they show doesn't give you the whole story. The thought of replacing the cleve blocks (when they seemed in good shape to begin with) was more than I wanted to even consider.

Bottom line, you might be a little anal in this, practically speaking, JayDee but I think Harleys in general are not the most precision tools in the bag to begin with. They can stand a little slop here and there and do just fine.

[47knuck]

Originally Posted by milindh

Hey JayDee

I put new Works Performance shocks on my FXR this winter and there were a couple of alignment issues. On one side the side to side was a little out by about 1/8" from the top to the bottom. I thought about elongating the holes to give a little play so I could loosen the bolts and then retighten them after things lined up better but I decided not to do anything damaging like that. Just left it the way it was and pulled the top of the shock over a little bit. I think the problem was probably a swingarm alignment issue and maybe uneven wear in the swing arm cleve blocks. I figured the shocks could take a little stress since the ends are so far from each other even when fully compressed that a little side to side funkiness would mellow out fairly soon.

Also the distance from the top to bottom mount varied by about 1/8" from one side to the other. I had to mount the left side first then compress the spring enough to get the mounting bolts in place on the right side. I had the same issue removing the old shocks. I'm thinking that, once again, it must have been a swingarm alginment issue. By the way, I checked and rechecked the swingarm alignment twice using the HD manual method. I think that method they show doesn't give you the whole story. The thought of replacing the cleve blocks (when they seemed in good shape to begin with) was more than I wanted to even consider.

Bottom line, you might be a little anal in this, practically speaking, JayDee but I think Harleys in general are not the most precision tools in the bag to begin with. They can stand a little slop here and there and do just fine.

Did you swap the left shock with the right one to see if there was still the same difference? If so it's likely the swingarm is out of whack.

Knuck

Yes I did swap the shocks and it's probably true either the swing arm is a little twisted or the cleve blocks are worn unevenly. I guess it's also possible the wheel's not exactly centered in the swingarm. Whatever the cause is the bike handles like it's on rails and tracks true. No twitches either.

Thanks