Montaje de suspensión baja ajustable para Harley-Davidson Softail

In this tutorial on mechanics we will install a low adjustable suspension kit in the rear shock absorbers of a Harley-Davidson Softail

¿Pero los Softail llevan amortiguadores?

The first thing that catches our attention when we observe a motorcycle with Softail chassis is the absence of rear damping, ending the chassis in a triangle giving an appearance of rigid chassis. Actually the shock absorbers are horizontally hidden under the chassis precisely to obtain a classic motorcycle appearance with rigid chassis. One of the special characteristics of the shock absorbers is that they work by extension, that is, when we perform a vertical force on the motorcycle they stretch instead of compressing as a conventional shock absorber would. Due to its design, at the same time that the shock absorber stretches the main dock is compressed, achieving the desired forces absorption effect.

The kit

Para rebajar la parte trasera de nuestra moto vamos a instalar un Arlen Ness Kit Consisting of fastening asparagus of the shock absorber and with adjustment capacity, so once installed we can vary the motorcycle height with conventional tools and without too much effort.

 

Hands to work

The first thing we are going to do, as always after disconnecting the battery to avoid accidental starts, is to raise the rear of the motorcycle to have access to the screws and nuts that hold the shock absorbers. Then and accompanied by the HD service manual, we proceed to the extraction of them. First we will release the nuts that hold the front.

A continuación hacemos lo mismo con los tornillos que los sujetan a la parte posterior del chasis.

To easily access these screws we can follow the recommendation of the manual and use the special SNAP-on Sres24 key, which will allow us to work faster, and most importantly, use a Dinamometric key To apply the recommended tightening torque when we are going to install the shock absorber again.

Once we have the shock absorbers of the vehicle we can check the length difference between the original stems and those of the kit. This extra length is the one that will allow us to lower the rear of the motorcycle a few centimeters.

We proceed with the next step ... the press

Quiet, we are not going to recommend that you read the newspaper, we simply need to compress the shock absorbers to be able to disassemble them, and for this we need a workshop press or the specific user that some brands such as progressive suspension manufacture.

Following very strictly the manufacturer's instructions and being careful to cover our eyes with protective glasses (keep in mind that we work with a dock that is subjected to high pressures) compress the shock absorber until we have access to the subjection circlip.

After taking out the circlip of your accommodation with a fine -tip screwdriver we gradually release the press of the press until the shock absorber is at rest, without pressure.

To ride

At this point we can replace the original adjustment screws with those of the kit, longer. Next to end the assembly we simply have to follow the reverse order to disassembly, reading very carefully the instructions of the kit manufacturer and applying the tightening pairs recommended in the HD workshop manual. Una vez montado tan sólo nos queda regular la altura, ésto lo podemos hacer a partir de ahora siempre que queramos con un par de llaves fijas, actuando sobre la tuerca y contratuerca como se indica en las instrucciones.

If the assembly of the kit seems too complex there are also Adjustable shock absorbers of better quality than the originals that carry this kit already installed.

Remember

You should now verify that the transmission strap voltage is correct and if necessary adjust it, and then perform a road test to check the dynamic operation of the new configuration, harden the shock absorbers if necessary (it is explained in the user's manual of the motorcycle). Keep in mind that having reduced the distance to the ground now the motorcycle will touch more easily in curves (especially escapes and platforms) and will be more straight when you support it on the easel (they sell shorter easels if necessary). After performing these checks you can take a walk and feel the sensations at the road!

Frank Burguera

#mecanicaharley