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2009 SG ride quality

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KCBROWN

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I am thinking about buying a 2009 SG and would like comments on the ride quality of the suspension with 2 people. Will it bottom out easily, be a harsh ride etc... Looking for all pros and cons.
 
I just bought a 09' SG. I logged over 1500 mile's in less than three weeks. I have noticed that the air shocks in the rear can make for a rough ride. Initially my shocks were adjusted at 10 psi and it seemed to ride like a tank. It was very rigid when riding solo, but when riding with the girlfriend on the back it seemed to be smooth. I ride a lot solo, so I adjusted my shocks down to 5 psi to improve my ride quality. I noticed a big difference. It was much smoother for solo riding. However, when riding with a passenger it seemed to bottom out on all of the rough spots. Starting to think the only solution is to carry a hand pump and gage along with me. Solo riding 5 psi or less, and break out the pump to increase the pressure anytime a passenger wants to get on. I am going to try to tweak it a little. Maybe I will try 8 psi all the time and see if that works for all riding conditions. I think the system is great in design, however it may need tweaked, whenever you change riding conditions, to obtain maximum ride quality. Just for imformation I weigh about 185 lb's and my saddlebags always have 5 - 10 lbs of riding gear in them.
 
I have a 2009 FLHX. I recently rode from Arkansas to Atlanta to Md to NY. I had about 18lbs in the shocks. Hitting large bumps was actually painful to my neck. I lowered the shocks to 12 psi and it is much much better and i rarely bottom out. I am 6' tall and about 190 lbs.

At 18 lbs the ride was HARSH. At 12 it is firm. I may try 9 and see if I can't make it plush.
 
Mine rides awesome! You have to play around with the pressure of the shocks. I monitored mine and found out it was losing air.... simple fix to turning the sharade valve 1/8'" and I was golden. Holds pressure and rides like a dream:D
 
Finally someone else notices this! I'm riding an 09 SG and those air shocks pound me to pieces! I've been from 5 - 28 pounds of pressure and it really doesn't seem to make a hwole lot of difference. When the wife is one the rear, even at 28 pounds, rough spots in the road and it bottoms out. She's a 4' 10" tall women and not heavy :) On the highway its much better at speed but I find myself carefulfully picking where I ride even then to avid rough spots. If anyone knows a remedy I'm all ears!
 
I've got an '08 SG, so I don't know what changes they made to the shocks. The ride on mine is great. I ride solo, but I'm a big guy so if your wife is on the petite side it may be comparable to my solo. I run 30-35 lbs in mine. They are rated up to 50 psi on the '08s.
 
Mine's an '09, 'bout a month old. I LOVE IT. I have had no problems at all with the shocks, in fact- they are QUITE comfy to me. I have mine set at 12lbs, and the only time I REALLY notice the need to pump them up is if I have the wife on and am doing any kind of aggressive, twisty-riding. They could stand to go up to about 20 with her on. I ride most of the time alone, so I don't fool with them back and forth. I'm 6'2", and about 205lbs, and keeping them around 12lbs is fine for me.

I LOVE the stiffer, more responsive frame on this bike. Great improvements to the Touring line, and well worth it, imho!!
 
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