suspention

[big ray]

hi everyone.

can anybody help me with my xlh 883 sportster.

i am 6" 4' and weigh in at around 280 pounds or 18 stone in uk and my sporty is fine with me up on it with the suspention on a high setting, but now the wife as decided that she now wants to come on days out with me on the bike and she weighs in at around 180 pounds and the suspention just bottems out with us both up on it. is there any quick fix to this problem. or am i looking at having to buy a biger bike

 

[Romain]

Thanks for the link Hobbit.
I have a similar problem with the standard shocks even with smaller load, specially as a result of the bad state of London roads and all the speed bumps (can't stand them).
I'll be paying them a visit in the next few days.

 

[Delmar]

The xlH is a "Hugger" or a factory lowered bike, as with my 2003 Hugger. The bike bottomed regularly when riding two-up. I am 230#, and my wife would divorce me if I published her weight, so let’s just say about the same as your wife.

I swapped the original 11” shocks with used factory non-Hugger 13.5” shocks purchased from eBay. Now the bike bottoms out only on the largest bumps & dips.

You will also need a longer kickstand for the shock swap, otherwise the bike will lean too much when parked. Another used factory eBay item.