aftermarket shocks

[cruiserdad]

I've been thinking of lowering my nomad and was wondering if anyone else had done it? If so, then what model and length shock did you use? I would like to drop it about 1.5 inches.
Thanks,
Scott

Some people are buying the Progressive 11.5" or 12" shocks, but that's pretty low. You're going to tend to drag the pipes while cornering at any realistic speeds.

If you have short legs, having the seat modified (shaved & lowered) might be a better option.

[dragon57]

I put Progressive 412's on mine (12")
I've had no trouble dragging, even with the trailer on, and it rides 100% better than my old air shocks.

[racinchef]

Curious that this topic should come up about shocks. I was out on my bike a few weeks ago when another Nomad with a couple on board pulled up to the the Barnard General Store. I got to talking with the guy and they were from Newfoundland. I told him about KawaNOW, but he didn't seem to be into the internet. But, anyway we got to talking about roads and then shocks and he said that he switched to Progressive 512's and that his rear tire wear improved significantly. I had 412's on my Valkyrie and they were near perfect. I have noticed that my Nomad tends to wallow a bit when the road undulates. I haven't yet checked or attempted to tune my air pressure in the shocks and I suspect that it is a bit high. I have my preload set at 1 and I rarely bottom out with a passenger.

Racinchef, that's not the preload. That's the rebound damping. The mechanical preload is fixed, but you can add to the preload (and the spring rate) by adding air.

I do agree that my Showa shocks are fairly poor compared to the aftermarket shocks available. I definately need to replace them.

[watchman]

I had a pair of Progressive 440's that was on my 1500 Classic and I removed when I sold it. When Liz bought her 1600 Nomad even with the Mustang seat it was just a little tall for her to be comfortable. I installed the 440's which are 11.5 inches so It dropped the rear of the bike 1.5 inches. She will still drag her floor boards before her pipes touch on either side. The only time the pipes ever drug was when our son and his girlfirend was on the bike riding 2 up. We did not up the rebound nor increase the shock tension and they most likely weigh together 475 pounds.