V-Rod bends right shock twice

[Snowbird]

I have a friend whose V-Rod has twice bent the right shock near the top of the piston rod. Neither he nor the dealer can figure out why... the dealer writing it off to "abuse."

Any ideas? He's big, but not gigantic by US standards, has not carried a passenger on the second bent shock. I'm not fully sure he's not forgetting to tell me something about his riding that might be the cause, even if he claims he has no idea. And if it is abuse, why only the right shock twice?

[scottzilla]

 
Here we go.

[veefer800canuck]

Get some better shocks?

Ohlins?

Link for Ohlins Vrod shocks: http://www.ohlins.com/Our-products/Motorcycle/Products/Cruiser/HD-202/

[chornbe]

It's likely undersprung if he's a bigger guy, and they only have a couple inches of travel. He's bottoming it out, which, contrary to popular belief, usually isn't as dramatic and easily identified as you might think.

Progressive 440s with HD springs (heavy duty, not Harley Davidsons) should be his next move.

HD says they set the bikes up for 180lb riders. That's optimistic on the best of days. Even my street glide was woefully undersprung for me with luggage, I'm ~200 geared up.

[Snowbird]

Thanks. I'll tell him.

[chornbe]

Thanks. I'll tell him.

FWIW, I put .90kg springs in the Street Glide (along with race tech innards) and pumped the back air shocks up to 25+ PSI and the bike was much, much better. The V-Rod doesn't have the air shocks on the back, but the shorter-travel suspension and under-sprung nature is likely the issue... which, from a "letter of the law" perspective, the dealer's 'abuse' comment is probably "right enough".  

What they should have done is seized the opportunity handed to them on a silver platter and upsold him on better shocks with the right spring rate, and likely even discounted him a hefty amount. He'd have been happy with the right stuff, they'd have made a sale and an upgrade, and everyone wins.

That's a golden opportunity dropped right on the floor.  

[atadaskew]

Progressive 440s with HD springs (heavy duty, not Harley Davidsons) should be his next move.

Do NOT go with the HD springs unless he's over 280lbs...

[Galo]

HD says they set the bikes up for 180lb riders.

 
Wow, that's a helluva leap of faith considering their average buyer looks to be north of 240....

[Snowbird]

I told my friend (I want to downgrade him to acquaintance) the suggestions here and he says eff it. What a 'tard.

[st ryder]

I told my friend (I want to downgrade him to acquaintance) the suggestions here and he says eff it. What a 'tard.

Eff what? The bike? The suggestions? The problem?  

[Snowbird]

Eff what? The bike? The suggestions? The problem?  

I guess all three.

[st ryder]

I guess all three.

That's a man's man right there.

[falcofred]

Ok, I'll start the bashing  

If he was a real Harley rider, he'd go for a ridged framed bike, suspensions are for Sissy's.

[Snowbird]

That's a man's man right there.

I swear he ain't right.  

[highside]

I would be awfully pissed if my dealer wrote this up to abuse. One should have to get pretty damn far off the beaten path to call two bent shocks the result of abuse on a street bike. If one rode a bike hard enough that a shock could legitimately get bent, then the wheels and frame would be all messed up too. That does not sound at all like the level of service that one would expect from an HD shop.

A Coworker of mine dropped his Street Glide 3 days after riding it off the lot. Turns out Harley hadn't set up his insurance properly (apparently they do this for their customers when they finance). Their response: instead of making him wait for parts they just handed him the keys to a brand new bike right there and ate the loss themselves.

Edit to add: This was Eastside Harley in Bellevue, WA. Good customer service deserves full credit.