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[L2RR2L]

Hi my name is Brian. I am new to cruisers, fresh off a sport bike. I have to say not as bad of a shock as I was expecting. Anyways I have racked up a lot of questions just in the few weeks I have owned her.

1. I really want to lower the back end but what does it do to the ride? keeping in mind the passenger is on almost as much as me. For those of you who have done it how bad does it affect handling and the ride?

2. I like the look of the 1800 bar risers. do they swap over?

3. And a big one this is...what are the best/ cheapest performance enhancers. I hear the hypercharger is a waste. how do i get some more umph without spending a bunch.

I'll get these answered first and Im sure I will have more later. Hope to ride with some of you soon!

[Roller]

Welcome to cruiser world, and the X world. I'm assuming you have a 1300?

1.  You can lower the rear by;(1) adjusting the shocks down,     (2) cutting the stock shocks,  or  (3) Buying some Progressives that are shorter, 11", or 10.5".  If you get some heavy duty shocks, they ride will be a little stiffer, but with 2 up, you may want it.  I don't think it really affected the handling or ride much at all.

2.  I believe the risers will swap over.  I think alot of the 1300 guys prefer the 1800 risers.  I don't know if it's for looks or comfort.

3.  Best way to get more gittyup is the 1800 .  Best way to get more ponies straight up is aftermarket pipes and better air cleaner.  Maybe the hurricane or tornado, there's alot out there now that perform better than stock.

[MRVTX]

To add to the comments...

I just had my Progressive 11.0" 412 shocks bust on me, so I'm waiting for my replacement 11.5" ones to come in.  If you do ride 2-up alot, I would definitely suggest the heavy-duty shocks, too.  I would be careful if you decide to go with 11.0" shocks from Progressive...they are no longer honoring the warranty on this length shock if you are putting it on a VTX.  That's why HDL is replacing mine with the 11.5" ones.

The risers will swap over, but you'll have to get new bars.  Our stock 1300 bars are a "one-piece" unit...the risers are welded to the bars.

The Hurricane, Tornado or any of the BAK (Big Air Kit) air intakes will get you the best performance, along with rejetting the bike.  Most aftermarket exhaust systems will complete the package.  It all depends on what you like.

In my picture, I have the Hard Krome K-2s, the Thunder Tornado and I've rejetted the bike with a Stage 3 kit.  If the stock numbers of approx. 58 RWHP are correct, I increased mine to 64 RWHP...about 10%, which ain't bad at all.

Welcome to the X world!  By the way, where are you in Texas?

[Chad]

You know MrVTX Iam happy to say I just ordered some Pro HD412s from HDL 11.5in for which you just made me feel a whole lot better about the purchase!! I have some shocks on it now that are called DurkPro 11.5 and decided to see if the progressive shocks are better. Will see on Thursday!! 

[Davesax36]

the progressives will be better, but WAY stiffer. a number of people on here have gotten the HD and thought it was too hard, even 2-up. it's based on weight. the best thing to do is call progressive. their people know what they're talking about. for performance... do what Jason (mrvtx) said. thunder or BAK, some sort of pipes. the pipes will pump the budget up quite a bit. Lowering the rear end will do the same thing it would do on your sportbike. It increases the rake and trail numbers and makes turn-in even slower. you probably won't notice it, though, especially if you do it right at the beginning. if you do the shocks, go ahead and get the progessive springs from hondadirectline.com  they'll make it a new bike, less dive under braking and they have a lowering kit for the front ones. let us know how it goes.

oh, and better get an extra credit card started up for mods.

[VTXLady53]

WELCOME to the group...................

[quietguy]

What's your location and what do you ride?

You found a great forum.