found progressive air shocks on my bike are they good

[halcombrick]

I just took my luggage off to get ready for a repaint and noticed I have progressive air shocks. I've beentold they are aftermarket, my question is just how good of a shock are they? Thanks guys...Rick

[trike lady]

I put them on my 1500 and they were excellent. The OEM shocks that were on it since 1993 were gone and it wouldn't hold air. The ride quality was way better.

[WingAdmin]

I just took my luggage off to get ready for a repaint and noticed I have progressive air shocks. I've beentold they are aftermarket, my question is just how good of a shock are they? Thanks guys...Rick

They're the go-to choice to improve the Gold Wing suspension. Count yourself lucky!

[halcombrick]

Awesome!! whoever had this bike before he took good care of her and this time the saying is true an old man really did own her lol.

[Dogsled]

Progressive is just that...aftermarket..... The bike didn't come with dual air shocks. I don't belielve a bike is safe with two linked air shocks. Honda worked it out as a saftey factor. A good quality spring shock and an air one to regulate is the best/safest combination you can have......you will ALWAYS have an amount of suspension while riding should a linked air shock blow and you lose all rear suspension. Always fun at 70 MPH on the freeway with a load. See, I don't know if progressive offers a seperator to make sure one shock stays up in case of a shock seal blowing out and I don't care simply because it's aftermarket hype and if it would have been on the OEM if it was the way to go. I like the feel of the spring and the lift and ride height adjustability of the air.......I've been the whole circle. 412's, dual springs, set your bike high, so that sucks. I run the half and half again. Scott, is there a saftey factor in the dual air shocks that protect the rider? And if there is, I hope his system was installed correctly.

My take on all this is to stay with the OEM suspension and if someone stuck you with Progressives all the way around. Find a salvage bike parts guy on line, go back to OEM ..........this way you'll be safe. You may have to rebuild the parts, but it's part of owning a wing. I'm not a big fan of progressive because the 412's were just two shocks I prolly coulda got at the O'Reilly's had I took the time to measure and saved big bucks.

Just know what you have, how it works and is it good condition......none of us will be on the back of you bike if something goes wrong.....well at least I won't.

People will dis-agree and I do understand that. But I turned wrenches on my Wing since the 90's and do know what can and may not get you killed. Just ask yourself a simple question......were items needed to be altered when the original design or do people know bikers just buy stuff with no logic behind it other than....the name.

[RoadRogue]

Dogsled, I feel that I have to correct you on a couple items that you have stated that are not entirely correct. Airshocks on the GL1100 and gl1200 series bikes came from the factory with dual, air assisted coil spring , oil dampened shock absorbers also called airshocks. The rear is supported by the spring inside the air chamber and can be run with out any air in them at all if need be, while it is recommended that you keep at least the minimum air. The air is there to make adjustments to the ride height to compensate for increased load such as a passenger and/or gear, and/or trailer. Both airshocks are tied together to insure that the pressure remains the same in both sides. It wasnt until the 1500 came along that Mother Honda put one coil spring only shock and one air assisted shock on.

here is a copy and paste right from the Progressive Suspension website that clearly states the 416 series is a spring supported shock

The Original Air Shock from Progressive Suspension features a machined aluminum air chamber for perfect sealing surfaces, heavy duty springs, air adjustability and velocity sensitive, multi-stage valving. The 416 Series is the perfect choice for the touring rider who carries a varied load. An optional adapter kit is available for most touring bikes to tap into the stock air fill system (fill valve or air compressor).

The OEM shocks on these old wings are pretty much sagged out from holding up these heavy bikes for the last 30 years, OEM replacements are not available any more so aftermarket is the only choice. Aftermarket can and usually is as good or better,(there are always exceptions), than OEM, as is the case with Progressive Suspension components, either replacement springs or complete shock assemblies.
Im not sure what Honda was thinking when they put only one air shock on the 1500. I will be saving my pennies to buy a set of 416's to improve the rear of my 1500.

[WingAdmin]

That's correct. The GL1100 has two identical shocks from the factory, which each contain a spring, damper, and have air fittings. The spring supports the weight of the bike, and the air is used to add additional support for when you carry more weight. If one shock were to blow a seal, which would in fact vent all air pressure from both shocks, the bike would still be supported just fine by the springs in both shocks - albeit sagging a bit, particularly if there was some weight on the back of the bike.

The GL1500 however has a conventional spring/damper shock on the right side, and an air shock only (just a damper, no spring) on the left. Because they both support the swingarm, which is rigid, the spring on the right side supports the weight of the bike, and the air on the left side adds more support when pressurized. Many people (myself included) replace these with a set of Progressive 416's, which have both spring and air support.

I also replaced my old, sagging GL1100 shocks with a set of Progressive 416 air shocks, and it improved the ride significantly.

[Dogsled]

So the 416's on the 1100 are the same as OEM, just new? I bought the 412s cause I lost my compressor. and I was on my tip toes. I paid alot of money for them. I bought another OEM air shock used and rebuilt it after somebody on this sight said rebuid parts were still available in the older microfische. I tossed the oem spring and the air shock I took off when the progressives came. Now I run just one of the progressives and the rebuild on the other side. I just pull the seat to add air. I don't change the pressure often. It was still a waste of money for me because I ended up where I started from AND with a way lighter duty progressive spring shock than the oem. I rode it last year and it's still holding.

Sorry about the lack of knowledge on the spring/air system. For what you pay you think they would have something other than the linked air set-up. I'll take this all as fact cause when I was buying mine I spent so much time trying to decide which way to go I never want to see that site again...... Thanks for the lesson.

[dennislp]

worked on one a few years ago they traveled and prob over loaded it they ran air shock at max air the load dif between the 2 sides sprung swingarm had to replace it then put on prog. shocks and fixed problem they still overloaded it but it handled it better