Harley-Davidson® Motorcycle Suspensions

Your suspension plays a large role in your riding experience. After all, no road you traverse will ever be perfectly smooth. Everything from small dips in the road to pebbles can disrupt the smoothness of your ride. That’s where suspension comes into play. The suspension’s job is to account for these annoyances while keeping your tires touching the road as much as possible. It factors in the weight of your motorcycle, the passengers, and any cargo. To better understand Harley-Davidson® suspension, keep reading! If you need help making your motorcycle ride smooth, stop by Wild Fire Harley-Davidson®. We offer parts replacement and service options. You’ll find us in Villa Park, Illinois.

The Components of Suspension

Your suspension is a complicated system. Often, motorcycles contain separate suspension technology for the front wheel and the back wheel.

With the front wheel, you’ll find a telescoping fork design. A metal coil will absorb shocks inside a tube called a damper. Within the damper is a plug with a small orifice. Low-viscosity oil will go inside the damper while the plug reduces vibrations. This gives you a smoother ride. Bumpers work to keep the suspension from bottoming out. With the back wheel, there is often a coil over system that absorbs the shocks. To get even better performance, it can connect up to a reservoir.

Suspension Performance

Suspension falls on a range between being too loose and being too tight. When the suspension is too loose, you experience a bouncy up and down ride. It can feel like riding an out of control carousel. When the suspension is too tight, it won’t properly absorb the bumps in the road. It can feel like riding a jackhammer with how choppy the ride feels. This is more than annoying - it can hurt your neck. When the suspension is adjusted properly, you’ll notice a quality ride.

Suspension works to counteract all the bumps and divots you’ll encounter on the road. It also works to keep your wheels on the road. When your front wheel stays on the road more, steering becomes easier. When your back wheel stays on the road more, you gain better traction.

You can hop aboard your motorcycle and ride your suspension “as is”. But some minor tweaks can improve your ride even more! Larger riders tend to prefer higher suspension. Lighter riders tend to prefer looser suspension. A few personalized modifications can make your ride even more enjoyable.

Harley-Davidson® Suspension

Suspension is a crucial aspect of your riding experience and Harley-Davidson® is continually making advancements in suspension technology to deliver the best performance. You’ll find slightly different suspension styles among the different types of motorcycles (like cruiser vs touring). This lets the suspension adapt to the unique riding style of different motorcycles. Many Harley-Davidson® motorcycles come with the latest advancements such as rear emulsion shocks, a monoshock suspension, and inverted shock designs. When you hop aboard a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, you will enjoy a top-of-the-line suspension system.

Ready to say goodbye to choppy rides and difficult steering? Then you’re ready to own a Harley-Davidson® motorcycle! At Wild Fire Harley-Davidson®, we offer a wide range of new and used motorcycles for you to choose from. We also can value your current motorcycle if you are looking to trade it in. Or maybe you enjoy your current ride, but it isn’t performing like it used to. It may just need a parts replacement or a service. We offer both! Let our experienced staff fix your motorcycle right up. Whatever you need, you’ll find it with us. We are located in Villa Park, Illinois near Chicago.