New thread from Tommy Raleigh.
I have come across several discussions on Arnott air shocks suspension ? ?
Well I have decided to give my own experienced opinion.
The Arnott shocks are not a patch on the Gabriel or Monroe shocks and these are a fraction of the cost of Arnotts.
I have used the three different types of shocks and with the Arnott shock I never ever got my ride right or comfortable as I was always pumping in more air or dumping air to try to get it right and its not only me as my partner constantly complained that the Arnotts were too bumpy and not smooth when aired up or if I let some air out to try and smooth the ride then they were way too soft and bottomed out.
The Gabriels were fine but the Monroe shocks MA785 Max-Air Air Shocks 48785 worked 100%, they handled very well on the harder higher setting for high speed riding on twisty roads and were grand if I let a little air out for a smoother relaxed ride.
The Monroes even worked well when I dropped them down to a mere 20 psi at the filling station for my very short legs. however without any air at all in the shocks it was a little shaky or wallows on the front steering at very low speeds around the fuel station, i.e. 0 to 5 mph. but you will get used to it.
Note some people complained that the Monroe shock eye snapped off (Yes broke off) However I discover even before riding my Ultra that the shock was too stiff on the mounting pivot bolt and did not move freely, actually you could hear the rubber in the shock pivot point squeaking and stiff to rotate and this was even with the aftermarket bushing kit available online for the Monroes.
I took mine to a local rally car machine shop and he agreed that I was correct and so he made me a new set of (4)shock bushings with steel inserts. The stuff he machined them out of was poly something used in rally car bushings as they are very hard wearing but work well, oh and he made the steel inserts a couple of mm longer so that when I was mounting them to my bike I could tightened the shock mounting bolt/washer and it would not compress the bushings he made.
The cost was not over cheap as I paid €25 for each shock eye, a total of €100, probably about $110.
This was one of the best decisions I ever made as I rode to the north cape one year and to Gallipoli in Turkey another year, Italy, Romania etc. This is riding from Ireland which are long journeys of over 6000Km each time.
So my conclusion is that the Monroe MA785 are a good shock but make sure that if you fit the top shock bolt and it feels tight to rotate or squeaks, well then fix it before it breaks and get the right shock bushings or modify it, Note this is not a manufacturer fault as these shocks are made for an American muscle car (Almost sure for the corvette).
Conclusion; Well over in this wee Island of Ireland, we may not know much about American muscle cars or their shocks but we have good and BAD roads over her and all I can tell ye is that the Monroe has worked very well for me over the years.
I have used them on my 2008 ultra and my 2011 CVO road glide ultra with no problems so far. I did the air ride install myself and mounted the compressor under the left side of my tour pack top box.
Thank you
Tommy Raleigh.
Author
Topic: Gabriel Monroe or Arnott shocks Air Suspension for Harley. (Read 4819 times)