SERVICE SPECIALISTS

PUMP UP YOUR RIDE: Air Suspension

One of the most neglected and overlooked areas of a motorcycle is its suspension. On a used or older bike, chances are you’re looking at the original set-up that is going to need some help. In many cases you can repair or simply replace what’s there – but while you’re taking the time to tinker, you may want to consider upgrading to an AIR SUSPENSION. An air suspension system uses inflatable air springs and air to raise or lower the bike. You’ll be able to fine tune your suspension as you like – allowing a smoother ride, more stability, and a better overall riding experience. It’s an investment that will make a dramatic difference in the ride of your bike. The primary goal of motorcycle suspension is to keep vehicle tires in contact with the ground. Without proper suspension, tires would lose traction when encountering bumps, dips or other ground imperfections. We can’t forget about braking, acceleration or cornering forces either. Motorcycle suspensions use a spring and damper combination to isolate the chassis and rider from road imperfections. On-road motorcycle suspension systems work to minimize the effect of potholes, bumps, rocks, jumps, ledges and more. Without suspension, any impact between a vehicle tire and a ground imperfection is at best uncomfortable, and at worst, the cause of a dangerous crash. When considering the suspension needs of your bike – you have to consider a lot of factors. These include your style of riding, the amount of weight on the bike – not just of yourself but of any passengers you might have as well, the road conditions, and how responsive you’d like the bike to be. When you lower your bike, you are lowering its center of gravity and impacting how it handles. In some circumstances the handling will improve, however your ground clearance is decreased and curbs or speed bumps can become a problem. Also, as you lower your bike, you’ve limited the amount of travel in your suspension – so your comfort will suffer. Basic motorcycle suspensions on most motorcycles use coil spring and hydraulic damper setups – which don’t usually allow a lot of adjustability. Sport bikes, off-road motorcycles, and some high-end modern cruisers are designed to allow some basic adjustments to be made by the rider. In most cases, this is by making manual adjustments to the rear shocks. An air suspension system will allow you to raise or lower the bike to your preferred height. When raised you’ll have a smoother ride as the suspension has more room to travel and absorb the challenges of the road. However, when you lower the bike – you’re lowering the center of gravity of the bike and handling will improve. Our Twin Cam Ultra Classic was in need of some help in terms of her suspension. Thankfully, we knew just the folks to help us out – Skully Customs!

Here are a few reasons, you might consider adding an AIR RIDE SYSTEM to your bike -

Adjustable Ride Height for Your Bike

In most cases, the seat on your bike is at a set height based upon its position on the frame. For taller folks, this might mean keeping your legs in an uncomfortable position. For shorter folks, you might not always be able to put your feet down. Air shocks allow you to quickly change the ride height of your motorcycle. This means more comfort and a safer ride.

Adjustable Firmness

With an adjustable air suspension, you’re able to chose the exact firmness of your suspension – based upon your personal preferences. Some prefer a softer suspension that makes the ride smooth and easy. Others prefer a sportier, firmer suspension that is more responsive.

Better for Passengers

An adjustable air suspension will allow you to make adjustments to accommodate the weight of passengers on your bike. This makes things more comfortable for everyone and also cuts down on wear and tear on your bike.

Coolness Factor

For many, a lowered motorcycle has extra appeal and has a totally different look than stock. With an adjustable air ride kit, you can give your bike the look of a lowered bike whenever you want without sacrificing ride control or scraping the bottom. There are many systems out there, but we would certainly recommend going with a reputable, experienced manufacturer for such a critical component on your bike. Also, If you’re looking at upgrading your suspension, and possibly adding an air ride system – you may want to consider going to the experts, even if you’re an experienced DIY’er. Experienced installers will identify issues and may have solutions already in hand from their past projects – possibly even challenges that you might not consider or even be aware of, until it’s too late. While at Daytona Bike Week, we had the opportunity to catch up with Rodney Jensen and his crew from Skully Customs. Skully Customs is a Wisconsin based company offering a line of air ride kits for HarleyDavidson, Indian, Victory, and metric motorcycles. Throughout the year, the Skully Customs crew heads out on the road and sets up shop at major motorcycle rallies and events across the country. These include not only Daytona Bike Week but also Sturgis and of course – Ohio Bike Week, that’s how we knew them. At the rallies they offer installation of their air ride – as well as KST Kustoms handlebars and audio upgrades. Their products are also available online through their website at www.SkullyCustoms.com. For our H-D Ultra Project Bike, we were in need of immediate help with our rear suspension – and it appeared that Skullys had the perfect solution in their 5” Air Ride System. (Continued P.40)

The system uses a subtle handlebar control switch that mounts on your bars and allows easy access for quick on the fly adjustments.

“The Skully Customs 5" Air Ride System has the most travel of any air suspension system available,” Rodney Jenson, CEO of Skully’s shared. “The system allows you to drop your bike as low as possible without any major modification. You can also raise your bike over stock as needed, allowing for maximum clearance around corners. With 5" of travel, it gives you a large range of adjustment for your ride quality and ride height. Our shocks measure 14” extended and 9.25” deflated. With the push of a button, you can either ride it all the way up and really stiff, or a couple inches down for a smooth ride.”

Our veteran Ultra Classic had a number of extra challenges for the installers, primarily because she already had a lot of modifications and upgrades in place. Many of these took up spaces that might have been otherwise used for the tank or compressor. After all the “standard” mounting locations were ruled out, Rodney and his guys went with a non-traditional spot that required a little creativity for mounting. As previously mentioned, though, experience makes all the difference – and the Skully Customs crew got it all in, no problem. In roughly about an hour, the Ultra was back together and, on the road, – with a MUCH better ride. In regard to the Skully Customs Air Ride System, a few things to note – • The Skully Customs shocks measure 14” extended and 9.25” deflated.

They have a built-in stop that keeps the tire approximately .5” off the fender. Even completely deflated, you can still ride the bike and not worry about damaging the tire or fender. • The ideal height for a single rider is about 3-4” below fully extended, for a slammed but still comfortable ride. • Skully Customs has been in business since 2006 and they offer a

LIFETIME warranty on all parts. The system is built to exact standards to offer what they deem to be the most reliable, best performance air ride kit on the market. That’s why they can afford to offer a Lifetime

Warranty. • They have systems for ANY stock Harley with external shocks, as well as Indian, Victory, and metric applications.

TIP: Check out the Skully’s FAST UP Air Tank Kit.

It allows instant air-up capabilities and features an upgraded high pressure air pump. It’s a cool upgrade that will just cost moe down the road. For more information on Skully Customs Air Ride Suspension, where you can find them, or to simply order a system from them – visit them online at

SkullyCustoms.com

You can also find them on Facebook.

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