Best Motorcycle Shocks: Ten Aftermarket Picks by Bike Type

There is no single best motorcycle shock, because the right one depends on your bike, your weight and how you ride. The ten rear shocks below come from Ohlins, Fox, Progressive, K-Tech, Legend Suspension, Drag Specialties and Burly. Five are built for named Harley-Davidson families (Touring, Softail, Dyna and Sportster), and the rest either name no bike or say only “Harley”.

The case for upgrading is the usual one. A better shock can sharpen handling, add grip and change how the bike picks up throttle. A casual rider may barely notice. Long-distance riders and track-day riders get more from one, especially if it is adjustable. Prices change by seller and market, so check the listing before you decide.

The descriptions here come from the manufacturer and seller listings. I have not fitted or ridden any of these shocks. The product links below are affiliate links, and the site may earn a commission if you buy through them.

Short answers to the common questions

• Which brand is best, and who makes the best suspension? Nothing in our sources ranks brands by independent test. Ohlins appears most often: it makes two shocks on this list, and riders on both forums below chose or praised it. One Britbike poster called his Ohlins “excellent” and “very pricy”.
• Which shock gives the smoothest ride? The Drag Specialties listing is the one written around long-trip comfort. Fox lists a comfort setting on the IFP-R QS3, and Progressive says the 465 RAP takes the sting out of bridge joints and cracked pavement. On older British bikes, one rider found Ikon shocks smoothed bumps better than Hagons.
• What are the top shock brands? From these sources: Ohlins, Fox, Progressive, K-Tech, Legend Suspension, Drag Specialties and Burly for modern bikes. Classic-bike riders name Hagon, Ikon (the Koni successor), Maxton, Falcon, NJB, Betor and Works Performance. Emgo drew complaints.
• What is the best shock absorber for a motorcycle? The one made for your model and year, with the adjustments you will actually use, and a spring rate that suits your weight.

The ten shocks at a glance

Shock	Bike named in listing	Adjustment named in listing	Detail from listing
Legend Suspension Revo A-Coil	n/a	Adjusts without extra tools	Composite aluminum body
Progressive 412	n/a	5 positions	Double-wall steel body, nitrogen charge
Drag Specialties Ride Height Adjustable	n/a	Ride height	Chrome-plated shaft, black version offered
Ohlins STX46 Street	n/a	Several spring weights offered	46 mm piston, repairable
Burly 13-inch Cafe Stiletto	Harley Sportster	n/a	Main spring plus secondary spring
Fox IFP-R QS3 monotube	Harley Touring, 1993 to 2022	3-position rebound	Internal floating piston
Progressive 465 RAP	Harley Softail	5-position rebound	Revised damping and spring rates
Ohlins Black Line S36PRCL	Harley Dyna	Rebound, compression, length	Piggyback oil reservoir
K-Tech RCU Razor-R	n/a	n/a	Street-rider design
Burly Slammer	Harley (model n/a)	n/a	Sold separately from Slammer kits

Shocks that do not name a bike

Four of these listings give no model fitment. Ask the seller to confirm yours before you order.

Legend Suspension Revo A-Coil

The Legend Suspension Revo A-Coil pairs a conventional coil spring with the damper. The listing says the body is composite aluminum and that the spring is shaped to give a comfortable “sweet spot” as it compresses. You can adjust it without extra tools. Our earlier ranking called it the best for ride quality, which is the seller’s pitch rather than a test result.

Progressive 412

The Progressive 412 is positioned as the affordable option. The listing describes a double-wall steel body, a nitrogen charge and velocity-sensitive valves that give soft damping. It has five adjustment positions, so you can change the setting for the road in front of you.

Drag Specialties Ride Height Adjustable

The Drag Specialties ride-height-adjustable shock is aimed at long road trips. The body is nitrogen-charged steel with a chrome-plated shaft, and a black version is offered. The listing says it installs without complicated tools.

Ohlins STX46 Street

The Ohlins STX46 Street listing says Ohlins built it on its racing-shock experience. It has a 46 mm piston and a nitrogen charge, it can be repaired if damaged, and it comes in several spring weights. Choose the weight that matches your bike and your own weight.

K-Tech RCU Razor-R

The K-Tech RCU Razor-R is described as a street-rider shock. K-Tech’s reasoning is that factory shocks often give little adjustment range, whether you carve canyons or commute long distances. The listing gives no bike fitment or specifications.

Harley-Davidson shocks

Burly 13-inch Cafe Stiletto for Sportster

The Burly Cafe Stiletto is a 13-inch rear shock for Sportsters. A main spring takes the big hits and resists bottoming. A secondary spring deals with small road imperfections.

Fox IFP-R QS3 for Harley Touring

The Fox IFP-R QS3 monotube is listed for Harley Touring models from 1993 to 2022. An internal floating piston keeps the nitrogen gas apart from the shock oil, which Fox says holds damping steady however long you ride. Three Quick Switch Rebound positions cover bumpy back roads, general road use and smooth twisty roads. Fox says it suits a solo rider or one with a passenger, and suggests adding its fork cartridge kit. Fitment ends at 2022, so ask the seller about later model years.

Progressive 465 RAP for Softail

Progressive says the 465 with RAP changes damping and spring rates so the rear end handles bridge abutments and longitudinal pavement cracks with less harshness than the original shock. It also lists better chassis stability. A five-position rebound adjuster lets you tune comfort against control.

Ohlins Black Line S36PRCL for Dyna

The Ohlins Black Line S36PRCL has a piggyback oil reservoir. You can adjust rebound, compression damping and shock length. The listing says turning the external rebound adjuster to the right restricts oil flow for a sportier feel, and turning it left gives a plusher ride for long days. Two adjusters mean more ways to get it wrong, a point the Britbike thread below makes about compression damping.

Burly Slammer

Burly’s Slammer kits made this shock known, and Burly Slammer shocks are now sold on their own for Harleys. The listing names no model and gives no specifications, so ask what it fits and how it is damped.

Two videos worth watching before you buy

Bry The Biker’s video, titled “The best motorcycle rear shocks? LONG TERM REVIEW”, looks at rear shocks after extended use.

Video: The best motorcycle rear shocks? LONG TERM REVIEW (Bry The Biker)

Shock Therapy Suspension’s “SHOWA vs FOX SHOCK COMPARISON + NEW ST PACKAGES” compares Showa and Fox shocks and introduces the shop’s new packages. I have not ridden either setup, so treat both as one person’s view.

Video: SHOWA vs FOX SHOCK COMPARISON + NEW ST PACKAGES // Tech Wednesday (Shock Therapy Suspension)

What classic-bike riders say about choosing

A 2014 Britbike thread asked for shocks for a 1958 BSA Gold Star. The answers still describe the trade-offs well. Prices in that thread are a decade old, so I have left them out.

• Budget and looks first. Kerry W said the choice comes down to cost and how original you want the bike to look. He separated cheap shocks that stop the tyre touching the hardware from dearer ones that control wheel movement.
• Hagon for the street. Kerry W picked Hagon on performance against cost for average street riding. He said rebound damping alone is enough there, and that compression adjustment tends to get people into trouble. He called the four-position rebound on Ikon and Koni a gimmick.
• Damping type matters. Kommando warned that a shock copied from the old Girling damps in one direction only. Two-way damping rides better, and adjustable damping better again.
• Ikon over Hagon. Mark Shearer ran Hagons on an A65 and Ikons on a Commando. He said the Ikons smoothed bumps better and were “worth the extra cost”. Geordie had Ikons on a Commando for years and called them good value for money.
• A cautionary tale. GS Dave’s Emgo shocks squeaked and rode badly. His replacement Hagons stopped the squeak, but he found the damping weak and the rebound very soft. He weighs about 15 stone clothed, suspected the springs were too heavy, and said he rose off the seat over bumps.
• Racing and special builds. Dana_twin liked new-old-stock Red Wing shocks for racing, off-road and special bikes, and said they can be rebuilt. He rated Betor from Spain above Emgo at a similar price. He called the 13-inch Works Performance shocks the best for serious road racing, but their 2.312-inch spring outer diameter rules them out for a stock Gold Star.
• Look-alikes. Lekkie fitted NJB shocks, which look like the original Girlings, and said the paint and chrome still looked good after four years. They had no connection to the seller. Per B ran Ohlins on a scrambler and found them excellent but very expensive.

A KZ rider forum thread ranking rear-shock upgrades shows the same fitment work on a Kawasaki. Nessism passed on a set of Gazi shocks and bought Ohlins units adjustable for length, compression and rebound for a 750E2. Ohlins USA told Nessism the shocks would work for the bike and swapped in stiffer springs before shipping. Nessism still had to make or buy a bushing to reduce the top eyelet diameter. Buyers shopping for a Kawasaki can start with our Kawasaki model guide with prices and used checks.

Check these before you order

• Length. Classic 13-inch shocks are about 330 mm. A Betor shock at 340 mm was flagged as probably too long for one bike.
• Spring outer diameter. A fatter spring can rule a shock out, as the Works Performance example shows.
• Spring rate. Match it to your weight. GS Dave suspected heavy springs, and Ohlins USA swapped springs for Nessism’s bike.
• Eyelets. A top eyelet that is too large may need a bushing.
• Model years. The Fox listing runs from 1993 to 2022. Confirm later years with the seller.
• Damping and adjusters. Rebound-only is enough for most street riding, according to Kerry W. Two-way damping rides better than one-way. Only use compression adjustment if you understand it.

If a shock upgrade is part of a wider parts list, our guides to front and rear sprockets and motorcycle camshafts cover two other upgrades.