Barons Air Ride Finished !

[avrgmike]

Well it finally came in today, went down picked it up got started around 2pm. packaging was good chrome looks perfect, shocks wrapped in bubble wrap seperately. all parts were accounted for which is a good thing...heres the contents ..
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o319/avrgmike/bike/barons%20ari%20suspension/293e234f.jpg

did a quick glance of the directions which are VERY uninformative. no wire diagrahams, which is interesting since u hook up directly to the battery. only part of that which was questionable was on the fill button u have 2 black wires coming off of it, are they neg. or pos. directions don't say. luckily i know from the past that on toggle / interupter switchs the positive leg is broke off, so the 2 blacks go between the battery and the button. anyways so i started out by jacking the bike up on the scissor jack as usual and remove the shocks, well here was my first suprise... turns out the shock collars are the wrong damn size. the top is too small for the stud which it is supposed to slide onto, after looking and playing with it i realize that it fits perfectly if u flip it over and install upside down...hmmmm. so i call barons tech line and talk to a guy name scott, whom is very nice, and after a few minutes he basicly tells me that they have no knowledge of anyone installing this system on a 1800 F. WTF ! so after breaking his stones and laughing about the whole thing Scott informs me that they can be installed the opposite way and that it will be fine just a case of cosmetics..heres a pic of the shock installed upside down, lol
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o319/avrgmike/bike/barons%20ari%20suspension/6003e61b.jpg

so after getting both sides hoked up and bolted in i started with the mounting of the compressor, which according to the directions, which i remind u are extremely vague, i soon realize that it will not fit underneath where they say. hmmm, so i play around and realize i can just about get it in behind the left access panel where the tool box is. so with this plan set i begin running the wires and hoses for the air supply. heres my next issue with the directions, there is no diagrahm for the connection. if u look at the 1st picture u will see there are 2 connectors that are 1 in 2 out, where and how i wondered. and since u can not connect and then take off and try again u had to be very sure. obviously i figured it out. the tricky part of them was having to add both shock lines a dump valve line and the compressor line. so if anyone is ordering this or needs help let me know. basicly it goes from the compressor with a length of hose into the 2 sided connector, from there one line connects to the dump valve which gets mounted with the inflate button and the other goes into the single side of the other double, from there 1 line to each shock. lol. i should have taken a pic of it, but too late now. heres a pic of the compressor mounted, wiring ran, and air lines in place waiting to be connected...
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o319/avrgmike/bike/barons%20ari%20suspension/d7503271.jpg

after checking to make sure all the air lines were routed ok, and had enough play, and clearance i spliced them into the connectors on the shocks and the 2 into 1 couplings. i temp. hooked up the fuse to give it juice and made sure all was working, which it was. moving on, u need to mount 2 buttons / switchs somewhere, 1 controls the filling / inflating...the other is a dump valve, when depressed it releases all air till u release. pretty neat idea, lets u adjust while riding. i mounted mine on the left cover, next to the seat. heres a pic of them mounted and the side case snapped on...

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o319/avrgmike/bike/barons%20ari%20suspension/40f8c548.jpg

the connections for these 2 buttons r simple, u just drill through the casing and unscrew the washer / nut slide the button from underneath and screw the top ring back on to secure it. the dump valve will require 2 wrenchs, it is threaded and must be tight so no air escapes. i did another once over all my wires and air lines to be sure all were snug and clear of moving parts. next the fun part. i lowered the jack to remove it and soon realized that the shocks were not bottumed out yet, lol, simple solution inflate the shocks, remove the jack. keep in mind here people that even fully inflated the full rise is almost 1.50 to 2.00 inches lower then my stock was. heres a pic fully inflated at their highest point..

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o319/avrgmike/bike/barons%20ari%20suspension/4d091520.jpg

and completely deflated on the internal bump stops...

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o319/avrgmike/bike/barons%20ari%20suspension/6a20b07d.jpg

as u can see its a bigg difference. jeres a picture of the stock height before i started..

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o319/avrgmike/bike/barons%20ari%20suspension/6328bd5a.jpg

all in all the install wasn't too bad, luckily i was the kid growing up who loved to take things apart to see how they worked, so i'm usually pretty good at figuring things out. ill leave off this post of the install with some random pics as i went along. be advised though, i personally would not recommend these for people who ride a whole lot, i havent really gotten a chance to take a burn, only around to the block to make sure all was good and there was no rubbing, but if your looking for something that makes people look and say holy shit or if you like the lowered look and feel then get em. i love the lower look and the way the bike sits now, ill post again when i get a chance to take a nice ride to see how they are. ty for your time and feel free to ask questions or comment. mike

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o319/avrgmike/bike/barons%20ari%20suspension/83658f02.jpg

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o319/avrgmike/bike/barons%20ari%20suspension/4953cd07.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o319/avrgmike/bike/barons%20ari%20suspension/6b28e0f2.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o319/avrgmike/bike/barons%20ari%20suspension/6575fc88.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o319/avrgmike/bike/barons%20ari%20suspension/f52037cf.jpg
this is one of my fav's
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o319/avrgmike/bike/barons%20ari%20suspension/0dd33653.jpg

[GrmRpr]

Looks great Mike... nice write up!

[Dapper]

I like it, shocks look good, probably would not have realized they were upside down if you didn't mention they were.

Hows the ride?:choppersm

[Big-X]

Wow, nice write up!! I have debated going that route but I've spent enough $$$ for now.

[marang]

Man that looks nice. I bet it rodes good.

D:patriot:

[avrgmike]

well i had to try it out ! got hom efrom work this morning around 7am opened the garage fired it (since i still havent quite settled on a name) up pulled out and took a little 30 minute stroll. you know just enough to wake neighbors up and piss off the guys walking their P.O.S barky dogs. my 1st impression is this. the air ride to me offers a much smoother ride then the stockies did, keep in mind that i messed around with the setttings too. i rode a while fully inflated and it was like a being in a new lexus, soft yet firm, and absorbed bumps well. Im around 230 so if they were too mushy or anything i would of noticed. something to keep in mind is that im not sure exactly how much pressure can be used, when you push the button to inflate them i have been letting go once the shock stops moving, ill have to ask if there is a limit or anything, maybe ill look into a psi gauge or something. also fully inflated i noticed no problems turning or rubbing, medium height was comfey again no noticable rubbing on turns but then again im not a low leaning rider. the caution was when i rode fully deflated, which basicly makes it like a rigid frame, this was by far the funnest of all due to leaning back a bit more and it just i guess felt soo much different . turning however was noticably different, i did mention to hit the exhaust once, but nothing major. over all i was happy with the way it rode throughout the 3 different stages, how it will be with the wify on back ill have to wait and see, she thinks that 65 is still freezing soo. hmmm, ill have to find out the limits of weight and pressure.

[avrgmike]

evening all, been a while since ive been on the forums. anyways, wanted to add a post bout the air suspension real quick while i was thinking about it. i have put about 500 miles on em now and id say 485 of that was on the bump stops. i havent had any problems turning, but i do still hold my breath. i had a buddy of mine follow behind me and lean in a bit on corners and sweepers. told him if i start getting tooo low to beep, this helped out tremendously. i was able to feel how low i could go before scraping or worse spilling. i actually had more room then i thought. just have to remember a few things. 1- bumps hurt. 2- speed bumps and sharp driveways i need to inflate. and 3 - cops do not like when u pull up next to them and hit the dump switch. i was messing around with the shocks at a light and as the cop was saying ": hey nice bike, looks like a harley " i hit the dump and lowered all the way down.....his next response was something to the effect of "excuse me u know that thats illegal and i could write u a ticket right " well needless to say i turned off that road reallll fast. i still havent had anyone else on the back yet so ill have to wait for that, wife's not too into cold weather riding..
regardless, i love em. plus i got them cheaper then retail so thats a plus.