Overall rating: ++ Motorcycle suspension: Neglected, taken for granted, and sometimes eliminated. It seems we ride in a world that pays more attention to skull-tipped axle covers and purple neon lights than the critical systems that keep us on the road. Did you know fork oil has a service life? Did you know you had oil in your forks? Much like any of the systems that make up a basic motorcycle, suspension requires a bit of maintenance, occasional replacement, and, lucky for us, it is infinitely tunable.
The FXDB Street Bob is a favorite of ours, as it packs the punch of a Big Twin with a price tag closer to a Sporty, and it comes out of the box with a solo seat and stylish mini apes. This particular example was being prepped for a member of the fairer sex, and therefore would be seeing a height reduction as well as spring upgrade.
This is where the folks at Progressive Suspension (PSI) come into the picture. PSI builds these lowering kits for most late-model bikes (and a bunch of vintage units), as well as the appropriate matching shocks. The kit includes components to lower the bike 1- or 2-inches as the rider desires, and on top of that increases ride quality by utilizing much longer progressive rate springs. Follow along as they do what turns out to be a surprisingly simple install.
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| TOOLS | ++ | COST | + |
Sitting pretty in the Progressive Suspension R&D facility, the Street Bob waits patiently for a spring transplant. | 
We did a bit of measuring to get an idea of how much height we could pull out of the frontend. | 
The most important number for this project would be seat height. The stocker measures out at just over 26-inches. |
Your basic floor lift is ideal for this install. Once the bike is airborne, the caliper is unbolted and the axle pulled out. | 
The PSI tech carefully slides the wheel out and makes note of the wheel spacer locations. | 
The fender is the last component removed before the fork legs are pulled off. |