OK, well, I am really curious about this.
You say it rides really hard with NO shocks. How the heck is a shock absorber going to SOFTEN the ride? Yeah, yeah, they must call them shock ABSORBERS for a reason, but I never thought about this. I would think that with NO shock, the ride would be really springy, and the shocks would dampen down the "oscillation".
Hmm. What an odd thought.