Sheppo

[Rosco61]

Now that you have had your Harley for a bit what's your impression?

[Sheppo]

Now that you have had your Harley for a bit what's your impression?

I did my first long ride with it last weekend 310 miles door to door. If it wasn't for lack of daylight I could have gone more. Right now it's just what I want. There was nothing wrong with the sport touring position or the ride or the comfort of my BMW. 2 things tho, lack of wind protection and my wife would not get on the back. With that being said...

The Electra Glide Ultra Classic is heavy, top heavy with a full tour pack. You can pack A LOT. It isn't extremely quick, but it has torque to pull with out shifting. It rides 2 very comfortably. Gas mileage with out twisting too hard is in the low 40's. ( I do have an aftermarket air cleaner, pipes and a HD race tuner, which is like a power commander ) The things I am looking to upgrade over the winter, Replace factory speakers and amp, It's too muddy and not crisp. I want to pull the side cover off and look at the cam chain tensionor, not sure if I'll replace them or upgrade to the hydraulic one. When looking at that I might look into different cams for a little better lower end. I hate the HD Dunlops that are on it. I will be putting Metzler ME880 when it's time. Other than that, I hit the starter it thumps to life, I get on and ride. The wife is comfortable enough to ride local, she needs a new helmet and seat time to go on a long ride or a weekend. I do miss a sportier bike, I think I may get the dual sport I've been threatening getting...
On a scale of 1-10, being the best, It's a solid 8. I think the Victory's have better power and handle some what better. But it's a tugboat, 8 years old and it does what it does very good.
Breaks 8
Motor 7
Fit/finnish 9
Stereo 7
Tires 6
Ride 9

Thanks for asking

[Rosco61]

Great review. Though I haven't found a issue with the dunlops. I agree about the stereo but my wife and I use the built in intercom system for talking and music. Other than that your spot on. It's a good bike for hauling mama and I around in comfort. It is a tractor and that's why I have the Duc to rip around on.
Thanks!

[jwm2k3]

Doug, sounds like you're happy with it. Good!! I was in the 'I hate HD' camp for a long time. This past summer changed that for me. I rented a Street Glide and was blown away. I realized 2 up on my Ducati sucks donkey balls....

I will be purchasing some form of HD touring machine in the future. Good luck man! And enjoy it!!

[nhbubba]

Yeah. My coworker showed up with a late model Road King. I totally get that bike. Seriously half considering a Police version. Use that for distance riding and dump the 'strom for something even more adventury.

[Imbeek]

I'm not Sheppo, obviously, but I've owned my road king custom since new in 05. About 25,000 miles on it, all mine. I agree with pretty much everything sheppo said; mine has no radio but I love my Sena for tunes. Mine doesn't have much luggage, either, so I don't have a problem with it being overly top heavy. I also have the intake mods, race tuner, and exhaust, similar to Sheppo's setup.

One complaint I would add that he didn't say, is that the forks suck. They are old damper rod type, too soft and harsh at the same time. Race tech gold valve emulators are in my future for this bike (seriously). Even so, with a rider that has some idea of what inputs to make, road kings handle and turn MUCH much better than they look like they would. Twisties are sought out and fun, just like with almost any bike.

Overall, they have some weaknesses like any bike but I actually LOVE mine and never regretted buying it for a minute. Don't picture myself ever selling it, either. In a perfect world, no one else would have one, or if they did, they wouldn't dress like pirates, but nothing I can do about that (LOL). If I had to sell off all my bikes, this might be the last one I would let go of, if only because I ain't getting any younger and it's mega-comfy for distance

[nhbubba]

What does emulators and springs run for that thing? For my SV and DL you are looking at about $130-ish for the emulators and another $80 for springs. Similar? Way more?

I've read of people putting all kinds of crazy cartridge setups and such into RKs and Ultras. Most I ask say anyone that does that is insane. The old frame used to flex bad and anything you really did to the suspension was a waste. I hear they've improved that a lot nowadays.

[jasnmar]

A little more, but this is only one vendor. Could be less elsewhere...
RT - Digital Product Search

[Rosco61]

The suspension sucks,
I have been looking at progressive monotubes and 944 rear shocks. The Progessive stuff is much more affordable and I hear it transforms the bike.
But I had Traxxion work over my my Tuono factory, forks and rear shock and they did a awesome job. Traxxion Dynamics AK-20'sfor the front and rear shocks from them also Biturbo I think is what they are selling for the touring rigs right now.
forks Harley-Davidson Fork Related
Shocks Harley Davidson Shock Related

[jasnmar]

The progressives have had a lot of "quality issues" on the GL. I suspect they have enough experience on the HD to have that worked out.

I'm generally not a fan of progressive springs, but sometimes anything is better.

[Imbeek]

What does emulators and springs run for that thing? For my SV and DL you are looking at about $130-ish for the emulators and another $80 for springs. Similar? Way more?

I've read of people putting all kinds of crazy cartridge setups and such into RKs and Ultras. Most I ask say anyone that does that is insane. The old frame used to flex bad and anything you really did to the suspension was a waste. I hear they've improved that a lot nowadays.

I've been quoted around 700 for a complete fork service and installation of the emulators including parts and install (so seals, oil, I think drilling the damper rod, etc) which is the reason I haven't done it yet. I've heard the talk of RK flame flex and feel like I can't make an informed decision until the forks work better. Have I felt some wallowing in fast sweepers? Yes, but I'm inclined to think its due to poor fork action more than anything else. I think most people who complain about frame flex need to loosen their hands and arms a bit and learn what countersteering means. The bike is actually really fun to countersteer and flicks in quite easily.
I come from a motocross background and owned a bunch of 2stroke CR 250s. When they first went to the perimeter aluminum frame, people hated them because they were TOO stiff (harsh ride). My point is, on the RK, where the point is comfort and not dragging knee, a bit of flame flex is probably intentional. If I put the dough into the forks, I hope it increases both the stability in fast sweepers and more importantly the feel over potholes and bumps. If they aren't so harsh afterwards but it still wallows a bit, I'm ok with it; its a pretty minor nitpick, not uncontrollable and not like it slows me down any. It's just something you notice a little bit.

I've heard of people say they wouldn't buy the bike because of this issue. To those people, I think a bit of instruction on how to turn a bike might help. I don't know if its how wide the bars are, or the geometry, or both, but as well as it responds to countersteering, it responds equally poorly if you try to turn it like a car and I could see someone fighting it and blaming the bike

[Sheppo]

Imbeek hit the suspension pretty spot on. My softail suffered from the same issues too. With that being said I know the suspension limitations and don't push a full dresser that far. ( Although I might look into the forks that could actually be my issue instead of the Dunlops, but I hated them on the softail too )

[SteveM]

My Honda F6B has really been superb for this use.

Power, handling, great sound system, with the givi top case I added, it carries as much as I could ever need.