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Adjusting to 2009 Ultra Classic

I wanted to ask you bout the post on the 09 ultra. I am 5-8 and I had my bike lowered 1" and although I can flatfoot I have to come off my seat to do so. I saw on the forum you mentioned you have a seat that lowered the driver and put him closer to the controls. Does the ride change for the passenger? and also is the seat more comfertable than the original stock seat? thank you very much. Im trying to get a little lower so I have more control. -Chris
 
MasterChris,

My wife does not like the feel of the "Reach Seat" as much as she did the stocker; however, it really made a big difference for me. It is still very comfy for her as we've gone on several 4 to 600 mile day rides and she doesn't complain. It's not near as wide in the crotch area (for the driver) and makes it easier to get feet on the ground without feeling like you're doing the splits. Reach seat, pullback bars and driver backrest were a must for me.....I'm short.
 
masterchris0313 said:
I wanted to ask you bout the post on the 09 ultra. I am 5-8 and I had my bike lowered 1" and although I can flatfoot I have to come off my seat to do so. I saw on the forum you mentioned you have a seat that lowered the driver and put him closer to the controls. Does the ride change for the passenger? and also is the seat more comfertable than the original stock seat? thank you very much. Im trying to get a little lower so I have more control. -Chris
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I am 5'7" and had my seat lowered by mean city cycles. My wife loved the passenger seat so I didn't want to change anything there.
I can reach the ground better. The seat has a different feel to it and not sure if it is better or worse than the stock seat setup. The main thing is I can reach the ground better without standing off the seat.
 
I also have a new Ultra and the one item I am struggling to adjust to is the weight and balance, particularly when riding two up. Need more practice I reckon.
 
Ok i am 5'7 310 and ride a 09 ultra, cant reach flat footed, i reach for the bars, im fourty with back hurting sometimes and love to buy extras. But this is my first harley. i have ridden metrics for years. Its a motorcycle. Just like working out you have to condition your body to your rideing style by putting miles on it. At first. stops were difficult but you get used to it in 250 miles. Your back stiffens up alot until 750 miles just ride through the first initial pain your body will condition itself for it. Spend you money on the things that make your bike more convinient to ride. Cup holder, heated grips, but your body will adjust. Some people find out after adding stuff that their discomfort was taken care of as there wallet got smaller and now there back doesnt hurt. All these things are why we brag how far we rode in a day or weekend. If after a long ride your buddy on the same type bike looks more energized than you it might be hes lieing or he just simply rides more often than you and he is use to it. Dont go out spend him. Ride more.
 
BlusBrother,

I'm not bashing you at all; however, I'm not sure I agree totally. Some bikes fit taller riders better than others and I believe the Ultra Classic is one of those bikes. I added the reach seat, pullback bars and a driver backrest and my '09 Ultra is now the MOST comfortable motorcycle I've ever owned. I'm certainly not the most experienced rider (riding on the street since '86) but I've owned several bikes. My '09 Ultra is the first Ultra I've ever owned and it just didn't fit me at first. I had trouble reaching the ground w/ the stock seat and I had a sore back from reaching for the bars. The farther I rode the worse it got. Now, I can go 800+ miles and I don't hurt. I still feel like I just rode for 14 hours but I don't hurt anywhere, there is a difference. Anyhow, I'm a firm believer that (for shorter riders) the reach seat, pullback bars & most importantly the DRIVER BACKREST make an unreal difference. If I could have done anything different I would have installed the driver backrest before the bike ever left the dealer. Just my opinion.
 
I too ride a 09 Ultra as my user name says. What amazes me is there has not been one word about any rider over 6’3”. I have had the opposite issues, needing more leg room and moving the handle bars forward. I purchased the TALLBOY seat (I love it, my wife doesn’t. She lost a couple inches of seat) Moved out the running boards out 1” and it doesn’t matter tall or short GET THE RIDER BACKREST! The more chrome the better. It’s all about making the bike yours.

I'd rather be riding my motorcycle thinking about God, than in church thinking about my motorcycle.
 
Jick Scott said:
I'm constantly amazed, when reading this forum, of the amount of after purchase dollars that have to be spent to get a bike set up so that it's a comfort to ride. The more I read, the less excited I get about buying my first HD motorcycle. Was so looking forward to retirement and getting back into riding.
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I am with you on that! There are two ways of looking at this. If you are a dealer, you love it because you sell a bike at full retail and then start pulling off brand new parts and selling more new parts to replace the new parts you just pulled off. That is quite the little revenue stream going there.

If you are a retail customer who wants a new bike and knows pretty much how you want to outfit it, you are at a definite disadvantage because of the way Harley has the process set up. You simply can not order a new bike with the parts you want on it without throwing out a bunch of new take off parts. This makes the initial purchase cost a whole lot more than it would have to and contributes to why dealers are often times refered to as "stealers".

This process of taking off high priced parts and replacing them with even higher cost replacement parts is one of the reasons why it is harder to sell new bikes in today's environment. In short, it costs an awful lot of extra money to get a new Harley the way you want it; more than it should.
It is a great revenue stream for the dealer and manufacturer but a terrible burden for the buyer. Maybe that should change as I hear new Harleys are real slow (sales off 25-30%) to move off the showroom floor now. Anything that adds needlessly to the cost ultimately costs sales. Instead of looking at new creative ways to finance and entice sales, maybe they should just try something "old fashioned" such as letting customers order it from the factory like they want it. Dealers know pretty much ahead of time how customers equip their individual bikes so they could just as easily order them from the factory like they know they are going to sell.
Does this make too much sense?
 
First Post here: 2009 Ultra , put 47K on a heritage before this new bike. The bike is a long haul dream. Wife loves the passenger seat and has not complained once about needing to stop. I have the problems now, 5'7" 200
the main seat seems to have to much support on the outer edges and not near enough in the middle. I have problems right in front of where your wallet fits on both legs, Nothing serious but was expecting perfect. I dont know if time will cure it up or not. I was wondering if this was a common problem with people my size. I have 950 miles on it, now I have to go down for the $300 ish 1st maint. :52: Then I will get oil and filter every 1500 ish till 5K or maybe 10K.

I noticed that riding on streets with groves , the bike is not traveling like the heritage did, I was really paranoid , waiting for it to reappear but it did not. ( Dallas TX on 635 east of 75 is really grooved bad all the way to I30. ). I would not let your guard down but, you will find those old groves in your town are not nearly what they were before. I need lots more miles to get a new set of instincts on this bike, the heritage instincts I have nearly got me in trouble in a fast sharp turn. Gotta stay in front of the heavy bikes.

Thanks in advance --chino
 
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