How many times have fellow Harley owners said this?

You get some guy who buys a Street Glide, and then slowly starts adding stuff to it, next thing you know, he should have bought an Ultra Classic to begin with. Here's someone's story posted on HDForums...

Man, I have been back and forth 100 times. I started out wanting an Ultra, negotiated a price with the dealer, and then started to second guess myself... I began looking at the 07 SG and just loved the way it looks... I convinced myself that I didn't need all of the "extras" that the Ultra came with and go for the SG. I called the dealer and put a deposit on the SG.

Then I started adding a few "extras" that I wanted. Sissy bar/Pad for the little woman, Cruise Control for me, Passing lamp kit, etc. Before I knew it, I was spending more than I would have spent for a brand new Ultra where all of those things come standard! Arghhh..

So I called my now very frustrated dealer and asked him to switch my deposit over to a new Red/Black Ultra. I would like to know what someone else requested in a different thread... Is there a way to make the tour pak a quick detach setup so that I can remove it when I don't have a passenger or need the trunk?

Labels: Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic, Harley Davidson Street Glide

I've been riding this Electra Glide Ultra Classic for one year now, here's what I have to say about it, after putting on about 19,000 miles.

In short: I like it, but it has issues.

I bought the thing because my wife could never get comfortable sitting on the back of my Yamaha Road Star. Despite my buying two different sets of seats, and various combinations of passenger floor boards, back rests, and seat pads, she kept complaining about how uncomfortable it was.

So, when she sat on the Ultra Classic, she felt this was "Ultra Comfortable". I bought it.

The torque sucks however. Going up hills, with the woman on back, the bike just runs out of power. I did the Stage 1 mod, with V&H slipons, Power Commander III, and the Screaming Eagle air intake, and its certainly better, but still doesn't come close to the torque of the Road Star.

The Harley Wobble sucks. Granted, the Ultra Classic is meant to be a touring bike, not a sport bike. But when I take a curve pretty hot, the thing wobbles around really bad. I've had the thing checked over, the tires are properly inflated. It's the Harley Wobble.

I had warrantee work done on it twice. The first time, the spark plug threads came off of the rear cylinder head when the plug was pulled. Harley bought me a new head. The second time was when the engine light kept coming on. Turned out to be faulty wiring.

But I do like the bike, because for what a touring cruiser has to offer, it's a great bike. Lots of storage space. Great comfort. Plenty of protection from the elements with the full upper and lower fairing, and the tall windshield. The AM/FM Stereo with CD Player is a bonus.

I also like it because the wife doesn't nag at me while riding. Nothing ruins a great ride any more than a wife nagging you about her sore butt.

If I had waited another year, I could have gotten a 2007 model, with the 96" motor and 6-speed tranny. But I opted to buy the used 2005 that had served as the dealer's rental bike. I'm going to move forward on the 95" inch kit. A buddy of mine has installed these kits before, but he's been really busy with work. I may hire an independent shop to do it. That'll get me the extra power I've been looking for.

But we'll still have to deal with that damn wobble.

Labels: Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic

I bought another Harley Davidson Ultra Classic, to replace the one I wrecked a couple months ago.

I brought it home two days ago, bought from Biggs Harley Davidson, in San Marcos, CA, the same dealer I bitched about not accepting personal checks over $5,000.

Here's a picture of it, taken today.

It's a 2005, with only 6,500 miles on it, out of the dealer's rental fleet. It's basically brand new. Except this one has two-tone paint, black and smoke gold.

The guys in our club knew I was wanting to buy another 2005 Ultra, so they kept their eyes and ears open. When Biggs Harley Davidson got another one in, one of the guys called me about it. I went down there and put a deposit on it, and the next day I came back with a cashier's check for the full amount.

It's a good thing I acted quickly. I come to find out that another rider in my town heard about this bike also, and went down there to buy it (the day after I bought it). I'm told he was pretty upset to learn it was already gone.

I happened to meet up with that rider this morning for breakfast at Yellow Basket and he told me all about it (it's a small town we're in). I told him I'd take good care of the Ultra for him.

After breakfast, some of us from the Iron Horses Riding Club took off to spend some sunshine riding over the mountains and down into Palm Springs for some margaritas. The Ultra rode really well, and I managed to keep it upright.

Here are all the photos from today.

Labels: Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic

I'm riding a 2004 Yamaha Road Star Silverado right now. I like it a lot. But my wife seems to want something more comfortable.

Basically, she wants the big comfy backrest and armrests, like what you get on the Harley Davidson Electra Glide Classic or Ultra Glide. What she wants, is to be able to go to sleep while riding on the road, and not have to worry about falling over.

As it stands right now, she often drifts off to sleep while riding on the back of my Road Star, but not for long. What happens is that she bangs the crown of her helmet into my back, as her way of complaining to me. I keep telling her, "then don't ride". But she won't have that. She has to ride.

So, here are my three choices...

Yamaha Royal Star Venture - this is probably the Cadillac of touring bikes, as far I can see. 1300cc V4 engine, with about 75hp at the rear wheel. Large hard bags, large trunk, comfy seats, with the large back rest and arm rests, and full fairing. Price is about $15,000.

Pros: This bike will give my wife the comfort she's looking for, and it comes with everything but the kitchen sink. It's got great power.

Cons: I can barely touch the ground! My legs are that short. The seat height is 29.5 inches. Truthfully, with my boots on, I've got my toes and the ball of my foot on the ground. But considering that this a very heavy bike, 807 pounds dry, and with my wife on the back, being that tippytoed concerns me. And I don't want to spend that kind of money on something that creates more problems than it solves.

Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe - Similar to the Royal Star Venture, but without the fairing, and the seat height is about half-inch lower. But still the same engine, and same power. Another difference is it doesn't have the trunk, and the seat is hard as a rock. Cost is about $14,000.

Pros: The seat is a little bit lower than the Venture at 29.1 inches. I can get more of my feet on the ground, and the bike is about 30 pounds lighter (787 pounds) than the Venture. Still a heavy bike though. But I like the fact that you can quickly remove the windshield, the bags, and the passenger seat, and turn it in to a solo rider.

Cons: I'd have to buy the trunk and armrests separately, and the seat would not work for my wife. I could get the Mustang Seat, which she liked on the Road Star, but I hated the Mustang rider seat. I don't think I'll like it on the Tour Deluxe either.

Harley Davidson Electra Glide Classic - Who doesn't already know this bike? In comparison to the Yamahas, the Harley has much less power, I think something like 55hp at the rear wheel? The cost is about $20,000.

Pros: It's lighter than the two Yamahas, at 776 pounds, and the seat height is even lower too, at 27.3 inches. This is probably the biggest reason why I have this bike in consideration. There's all kinds of after-market stuff available for Harleys.

Cons: It's got much less power, considerably less. When you figure my wife will be on the back of this, and with the trunk and hard bags and full faring, it's going to drag it down. I remember riding to Las Vegas Bikefest, and we had a guy on a Electra Glide Classic with his girlfriend on back, and everything stuffed with their belongings, he was having trouble keeping up with us on the grades (the rest of us sailing along at 90mph). And of course, the price, is much more than the Yamahas.

Labels: Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic, Honda Valkyrie Interstate, Yamaha Road Star, Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe, Yamaha Royal Star Venture