| Author | Message | ||
     Big_island_rider |
Since my knee surgery in Feb I have not ridden my Harley Road Glide since I was not sure I could hold it up or pick it up if I dropped it. I needed to change the oil and had to take it for a ride to warm it up. When I sat down in the saddle it thought holy crap this thing is wide. Here are some picture from my perspective:   The Glide fairing is 36" wide and the windshield is 20" wide. The Uly fairing is 15" wide and the windshield is 10" wide. | ||
| Etennuly |
That is why when I rode my son's Ultra Classic Custom Limited a couple of months ago, I said the same thing. I don't like the forward foot controls and the massive surf boards under my feet either. I guess growing up on dirt bikes makes me appreciate that less is more. | ||
| Ramman4x4 |
I sometimes feel the same way when I switch from my DR to my Uly. The fairing on the Uly isn't much wider than the DR, but the frame spar on the Uly makes the overall bike feel much wider. The peg position and smaller front wheel also make it feel and handle drastically different. I can't imagine getting on something as wide as the Road Glide...it would take a long time to get comfortable. | ||
| Fotoguzzi |
isn't there about a 200 pound or more difference to the Glide? I don't care how wide but all that extra weight would be my reason to never want one. | ||
| Ratbuell |
The FLs have a nice low center of gravity. I used to have a Road King (same bike as the glide but no fairing), and I'd run it competitively in battletrax courses. Even won a few on it. I'd have to buy floorboards every season, and I used my crash guards as sliders...but the big fat bastard actually did slow stuff very well. I actually had a MD state motor instructor catch me after a rodeo run once. "Dude...you're ••••••• crazy..." Biggest compliment I EVER got!! | ||
| Froggy |
I did a quick search online, the XB12XT is 1,006 mm wide, and the 2012 FLTRU Road Glide Ultra is 919 mm. | ||
| Trevd |
I did a quick search online, the XB12XT is 1,006 mm wide, and the 2012 FLTRU Road Glide Ultra is 919 mm. At the widest point maybe... "do these saddlebags make my ass look fat?" | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Yes they do. | ||
| Big_island_rider |
Etennuly & Ramman - The floorboards and riding position is great for long rides, like 798 miles in 16 hours (personal longest). I can go 8 hours and not even be sore at all. Fotoguzzi - I wish only 200. The Glide is 825 pounds wet with my setup and Ratbuell is very correct. Low center of gravity and good in the slow stuff. Froggy & Trevd - yes I believe at the saddlebags. EG 1997 - Said that to the wife about here bike. I was bruised for a week.  | ||
| Big_island_rider |
Here is a video of what a Road King can do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBGwzK6Q1Gg | ||
| Fotoguzzi |
Here is a video of what a Road King can do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBGwzK6Q1Gg impressive! someone show me what a Buell can do.. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Makes me miss my old FLHP...  Watching the video, you can listen closely and hear the distinctive sound of floorboards going away...here's mine, after about half a season one year:  | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
That is why those floor boards are spring loaded. Harley Davidson should put their Hogs on a diet to lose 2 hundred pounds. Could you imagine a 600 lb Street-glide with a 110ci engine. That would be a bike I would be interested in. | ||
| Sagehawk |
The widths mentioned here is why i call my road king the geezer glide and my 12 x affectionately the tweezerglide. Just saying! | ||
| Uly_man |
"impressive! Someone show me what a Buell can do". Very and I doubt a Uly could do much better over the same course. Police riders are experts on their machines and rightly so. While some may think they are good these guys will "run you down" on the road without even breaking into a sweat. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Very true. Motor patrol guys are amazing. The one who paid me the compliment is a Yosemite-Sam bowlegged SOB who waddles around chomping a cigar, but when he's on his FLH...I'd swear he could do a U-turn on a utility trailer to unload his bike. He taught both MD and at the national academy at Northwestern, and his license plate (now retired) for MD state police was "MC-1". Buells don't do as well at slow-speed stuff, just like FLH's don't do as well at high speed handling. FLH's will flex and weave when leaned over in a high speed turn compared to our Buells (ask me how I know!), where Buells can get "tippy" in the slow stuff because, as sport bikes, they're taller. EG - yes, the boards are spring loaded. I still ate them up - I'd drag, they'd flip up to their upper limit, I'd keep dragging, they'd go away after about a season. Didn't affect handling...until you put one of the MOUNTS on the ground. That would unload the rear tire and spin you around pretty darned quick. DAMHIK. | ||
| Uly_man |
Ratbuell have you rode a late Uly? | ||
| Big_island_rider |
Yes I know as well the scrapping sound of floor boards on the road. That is why I drilled a hole on the outside/rear of the boards and installed a bolt with an acorn nut that scrapes first and I can replace cheaper than the boards. Call me cheap and OCD. Ratbuell, would have loved to see your FLHP next to a XB12XP. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Uly man - yes, I worked for a dealer until the shutdown and rode many, many demos as well as factory track days, and I own an 06 Uly with an XB9 primary. As well as an 09 CR and a handful of tubers. My FLHP was always my go-to for rodeos. My Uly is my go-to for anything 3rd gear or higher. | ||
| Tootal |
Well here's how you get rid of that "hinge in the middle feeling". You do what Buell did!  She's almost back together. Took the crank to Dark Horse Crankworks to let them do their magic. New Wiseco's and my good heads that flow 254 inches at 1/2" lift. The term Freight train comes to mind!  |
