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[tonykaos]

Dealer stated they can not install the lowering front fork cartridges on my 2013 road king cvo. It would make the bike not level? Im confused has anyone lowered their 2013 CVO Road King, what did you use?

[J-Carr]

Betcha they'll install the one in the Harley P&A book (couldn't resist).

Ok, is it just the front cartridge that you're adding?  Because lowering the front of the motorcycle without lowering the back can really throw off the geometry of the bike.  My wife was having problems with her lean angle and also with rear wheel lock up.  When I looked the bike over the brakes seemed fine and the mounting brackets for her rush mufflers hadn't bent.  The rear shocks where OK.  But then I measured the front and discovered that had sunk 3/4 of inch.  We replaced both the front and the rear suspension with progressive and now the bike handles perfectly again and its not transferring all the weight to the front when braking.  3/4 of inch made a huge difference in the bike.  But because it was spring sag over the course of 8 years she never noticed it until it became critical.

So it may be that they're concerned about lowering just the front which causes many more problems than lowering the back and leaving the front alone.

[grc]

The '13 SERK has the same front forks as the '13 CUSE, so the front of the bike is standard height.  The rear of the SERK is lowered approximately 1 inch relative to the standard height CUSE.  So lowering the front no more than 1 inch would make the bike level, just like a standard e'glide.  If you asked them to lower the front more than an inch, I would agree with the dealership.  Otherwise, they are mistaken.

BTW, Harley lowered both the front and the rear on the old SEEG's and other than a tendency to drag parts more often it didn't adversely affect vehicle dynamics.

Jerry

[FlaHeatWave]

All the SGs are lowered F&R from the factory...

[tonykaos]

Thanks for the feedback, I will talk with them further today, not sure how to lower back end, 944 ultra low or just reg 944 vs ohlines and then which ohlines ?

[grc]

All the SGs are lowered F&R from the factory...

     The SEEG's from 2004 and 2005 were the last CVO's to be lowered both front and rear from the factory.  The later models like the SESG have a standard height front end.  The front forks on a 2012 SESG for instance are the exact same part numbers as the 2013 CUSE and 2013 SERK.  All standard height.

Jerry

[tonykaos]

Just back from shop, mechanic stated my bike was level front and back again this is a road king 2013 cvo , strange every one clearly suggests it is stock height should be one inch to lower even, they are holding the progressive front inserts until they can figure it out, I need to lower the bike as I cannot flat foot the bike


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[grc]

Road Kings come with 12" rear shocks.  Electra Glides come with 13" rear shocks.  So a Road King is approximately 1" lower at the rear than the standard Electra Glide models.  It's been that way for a long time, so I'm not sure why this dealership isn't aware.  Your Road King has the same main frame, the same rear frame, and the same front suspension as the Electra Glide models, including the CVO Ultra.  The only difference is the rear shocks, and if that dealer would like to look up the part numbers he will find that the Road King you have comes with the low profile hand adjustable shocks, which results in a lowered seat height of about 0.75" compared to a bike with the shocks that come on the Electra Glide.  Perhaps you just need to find an independent shop to install your front lowering kit if the Harley shop can't figure this out.

If you just want to lower the bike to more easily get your feet on the ground, I would not recommend going with an even shorter rear shock.  You will give up too much in terms of ride quality and clearance.  Look into a re-contoured or custom seat with a lowered rider "pocket" that is narrower at the nose, and some good riding boots with thick soles and heels.  Many folks have taken that advice over the years, and those who have reported back seem to agree it's a better solution than running an ultra low rear suspension.

Jerry

[tonykaos]

Thank you for the detail. I do want a better front response and maybe I will have the seat redesigned already wear boots with extra heel and toe height


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[CVODON]

Maybe find a different shop. Also this is a dealer that does not want to do the work. Motor company really has nothing to do with it.

[tonykaos]

Yes I should have been more specific stating dealership instead of moco


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[J-Carr]

If you just want to lower the bike to more easily get your feet on the ground, I would not recommend going with an even shorter rear shock.  You will give up too much in terms of ride quality and clearance.  Look into a re-contoured or custom seat with a lowered rider "pocket" that is narrower at the nose, and some good riding boots with thick soles and heels.  Many folks have taken that advice over the years, and those who have reported back seem to agree it's a better solution than running an ultra low rear suspension.

Jerry

I wish I'd gotten that advice in '07 when we bought my wife her first Harley.  I'm tall enough to have never considered lowering and I never realized how bad lean angles got when my wife got her Dyna.  We lowered it for her and it caused her all kinds of problems, especially when the front sagged.  I did some research and learned a bit, and a few years ago she let me put stock height shocks and quality standard height fork springs (both from Progressive ) back on it and changed out the seat.  Now she loves the bike so much she won't let me get her a new one with Anti-Lock brakes.  She's 5'1" and a little heavy so the seat needed to taper in more, as well as have less thickness to it.  We did find a stock Corbin that worked for her.  But just last month we had that stock Corbin rebuilt from the foam up and now you'd think I bought her a diamond.  She can back it up on uneven surfaces, has no worries at off camber stop signs or traffic lights and still can't wash the damn thing herself. 

I've also adjusted the bars and added floorboards which in her case made everything fit her perfectly.  The whole advantage to a Harley is that you can truly make them fit you.  A good dealer should help you figure that out before you walk out the door with the bike.  Tony, I see you're probably limited from riding to another state to find a dealer who knows how to do this as I hear the Interstate gets a bit wet at your border, but even so, you should be able to go into the dealer and ask them to work with you with their demo seats.  They're supposed to have a stock of non saleable seats (They say demo all over them in orange) that they will install and let you try on YOUR bike.  If they have the demo frame that you can try different bar adjustments you might want to look at that too.  Even though you can reach the bars just fine, sometimes a different angle on them allows your body to settle in better.

In my case I'm going with remanufacturing mine this September, not for reach but for comfort and to maintain the heated unit.  I like a more cupped down in feeling seat but never changed it out because I wanted the heated seat.  I found a guy at a rally who did my wife's Corbin and I was really impressed both with his work and his taking the time to do multiple fittings for each layer of foam.  I'm guessing it may be harder to find someone in Hawaii and if you can't let us know and I'm sure others along with me can post "our seat guy" for you to contact and maybe you can ship the seat over winter... umm.... volcano season and get it done. 

[FlaHeatWave]

    The SEEG's from 2004 and 2005 were the last CVO's to be lowered both front and rear from the factory.  The later models like the SESG have a standard height front end.  The front forks on a 2012 SESG for instance are the exact same part numbers as the 2013 CUSE and 2013 SERK.  All standard height.

Jerry

I stand corrected

[tonykaos]

Thanks J Can I'm definitely going to shave and reshape the seat , and have them replace the progressive cartridges with a slight lowering 1/2 inch.
I used to always use Corbin seats but I really like the look of the lean CVO seat
A list of seat guys would be great, I would send in my seat as it is worth the wait.


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[J-Carr]

The guy I found was called Master Lugo's.  He's got a family business going through the rally circuit so I don't know if you'd be better off waiting until after Biketoberfest in October.  I really don't know how he'd handle fittings with a mail order, but its worth a shot.

http://www.masterlugos.com/

His phone and email is on his web page under contact us.