Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[DBHWT]

Have a friend buying a FLTRSE3..he's a little challenged as far as height....best way for him to lower ?  Are stock shocks 12 1/2 ? Thanks for any info

[GregKhougaz]

The FLTRSE3 has the low profile shocks, stock.  I would recommend  your friend  try a narrower and / or low profile seat before anything else.  I recall seeing some posts about air ride suspensions.  He could lower the bike as he comes to a stop.  That way the handling of the bike would not be adversely affected. 

[Eagle Eye]

The FLTRSE3 has the low profile shocks, stock.  I would recommend  your friend  try a narrower and / or low profile seat before anything else.  I recall seeing some posts about air ride suspensions.  He could lower the bike as he comes to a stop.  That way the handling of the bike would not be adversely affected. 

X2!!!

[Talon]

Try new boots. much cheaper. 

[Eagle Eye]

Try new boots. much cheaper. 

Yuk, yuk...

I'd love to be 6'4", think they'll fit?

[Midnight Rider]

Yuk, yuk...

I'd love to be 6'4", think they'll fit?

You might have a small issue upshifting with your toe...

[Hotrod50]

I measured my air shocks on my FLTRSE3 and they measured 12" eye to eye.  I then measured my brother's 2010 FLTRX and it measured the same 12".  Kind of has me confused.  I know the FLTRSE3 from 2009 was lowered 1", but I thought the regular RoadGlides were stock height.

[grc]

Yup, I'm pretty sure he'd have to use a heel shifter with those.

In all seriousness, anyone who experiences problems getting their feet on the ground, or with maneuvering the bike in a parking space or the garage, should first consider solutions like the better boot suggestion.  I always rode with relatively thin soled boots back when I rode lighter bikes, but when I bought my eglide the extra weight and width made getting decent traction a problem.  I found some nice Harley boots with a thick high traction sole, and my problem was solved.

If boots alone don't fix the problem, I'd then recommend looking at alternative seats with a lower and narrower rider section.  Only if those other solutions don't solve the problem would I consider lowering the suspension any further on one of the bikes that comes with lowered shocks standard.  The SERG and SESG are lowered in the rear only, so you could lower the front suspension 1" without destroying the handling (the SEEG's came lowered both front and rear from the factory, and other than the obvious ground clearance tradeoff they handled pretty well).  Anything lower than that will likely compromise the ride comfort and handling to a significant degree.  Of course, there is always the big bucks solution with the Legends air adjustable system; lower the bike when necessary in parking situations, but raise it up to normal height while riding.  The main reason I don't like that approach, other than the cost, is that is is too easy for people to try to ride with the bike slammed.  It becomes a safety concern, and with some folks being more concerned with "looking cool" than with safety, I just feel uneasy with that option.


Jerry

[grc]

I measured my air shocks on my FLTRSE3 and they measured 12" eye to eye.  I then measured my brother's 2010 FLTRX and it measured the same 12".  Kind of has me confused.  I know the FLTRSE3 from 2009 was lowered 1", but I thought the regular RoadGlides were stock height.

The regular Road Glides and the Road Glide Ultra are standard height, but the Road Glide Custom (FLTRX) is not.  The front is standard height, the rear shocks are the lowered version.


Jerry

[Midnight Rider]

Jerry...I promise you that nobody would ride with the Legends slammed more than 100 feet if the road wasn't perfectly smooth...it's worse than riding a hardtail.  The stops will literally bounce you off the seat...   I always try and remember to pump them up just a little after my BSR gets on the bike, but I have forgotten a couple of times...as soon as I go over the dip from my driveway to the street, at less than 5mph, I get reminded in no uncertain terms.   

One concern with those kinds of shocks is what happens if something leaks, the compressor goes out, the solenoid fails open (not likely), switch goes bad,  etc.  For that reason, I have mine plumbed up to the original schraeder valve behind the left saddlebag, and I keep a little tubing down in the saddlebag...I can always bypass the problem and air them up at a gas station enough to get home.  Of course, if the shock itself takes a crap (unlikely since they have Kevlar boots), you're hosed, but you would be with any shock that totally failed.  With a 29" inseam, I can still get my feet on the ground pretty well fully aired up, but I'm just more comfortable with them down a bit for parking, loading and unloading the BSR, etc.

Good boots make a huge difference with a bike as heavy as ours, and your advice of boots and modding the seat a bit is sound.  I just knew already that it wouldn't be an effective solution for my needs/wants.  As you mentioned, I would never drop a Harley touring platform more than an inch.

[cahdbiker]

DBHWT, I had my original seat reshaped on my 09SEUC, and it was much more effective than when I put on the low profile shocks(I think FLTRSE3 already has them) Even at 5'9" the height never really was an issue unless I had a passenger and luggage.
Now I have the stock shocks back on and I can have both feet flat on the ground at stop.  Reshaping the original seat should be the most economic. My upholstery guy reshaped it on the bike till I was satisfied,then he used a little memory foam, the seat heater still works fine and it only cost me about $450.00.I did a 3500 mile trip last summer with no seat issues. There is a post with pictures of the reshaped seat on the site somewhere, but it was a while back and I can't remember the title of my post. CAHDBIKER