Print

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

[Hawg]

My bud just bought a 2013 CVO Ultra, and has a problem where he's unable to touch the ground with his heels. He needs about 1 inch lower, which is the best way to go? Are the stock shocks adjustable?

[miker]

Lowboy seat of some sort?

I changed my saddle for comfort reasons and ended up lower as well. A Mustang dual..nice saddle.

Lowered suspensions can do it but do change lots on the bike...I had an 07 that was lowered and hated it...

[grc]

My bud just bought a 2013 CVO Ultra, and has a problem where he's unable to touch the ground with his heels. He needs about 1 inch lower, which is the best way to go? Are the stock shocks adjustable?

The BEST way to go is for him to buy some boots with thicker soles and heels.  That way he won't mess up the ground clearance, handling, and comfort of the bike.  However, if he has some kind of "thing" about not wanting to wear thick soles, the next best thing is to modify or replace the seat with something that lowers the rider section and narrrows the nose so he can get his feet down with his legs closer to the bike.  The last approach I would recommend would be changing out the suspension to a lowered version.  The stock shocks aren't adjustable for length, just for preload.  Running them with minimum preload to try to lower the bike will make the bike ride poorly and won't give him the inch he needs.  He could buy a set of 1" lower shocks and a 1" lowering kit for the forks; those things are available from many sources.  He should definitely NOT consider anything more than 1".

Jerry

[Hawg]

Thanks for the feed back, I will pass this on.
He just picked it up last night.

[skratch]

having to have both feet flat on the ground is not necessary.  there are a lot of folks out there (myself included) who would be riding a ridley if that were the case.  sure, you need to have enough of your feet on the ground to provide stability and to hold the bike up, and being flatfoot does come in handy if you have to push backwards, but for us short folks, a lot of prior planning when parking goes a long way.

plus, have you ever stood next to some of these dual sport bikes?  i swear some of them have a 30 something inch seat height....

[Rio]

I had a 2010 CVO Ultra and I have a CVO RG Ultra.  I stand 5'7" with a 30" inseam.  I have progressive shocks front & rear and I wear boots, and I sit flat footed on my bike.  Don't get fooled into thinking its OK not to try and get that problem solved.  900 pounds and $36,000 is a lot to drop!  The progressives lowered my bike .75 inch which worked out fine for me.

[BakedInMN]

I have the same problem with short stubby legs. Here is what I did:

HD Lowering kit rear.
HD Front fork lowering kit. (Not real impressed with the front suspension).
Legend Air Suspension Rear.
HD Super Reach Seat. (Worked well, but I prefer the stock seat).
Passenger floorboards swapped to other side. (Probably the best mod, and it doesn't cost anything).

If I had it all to do over again, I'd do the Legend Air Suspension and the floorboards only. You may find out that just moving the floorboards will give you the extra room needed. Give it a shot, it's free.

Hope this helps.

[hep0950]

I lowered my CVO Ultra 1 inch front and rear with HD's progressive shocks and fork springs. Be aware that you may hit your kickstand or floor boards at times, but riding most curves are no problem. I had my last Ultra lowered 1 inch also and rode the Dragon. I touch the kickstand a couple of times, but was aware of it.

Adjusting the seat is another way, and still another, though a bit pricey, with the new frame, they can change out the middle which will lower the seat. I had a salesman at a HD dealer tell me about it.

And yes, you do not really need to be flat footed, and some go against lowering the bike, but with that much weight and especially if you are riding two up, having that security is worth it. Most of my riding do not have hairpin turns in them or curves that require me to lean that far. And you are lowering the center of gravity by 1 inch, which doesn't seem like a lot, but it does have an effect on handling and not in a bad way.

[Cvostu]

A lot easier to find a new seat than to mess with the suspension. 

[OBB]

GRC has some great advice on this one.

Just wanted mine a little lower. I bought new Red Wing work boots (lineman boots) a few months back and the first day I rode it to work with these taller heels and soles did the trick for me. I find myself wearing these boots all the time when I ride now.

[DJA]

The two easiest things to lower the bike is have the seat narrowed at the front so your legs come together. This way you keep your heated seat. Second is get shocks for the street glide. 12"  as opposed to 13" on the Ultra. This is what I did an you will not be surprised by the occasional dip or hole you might step into when you stop. Ride is not affected much but can be greatly improved with Ohlin, JRI, or progressive shocks over the HD air shocks.
DJ

[JoeVibe]

I've got a 29" inseam and put Streetglide shocks on my SEUC and they lowered the bike just right. Now I've ordered a set of 12" Bitubo's to get rid of the air shocks and improve the ride. Can't wait until they get here.

[RJ749]

I would go custom seat and did on both my SEEG and SEUC.

I've seen guys from Alberta at our local expert seat builder often.  http://www.richscustomseats.com/

Rich and his crew are artists and in addition to getting feet on the ground he adjust your entire seating position for proper reach and leg length to peddles.