Hi all, new poster here. I am considering the purchase of a new motorcycle and am looking at the Wide Glide. A couple of things bother me: the seat and suspension/ ride height. I am 6'2" so I am at the upper range for size. I am also not a fan of this new move to slam or lower the seat to as low to the ground as possible. I have spent some time looking for answers to my problems and have not found complete answeres, maybe someone here can help?

I don't think I have an answer for the seat. Tall boy seats are dorky looking. Good job Harley. Odd that they would put so much effort into making their bikes look just right but fumble the ball with their seats, especially their seats for tall people. I am also not happy with aftermarket designs that I have seen. For me this problem is unresolved.

I have read that longer shocks can be installed on the Dynas. That is where the conversation ends so my question is what happens when you jack up the rear end but not the front? Doing so changes the rake and the handling. Is this really advisable?

Thanks.

 

Unless you weigh 350lbs, you are really over estimating the importance of your physical stature on a Wide Glide. Go sit on it and see how it feels instead of speculating.

 

I am 6'1". I bought a 2011 wide glide and live it. The factory seat is ok but I'm probably going to change to a brawler. The bike fits me just fine. As a matter if fact, it's great. I have long arms and long track and don't feel crowded on it at all. The wide glide doesn't sit too low for me. It's a great stance and you have great control. I have a wide pillion seat on it and my wife and I ride two up all the time. Granted she's 98 lbs but the bike carries us both great!!! Is suggest getting the Stage 1 upgrade right off the bat as it makes the bike as peppy as it looks. Hope this helps.

 

I'm right about 6'3 with my boots and the seat was the first thing i changed. Factory seat killed my back. I went with the C&C Fastback. It has a nice scoop to it so you get some lower back support. I weight about 185 and have no issues with suspension. Another thing is the bars. I do like the stock ones because of great handling but will be shortly switching to 16in apes so im more upright seating postion.

 

Don't bother with extended shocks. Find a seat that is comfortable and has the look you want. Then throw some extensions on the forward controls if you really need them. I'm 6'3" and needed to be 2" further back on the stock seat. I just modified the stock seat to get the positioning I wanted.

All in all, if the WG fits you closely enough there are about a million options to customize it and get it set up exactly the way you want it later. Put a few miles on it first before making those decisions though.

 

yep as posted above get some extentions if you need them and change out the seat, I went with a lepera and apes I am only 6 FT but I have no issues with the bike,

 

X 2 on the Fastback 2up. I'm 6'1" 235 and it is the best thing I've done for me and my bike.

 

6' 1", 120lbs.. the wide glides a perfect fit. There are plenty of seating options. Don't let that axe the deal

 

I'm 6'3" 230# ride a wide glide with 3" extensions on forward controls. Changed out set to a superglide solo. No problems

 

I'm a short guy, so my opinion on "fit" doesn't matter here. However, I occasionally have a minor issue with my lower muffler hitting the pavement when cornering while carrying a passenger. This only happens when I hit a bump while making a slow and tight right turn.

I have a pair of Progressive 440 rear shocks on the way, which will hopefully remedy this situation. If not, I'll step up to the heavy-duty version of the 440 shocks.

You shouldn't have any issues while riding solo. I'm 5'8", 180#. My passenger is 5'10", and I'm guessing around 160#. Poor girl has more problems with the "fit" of the bike than I do. She's lucky I didn't mount the passenger pegs to the tops of the shocks.