Straight to the point (extended version below)

1. Need improved passenger seating. I have an older thread where I tested just about every HD brand seat and settled on the touring seat with his and her back rests. I'm satisfied with my seat but my wife tells me her seat needs to be at least an inch wider and longer (more = better). In addition, I got her the bigger of the 2 back rests which is still insufficient. The goal is a seat as close to what was on my Ultra Limited as possible, without buying another Ultra Limited. If I have to move an inch or two forward to make room for my passenger that's fine since I've got t-rex arms and the reach to the stock handle bars is too long for me anyway.

2. The bike is too slow. What do I want? MORE. I've read $tonecold and Steve Cole's cam thread with great interest but I feel like your builder/tuner is at least as important as the hardware you put in. I want stock reliability that will lift the front wheel with just throttle. I'm not looking for top end, I rarely go above 80 mph on the highway and most of my riding is on streets with limits between 35 and 55. Worried that some big bore 128" stage 4 will spend more time in the shop than on the road. I'm in Atlanta, any reliable tuners in my area?

3. Stock sound is bleh. I want an exhaust that screams under throttle but where I can sneak into my neighborhood without causing a ruckus. Back pressure needs to be adequate to not kill the torque I spend big $$ on from issue #2.

Thanks for your time and inputs!

Longer version

Long time sport bike rider but as I got older all my motorcycling friends went away and the track sucks solo. I thought I'd love touring and bought a '16 Ultra Limited Low (I'm 5'6" with 30" inseam). I took a 2 week 6,000 mile trip and enjoyed myself but decided that I'd rather trailer to the good stuff than spend days in the saddle crossing the midwest. My wife loved the back seat but I hated how slow the bike was, how old I felt riding it, and the fact that even with the low version I had to be on my game 110% of the time, otherwise the bike was going to tip and once it started there was nothing I could do to stop it or pick it up once it was on its side. I also hated shopping for parking spots since I was unable to back up even the smallest of inclines.

I decided the sell the bagger and get a cruiser -- an '18 114" Fatboy. I love the low seating and it is much peppier than the old bike (although still not the acceleration I'd like). I've owned the new bike for longer than I had the bagger and it's winning the drop competition 0 to 3 . I love that I have some bend in the knee when I come to a stop and I can even back it up if absolutely necessary (although I still try to make sure that I'm pointing uphill when I park). The lack of storage is a pain but I've managed to compensate. The stock seat was terrible so I bought every seat HD makes for the bike, tried them all out, kept the touring seat and returned the rest. With a back rest I can ride for hours without issue. I'd prefer to be an inch or two closer to the bars but with the added cruise control I can at least alternate arms on the bars to give my shoulders some rest. The biggest problem with the bike is the passenger seat. Shortly after buying the bike we took a 250 mile (each way) trip. After 30 minutes my wife was uncomfortable and even with breaks every hour, by the time we arrived she was miserable. She wants a seat that offers more support in width and more room in length for her to adjust. She also wants back support similar to what she had on the bagger (but I don't want to install a tour pack and arm rests unless they are easy-on easy-off). To date, I haven't found a single seat maker who makes the passenger a priority. She's not interested in riding her own bike, she wants to ride with me which means this issue needs to be fixed for me to keep the bike. And if I have to go back to a bagger it won't be a HD since they don't offer reverse on any of their offerings .

Regarding performance, I feel like I adequately covered it above and won't go into any more detail.

Thanks for your time

 

No Harley is a sportsbike, if your looking for top speed stuff, your looking in the wrong direction. Your at a big power to weight ratio disadvantage. The big baggers require technique to enjoy otherwise you will be fighting it & hating it all the while. Look up Motor man on Youtube. I have an Ultra & it took some adjustments in riding techniques to enjoy. Stay off that front brake at slow speeds. I also came from dirt bikes & sport bikes all my life. I've got a 114 Faboy & it's fairly quick, but all the power is down low. As far as seat, take a look at the Mustang seat. I have this one https://www.mustangseats.com/, looks great & I'm happy with it.

YMMV

 

Thank you for your reply. I'm not looking for a sport bike or I'd just buy one, I even said I rarely top 80 mph. I'm willing to give performance mods a chance but I need help with a local to do the tuning. In regards to the seat, did you buy the passenger seat as well and if so is your back seater happy with it?

 

I did buy the back seat, but my wife has not been able to ride on it as her legs are too short to properly reach the pegs due to the wide rear on the bike, so she continues to ride on the Ultra. This will be solved when I put V&H Short Shot Staggers on which raise the pegs 3". The rear seat is thicker & wider than the stock seat.

As far as performance mods on Harleys, I can't speak too much to that other than the standard stage 1 which isn't a huge bump. I've chosen the route of near stock for reliability & enjoy the bikes for what they are having 3 of them now. I find my Fatboy has plenty of torque to get out the way of anything with a quick twist of the wrist when needed.

GL

 

Nope - Not gonna help...
a. Theres a million seat articles on this already
b. An HD is not a GSXR - I think you got the wrong bike
c. My daughter knew how to make a HD loud before her 10th bday..

3 sentences answered 5 inches of paragraph...

 

I thought the bike was in repo and this was a Go Fund me plea.....

 

3 sentences and yet 0 useful help offered. Hope you feel better for teaching me some sort of internet lesson.

 

Thats right - Zero help was offered. No lesson to be taught here. THE INFO IS ALL OVER THIS FORUM. And, yeah, I do feel better - I just didnt hang up on a thread as I always seem to do...... Sometimes ya just get tired reading the same questions over and over again bc people just wont look themselves...

 

Like others, I'm wondering if you bought the wrong bike. My first reaction was to recommend a Kawi Concours, but probably too tall and too peaky for your liking. Yam FJR or even a Gold Wing might suit you tho.

But before you sell your FB, a cam might provide just the giddyup you need while leaving you the low, lumpy Harley motor you otherwise like.

If your wife wants her footpegs higher, I think there are two more holes further up the frame for that.

 

Take off the exhaust. Bare heads.

Then give it NAAWWWSSS

Or lose a hundred pounds. Wife too. That will help the power to weight ratio. And the seat won't be so deformed with you basically on the pan.


Or just get a K1600GT