Many MODS to new 08 Dyna Superglide
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Novice
Joined: Apr 2008
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Many MODS to new 08 Dyna Superglide
Hello everyone. I am new here to this forum and H-D's and just bought an 08 SuperGlide. Unfortunately, I bought it in mid-March and have YET to bring it home because they are trying to lower it for me. A little background:
First, they lowered the back with Progressive 11" shocks. That didn't lower me enough (I"m 5'0, 28 inch inseam), so they decided to put the reach seat on. No go. They decided to have their custom upholstery shop carve out the stock seat about two inches and then lower the front forks. They didn't have a front end lowering kit so they had to contact RaceTech to custom the front forks. They said with the seat and the front end now being lowered, that should bring me down flat footed. Nope, still not there, even with my three inch boots. THEN, to top it off, when I did go sit on it to FINALLY see if it did lower me, the kickstand wouldn't go down. I had to lean the bike to the right A LOT so it would clear the ground to stand. NOT GOOD! Why in the world didn't they figure this out BEFORE hand? If you lower the bike, don't you think they would make sure the kickstand is properly aligned, as well????
I guess I'm a) looking for some words of encouragement because I am VERY frustrated at this point. The sales guy DID NOT tell me it would take this much of an effort to modify the bike to my height. He obviously knew how height-challenged I was, and yet he said "No Problem". Here it is, almost TWO MONTHS LATER and still no bike! b) Am I overreacting? Shouldn't I expect these service people that deal with Harley's ALL DAY LONG to know what they are doing?? And what modifications need to be made?
It's been TWO MONTHS! And now I'm starting to feel NOT GOOD about this bike. I' guess I'm looking for advice? What would you guys do?
Thankyou very much for any insights and/or thoughts!
First, they lowered the back with Progressive 11" shocks. That didn't lower me enough (I"m 5'0, 28 inch inseam), so they decided to put the reach seat on. No go. They decided to have their custom upholstery shop carve out the stock seat about two inches and then lower the front forks. They didn't have a front end lowering kit so they had to contact RaceTech to custom the front forks. They said with the seat and the front end now being lowered, that should bring me down flat footed. Nope, still not there, even with my three inch boots. THEN, to top it off, when I did go sit on it to FINALLY see if it did lower me, the kickstand wouldn't go down. I had to lean the bike to the right A LOT so it would clear the ground to stand. NOT GOOD! Why in the world didn't they figure this out BEFORE hand? If you lower the bike, don't you think they would make sure the kickstand is properly aligned, as well????
I guess I'm a) looking for some words of encouragement because I am VERY frustrated at this point. The sales guy DID NOT tell me it would take this much of an effort to modify the bike to my height. He obviously knew how height-challenged I was, and yet he said "No Problem". Here it is, almost TWO MONTHS LATER and still no bike! b) Am I overreacting? Shouldn't I expect these service people that deal with Harley's ALL DAY LONG to know what they are doing?? And what modifications need to be made?
It's been TWO MONTHS! And now I'm starting to feel NOT GOOD about this bike. I' guess I'm looking for advice? What would you guys do?
Thankyou very much for any insights and/or thoughts!
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,572
Likes: 5
From: Templeton California
RE: Many MODS to new 08 Dyna Superglide
Well first of all it is entirely possible to ride a motorcycle without being able to plant both feet flat on the ground, I rode an XR650L for years with just my tip toes touching,that said there are also lower bikes than a Superglide.Any chance of getting you money back and walking away.And there are also lower seats available, there's a LePera Barebones in my signature pic.It is the lowest seat money can buy.
Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 208
Likes: 0
From: tampa
RE: Many MODS to new 08 Dyna Superglide
welcome to the site. sorry, can't be much help. 6'1" here. never had these problems. but, i will say this. if you already had that much work done to the suspension, it seems like the thing to do is find a new kick stand. i hope it works out. if not, platform shoes seem to be making a comeback at the goth bar by me... just sayin'.
Road Master
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 971
Likes: 2
From: Mid USA
RE: Many MODS to new 08 Dyna Superglide
I think that the LowRider jiffy stand is shorter than the stand on the SuperGlide, get them to try one and see if it helps. You might try a thinner custom made seat but doing so may cost you some long distance ride comfort. If they guaranteed they could make the bike fit you then hold their feet to fire and tell them to get it done, if they can not do that then take your money elsewhere and find a bike that can be configured to meet your requirements. Not being able to firmly contact the ground with both feet when trying to handle a bike that weighs in at close to 650 pounds dry is generally not a real good deal.
Good luck with it.
Arcane
Good luck with it.
Arcane
Road Master
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 830
Likes: 4
From: Ozark Mountains
RE: Many MODS to new 08 Dyna Superglide
Hang in there! Don't give up! I think Special ED had a great point in trying the Lepera seat. It's NOT comfortable at all, atleast not the one I had on my old 92 Softail years ago. But atleast it will lower you quite a bit. The 11's should've knocked it down quite a bit. As for lowering the frontend, they could've slid the tubes up in the trees to lower it instead of the lowering kit. But, you simply can't go wrong with Race Tech stuff in that front end...that's a plus! I wouldn't back down from them one iota...stick to your guns and have them fix the kick stand dilemma. That's no big deal to take care of. However, try and understand that you're only going to be able to get that bike so low before it becomes dangerous. Getting it to a point where you can be flatfooted may be worse than standing on your tip toes in the long run. These are the problems we're faced with when the dealerships have people working for them that have no clue about the machines they're selling. Used to be when you walked into a dealership, that the guy with the long beard, ponytail and tattoos knew every nut and bolt on the bikes he was selling. But nowadays, it's hard pressed to find a parts guy working there that knows what works, what fits and what doesn't. It's the nature of our society and the beast that is the MoCo these days. Personally, I miss the days back in the mid eighties when I first started hangin' out at the local HD "shop". It wasn't a dealership back then, just a plain ol' HD "SHOP!" I'm in no way saying that all dealerships are of this ilk, there are still some good ones out there, but they're few and far between. Good luck and hang tough!
Saint
Saint
Tourer
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 319
Likes: 1
From: Ventura, Ca.
RE: Many MODS to new 08 Dyna Superglide
Nice LaPera. i just bought a Silhouette and plan on getting a barebones shortly. GOod people, good seats.
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RE: Many MODS to new 08 Dyna Superglide
welcome! YOU WILL GET COMFORTABLE My girl will take out one of the rockets from time to time and she is 5'3... can BARELY touch on that and it has TONS of power... ithink you are kind of getting ripped off with all the mods just to lower your bike... drop it into the trees for a bit, drop on some lowering shocks or a tarmak kit... seat as ed sugested and try it out! man if your sales man is selling you on that much stuff please get me his number so i can offer him a job! (noharm just poking at ya a bit
) take it to an indy shop... i promise you they will have you on the road and comfortable... HD does not always make the right parts you need on some mods... that is just the way it is... is this your first bike? i was a bit nervous when i first tossed my leg over my bob... coming from a CB750 bobber that i built this st bob was a BEAST!!! just take your time, get your bike! take it to a local shop... they will get your rolling... you can bet that!
) take it to an indy shop... i promise you they will have you on the road and comfortable... HD does not always make the right parts you need on some mods... that is just the way it is... is this your first bike? i was a bit nervous when i first tossed my leg over my bob... coming from a CB750 bobber that i built this st bob was a BEAST!!! just take your time, get your bike! take it to a local shop... they will get your rolling... you can bet that!
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Thread Starter
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Novice
Joined: Apr 2008
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RE: Many MODS to new 08 Dyna Superglide
You guys are SO good! Thank you so much for offering me insight into this dilemma!
Thank YOU Ed for giving me the suggestion on the seat. I do think that may be the way to go as it more than likely is MUCH lower than the stock seat they carved out. And, it doesn't appear to be too expensive.
This is actually my second bike. I had a VStar 650 to start on. NO mods to that bike, as it fit me perfectly and it was a great bike to learn on.
Believe me, this sales guy is not pulling one over on me! I got the sales manager and general manager involved on this because the sales person is CLUELESS and they are scrambling to make sure that it is "the bike of my dreams." Whatever. I am fully expecting them to take care of these additional charges (I negotiated into the final price the rear shocks and seat, plus SEII slip ons). I just didn't expect the front end to be an issue. HOWEVER, they WILL pay for that as they said the bike would be DELIVERED on Friday, April 25. The GM promised me that. And, I was pretty excited and then the kickstand didn't work, and that's when I started to think, "Maybe this isn't the bike for me."
I am so glad I posted my concern/question on this site. I don't know anyone that rides (other than my boyfriend and he is so pi$$ed off he says to just bubble the deal, which I really don't want to do). I love the fact that you said to stick to your guns and get comfortable on it. I think that Saint had a good point in that it's just the way it is in our society to not be able to find people who know what the heck they are doing. It's just so sad.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I look forward to hanging around here and am very glad I found this forum.
Thank YOU Ed for giving me the suggestion on the seat. I do think that may be the way to go as it more than likely is MUCH lower than the stock seat they carved out. And, it doesn't appear to be too expensive.
This is actually my second bike. I had a VStar 650 to start on. NO mods to that bike, as it fit me perfectly and it was a great bike to learn on.
Believe me, this sales guy is not pulling one over on me! I got the sales manager and general manager involved on this because the sales person is CLUELESS and they are scrambling to make sure that it is "the bike of my dreams." Whatever. I am fully expecting them to take care of these additional charges (I negotiated into the final price the rear shocks and seat, plus SEII slip ons). I just didn't expect the front end to be an issue. HOWEVER, they WILL pay for that as they said the bike would be DELIVERED on Friday, April 25. The GM promised me that. And, I was pretty excited and then the kickstand didn't work, and that's when I started to think, "Maybe this isn't the bike for me."
I am so glad I posted my concern/question on this site. I don't know anyone that rides (other than my boyfriend and he is so pi$$ed off he says to just bubble the deal, which I really don't want to do). I love the fact that you said to stick to your guns and get comfortable on it. I think that Saint had a good point in that it's just the way it is in our society to not be able to find people who know what the heck they are doing. It's just so sad.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I look forward to hanging around here and am very glad I found this forum.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 3,238
Likes: 0
From: Desmoines, Iowa
RE: Many MODS to new 08 Dyna Superglide
you got to be shorter than that. i got a 27 inseam and i have no trouble on my 05 and i have standard shocks and not lowered at all i'm not complete flat foot when i ride but close enough. it was a whole lot worse back in the days of metric.