Fat Bob for short rider
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
From: Central Maine
I am also 5_5 and when I got home on my 08 FXDF with forwards I was sick to my stomach.Spent the last 10 mi of a 35 mi ride with my legs hanging, couldn't hold them out anymore.Dealer swapped controls with mids off another Dyna and only charged me for gaskets.I believe mids from a 2010 wide glide can be converted at the dealer for the 2010 FXDF Worth asking
Thread Starter
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Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 207
Likes: 0
From: Sewall's Point, Florida
Fat Bob -- Short Guy (5'5")
Thanks.
Here's how I'm contemplating having the bike set up:
mid-controls
Le Pera Bare Bones Up-Front saddle
6" Harley risers on handlebars
Do you think I'll be comfortable if it's set up like that?
Here's how I'm contemplating having the bike set up:
mid-controls
Le Pera Bare Bones Up-Front saddle
6" Harley risers on handlebars
Do you think I'll be comfortable if it's set up like that?
Road Master
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 992
Likes: 1
From: Mechanicsburg, PA
I think if you had mids it wouldn't matter what seat you use but still I think the cheapest route may be to lower the bike one inch and get the reach or upfront seat. I have a sundowner seat for when my wife rides with me and it definitely puts me farther forward so the seat should fix the reach to the front, then the drop would fix the reach to the ground problem. Just $200 for a set of 11" Progressives on the rear would do that.
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,360
Likes: 4
With the bike equipped with mids, the biggest issue becomes reaching the ground comfortably at a stop to make handling the weight easier. Personally I don't like lowering the bike, affects handling and wheel travel too much for my taste, although many here do it with decent cruising results. The stock seat will be a bit more comfortable on longer rides but the Le Pera is also narrower than the stock seat, which helps.
You may find a reach seat combined with the risers may actually make the bar too close for you. I would recommend first try it without the riser. If it turns out you want/need them, it is an easy mod later that, if you are handy with a wrench, you can do yourself and save some $$$. A little longer reach to the bars is not going to hurt you nearly as much as the forward controls. You just are bent into the wind a little more.
Regardless I think you will be able to ride the bike just fine and safely with the mids, anything else is relatively minor adjustments.
The last time I checked the Le Pera up front seat was selling for like $110, although they were hard to find eight months ago. Its not that much money for a seat. The regular bare bones will sit you even lower but much father back. The up front has a nice bit of padding for your tail, but its still a hard seat.
You may find a reach seat combined with the risers may actually make the bar too close for you. I would recommend first try it without the riser. If it turns out you want/need them, it is an easy mod later that, if you are handy with a wrench, you can do yourself and save some $$$. A little longer reach to the bars is not going to hurt you nearly as much as the forward controls. You just are bent into the wind a little more.
Regardless I think you will be able to ride the bike just fine and safely with the mids, anything else is relatively minor adjustments.
The last time I checked the Le Pera up front seat was selling for like $110, although they were hard to find eight months ago. Its not that much money for a seat. The regular bare bones will sit you even lower but much father back. The up front has a nice bit of padding for your tail, but its still a hard seat.
Last edited by ColdCase; Dec 8, 2009 at 09:31 PM.
Thread Starter
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Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 207
Likes: 0
From: Sewall's Point, Florida
Thanks a million. You are correct that my biggest concern is keeping my feet flat on the ground to hold the bike steady. I can flat-foot the bike with the stock seat, but it's not easy. I have never sat on either the Reach or the Bare Bones Up-Front seats, but the stock seat felt really wide to me. An extra inch would probably work, but lower would be better. (I'm currently riding a Nightster, which fits me like a glove -- but I'm pretty obsessed about getting a Fat Bob.)
I got what I think is a pretty good price from a dealer for a 2010. He will modify it for mid-controls, add a Reach seat, and 6" risers for $14,200.
I mentioned the Le Pera seat to him, and he said they'd need to order it, but he assumed that the price was comparable to the Reach.
I doubt that I'll save much by having him leave out the risers at this point -- and I'm not particularly handy with a wrench. Do you still think I should leave them out?
Switching gears, I have a Biker's Friend mounted on a luggage rack on my Nightster that I really like. Can you recommend a rack to accept that on the Fat Bob with a solo seat?
I got what I think is a pretty good price from a dealer for a 2010. He will modify it for mid-controls, add a Reach seat, and 6" risers for $14,200.
I mentioned the Le Pera seat to him, and he said they'd need to order it, but he assumed that the price was comparable to the Reach.
I doubt that I'll save much by having him leave out the risers at this point -- and I'm not particularly handy with a wrench. Do you still think I should leave them out?
Switching gears, I have a Biker's Friend mounted on a luggage rack on my Nightster that I really like. Can you recommend a rack to accept that on the Fat Bob with a solo seat?
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 816
Likes: 4
From: Stone Harbor, NJ
Man mid controls would completely negate the use of a reach seat. I'm 5'10 so the forwards are great,my knees are even bent a litle. If you already sat on one at the H-dealer then you knowyou won't be comfortable flying down the highway struggling to keep your feet on the pegs.
IMO you should order with mid pegs and throw some highway pegs on there for longer rides.
IMO you should order with mid pegs and throw some highway pegs on there for longer rides.
+1 on this. The entire point of the reach seat is to move you forward. I have seen them advertised designed to move the rider forward 1-2 inches. Maybe there are ones that move the rider even further. With a reach seat I can't see you needing the mids. and if you have mids, the reach seat would seem to be a waste of money, but they aren't my legs and it isn't my wallet. LOL
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,360
Likes: 4
+1 on this. The entire point of the reach seat is to move you forward. I have seen them advertised designed to move the rider forward 1-2 inches. Maybe there are ones that move the rider even further. With a reach seat I can't see you needing the mids. and if you have mids, the reach seat would seem to be a waste of money, but they aren't my legs and it isn't my wallet. LOL
gseely, If its not costing you anything and they let you keep the stock seat/riser go for it. You can always put the stock stuff back on if you find it a tight fit.
Do you need a backrest or just want a strong luggage rack to tie the bag to?
There are docking systems with a luggage rack and backrest put together from HD parts, perhaps in the order of $500, or you can easily modify a solo rack to fit the docking system, for maybe $150. These look good with the solo seat but there is no backrest. You can fit a passenger pilon with either I think.
Last edited by ColdCase; Dec 9, 2009 at 08:58 AM.
Thread Starter
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Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 207
Likes: 0
From: Sewall's Point, Florida
Reach seats aren't sufficient to reach forwards comfortably for us with leg length challenges. Mids are the only way to address that short of leg extention surgery. Short legs usually means short arms. If it wasn't for a perhaps awkward bar seat distance and seat height, then you shouldn't need anything beside the mids. The harley reach seat is good for the moderately challenged. The bike fits more like a glove with a lower and narrower seat. Lowered and narrow typically sets you back in the bike making reaching drag bars uncomfortable. So you can use a lower reach seat or pull back risers or mini apes or both the reach seat and a "reach" bar.
gseely, If its not costing you anything and they let you keep the stock seat/riser go for it. You can always put the stock stuff back on if you find it a tight fit.
Do you need a backrest or just want a strong luggage rack to tie the bag to?
There are docking systems with a luggage rack and backrest put together from HD parts, perhaps in the order of $500, or you can easily modify a solo rack to fit the docking system, for maybe $150. These look good with the solo seat but there is no backrest. You can fit a passenger pilon with either I think.
gseely, If its not costing you anything and they let you keep the stock seat/riser go for it. You can always put the stock stuff back on if you find it a tight fit.
Do you need a backrest or just want a strong luggage rack to tie the bag to?
There are docking systems with a luggage rack and backrest put together from HD parts, perhaps in the order of $500, or you can easily modify a solo rack to fit the docking system, for maybe $150. These look good with the solo seat but there is no backrest. You can fit a passenger pilon with either I think.
I hadn't considered that lowering the seat would make it still harder to reach the bars. It sounds like I'm definitely going to need the risers, the mids, and the lowest, narrowest seat I can find that pushes me forward-- which appears to be the Bare Bones Up-Front. I wish they made that in a two-up version, but they don't.
I'm not concerned about taking a passenger, but it would be nice to put have a short sissy bar and a vinyl surface to put my Biker's Friend on. Oh, well. You can't have it all, I guess.
It sucks to be short.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,779
Likes: 223
From: Northern California
I just installed and removed this footboard kit from V-Twin Manufacturing because I'm long legged and these boards were placed to high. It is a quality kit and I think they would fit you and your Fat Bob perfectly.............Rich
Tourer
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 328
Likes: 0
From: AZ
I came across your floorboards to late but I'm thinking of buying a new set.
I have reservations about them being from Tiawan, but they sure look good.
You said again here that they are a quality kit, so maybe I needn't be concerned.
I just wish I had a chance to try them out.....
I have reservations about them being from Tiawan, but they sure look good.
You said again here that they are a quality kit, so maybe I needn't be concerned.
I just wish I had a chance to try them out.....