I have an 09 low, and i am shopping for forwards. Im finding out that regular forward controls for an 09 sportster wont fit my bike. Anybody know why? Any help is appreciated.

 

What brand are you looking at? Its the same fit for some other 09 Sportster models (not all).

Check the fitment chart from the following page you you can see what models are compatible.

http://www.harley-davidson.com/store...33397-07a#tabs

 

Viewing Harley's instruction sheets, from their web pages for the two forward control kits (2005 vs. 2009) under "MORE INFO", the only differences I see are for the finishes available. Different part # for chrome vs. black vs. polished. The Low models have a special foot peg mount that has an off-set (due to the lowered nature of the bike) that started with the '05 Low (2005 model year did not have 1200 Low as an offering, with the 1200L starting in '06).
I would say they'll fit, but you probably need different foot pegs than the stock, original pegs. No big deal.

2005 Model Forwards Kit instruction sheet (has a Parts List at the bottom of instructions):
http://www.harley-davidson.com/app-c...ts/-J02818.PDF

2009 Model year Forwards Kit instruction sheet:
http://www.harley-davidson.com/app-c...ts/-J04006.PDF

If someone knows different, I hope they check in, but I haven't heard of any problem with interchanging foot controls from 2004 through 2013 (in 2014, the brake arrangement changed with the advent of ABS). Going the other direction, I installed mid-controls from an '07 on my 2005C model (forward controls are stock on the Custom models) and I didn't have any issues with the install (I hated the mids and immediately went back to forwards).
Sometimes, Mother Harley doesn't want you to know what minor change was introduced, but the minor change really doesn't have an affect on fitment. Researching part #'s can shed some light on these situations. Just an FYI, older Harley Part #s take the form xxxxx-YY, with "YY" being the year the part was introduced. If there's a letter after the numbers in the "YY" position (the original part has been superseded to the newer part with a letter after "YY"), there was a very small modification to the part, but the part will continue to fit older bikes. The part # is changed all together when a major change to a part has occurred and it will no longer fit older bikes. However, that doesn't mean that a minor alteration to the superseded part or replacing a joining part won't fix the situation, which is what we have with the Low models' foot peg vs. other models' foot pegs)
Let us know how it turns out.